War is an ever-present theme in the novel and play. The reader and audience is continually conscious of the effect war has on the human psyche. In ‘Pairing’ we see the scaring effects war has made on the men. Through various memories relived by the characters the audience sympathises with them. We see fear in the men. We see the petrified Moore reliving an experience of war when he cries ‘I’m going to die. They’re coming at me from all sides’. Pyper is described by Robin Glendinning as ‘…a sad wreck of a man…’ This is a typical description of a man affected by war. Ironically, Pyper who enlisted to die was the sole survivor out of all his fellow comrades. War brings out conflicting emotions in each character. A prime example of this is that of Major Glendinning. On the one hand Johnston presents a rigid, strict military figure, which believes the army must have harsh rules and no exceptions can be made. This is evident when the major shows zero tolerance to Jerry when he went AWOL to search for his lost father. However, on the other hand, we see a compassionate side of Glendinning when he risks his life to end another man’s suffering.
There are many conflicting views of war presented by Johnston and Mc Guinness. Alicia and Bennett have romantic ideas of war. Bennett refers to the war as ‘…the show…’ As the novel progresses Bennett becomes more and more cynical about war it was not the fun he had anticipated. They are united in thinking war makes heroes. Alicia almost forces her son into enlisting. By dropping a bombshell when she reveals that Fredric is not her Alex’s real father, she indirectly sends him to war. She tells her husband Alexander has ‘…a moral duty…’ to go to war. Alicia is delighted to hear of her son signing up, insisting that he ‘…take the motor car…’ and come to let them see him in his ‘…uniform…’ These actions are typical of Alicia. This romantic view of war is contrasting to the views of the women in ‘…sons of Ulster…’ when Millen says ‘you should have heard them on the stairs this morning. All the superstitions of the day…we should wait’. Fredric echoes words of the famous Irish republican politician Michael Collins when he describes men going to war as ‘food for cannons’. He also echoes views of the poet A.E. Houseman in his poem ‘On the idle hill’, where men are described as ‘food for powder’. Alicia tells her husband ‘Dolce et decorum est…’ This is a patriotic phrase. Alicia believes Alex should want to aspire to this.
The novel and play’s most common theme is that of camaraderie between soldiers. We see in ‘…Babylon…’ the development of friendship between Jerry and Alex, although a difference in class and rank. We see in ‘…sons of Ulster…’ the camaraderie between the pairs and the group as one unit.
When Jerry returns after looking for his father soaked to the skin, Alex offers him some dry clothes. Alex tells Jerry to get into his bed, because it was warm. We are told Alex ‘…put an arm round him and pulled him tight to me’. Some critics believe there to be some homosexual undertones between these two friends. In my opinion Alex merely takes a paternal role when he cares for Jerry in this way. There are more references made to the homosexuality of Kenneth Pyper in ‘…sons of Ulster…’ In the opening of ‘Initiation’ Pyper tells Craig to kiss his finger better when he cuts it when peeling an apple. This could be a sigh of Pyper louring Craig and the apple being a symbol of ‘forbidden fruit’. At a production of ‘…sons of Ulster…’ at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast the relationship is made more obvious to the audience when Pyper and Craig kiss on Boa Island. The relationship is made profoundly more explicit in Michael Attenborough’s production of the play at the Hampstead Theatre Club in London in 1986 when Pyper and Craig make love on the island, signalled by the transition form stone to flesh and the surfacing of the water imagery. The relationship of Pyper and Craig and the femininity of Pyper are not in a vacuum. McIlwaine referred to Pyper as a ‘milksop’, to illustrate a feminine quality in him. Moore also says ‘He blew his own breath into Pyper’s mouth. It was a kiss’.
Sectarianism is used more effectively and more abusively in ‘…sin of Ulster…’ The men make humorous remarks when they talk about Patrick Pearse. Further references are made to the conflict between nationalists and loyalists when a conversation arises about the Germans. Although it is entertaining for the audience it depicts the hostility present between the two sides in Ulster. Pyper jokingly tells McIlwaine that Germans speak Gaelic ‘…for badness’. Crawford refers to confession as ‘a papist sacrament’.
Before heading to the front line again, the men reinact the Battle of the Boyne. It is ironic that Crawford, who had once confided in Roulston ‘remember when Anderson smelt a catholic? He half did’ played the Protestant part of William of Orange. The unexpected defeat of William unnerves the men, since they interpret it to be a bad omen for the forthcoming battle. The Protestant patriotism is represented in the play with the exchanging of sashes. It is a personal ritual and in a way it unites the men as one unit before going out to fight.
The bible and religion play a key part in both the play and the novel. Religion is part of the reason why some of the Loyalist protestant join up for war in ‘…sons of Ulster…’ A leading Unionist politician, David Irvine once said the battle of the Somme was ‘…huge within our community…’ The theme of religion fundamentally plays a more effective role in ‘…sons of Ulster…’
At a production of ‘…sons of Ulster…’ in the Lyric Theatre, Belfast the backdrop was a sky, which mirrored events in the play. As it progressed the sky became redder and redder. The colour of red is used perhaps to suggest danger and to symbolise the bloodshed, which is inevitable in war. The image of blood is again emphasised by Pyper. When Moore mentions the red sky as a warning, Pyper refers to them as ‘…Lambs to the slaughter…’ Johnston also successfully uses imagery in the novel when we are told about swans. Swans seem to be a reminder for Alex and for the reader of his mother and of home. The swans evoke a reaction in Alex when a fellow soldier shoots a swan. ‘All the muscles in my face were trembling’.
In the Great War the hierarchical system was used to determine the position a man held. The hierarchy theme is emphasised more in ‘…Babylon…’ when Jerry Crowe prophetically said to Alex ‘They’ll turn you into an officer’. McIlwaine found it strange that Pyper was not made ‘top brass…’ as he came ‘from a swanky family…’ Many interpretations can be made from his answer when he says ‘…I blotted my copybook.’ Some critics are of the opinion that it was uncertainty Pyper’s sexuality which leads to him not being an officer. My opinion is that Pyper wasn’t made an officer due to his rebellious nature. There is some irony that he wasn’t made an officer because towards the end of the play it is Pyper the others to look for guidance and leadership.
