Analysis of "the machine gunners"

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Book Review2009 The Machine Gunners Robert Westall’s The Machine Gunners has an exciting storyline but it is the aspects of the novel, such as its characters, themes and language, which captures and maintains the readers attention. Hence, the novel highlights the experiences and their effect upon juveniles in Britain during the Second World War. This is clearly seen through the novel’s protagonist, Chas, who goes through changes in his personality, thoughts and feelings as the experiences bring maturity. With the backdrop of the Second World War threatening over the entire novel, Westall is able to highlight the futility of war and the reality of human nature in war – as violence brings more violence. Set in London in 1940, The Machine Gunners tells the story of a group of teenagers growing up and learning the human cost of war and what it is really all about when they find a machine gun from a crashed German plane. Westall shows how the environment of war has a dramatic crash upon the lives of children. There is a rise of gang groups- each desiring to be the best gang. Consequently, there is violence where bullies control and their victims suffer. More importantly, parents are unable to do anything about the situation because they have lost control of their children. They remain ignorant to what is actually going on with their children. This is seen through Chas and his family’ s relationship, where Chas realizes his parents are helpless in the war and that they could not have done anything to help the war effort, “ He looked at his
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father, and saw a weary, helpless middle- aged man. Dad wasn’t any kind of God any more.” This shows us Chas no longer looks up to his parents and does want to listen to them anymore; therefore it is clear that while the war against the Germans continues, a smaller war is being fought among the children; this clearly shows the wartime surroundings have taken an effect on the lives of teenagers, ‘This war’s doing bad things to kids.’ Chas and his group discover a German Machine gun along with 200 rounds of live bullets from a crashed Heinkel airplane. ...

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