Shahid Islam 23/02/2011
English Language Coursework
Comparing the contrast of how youth is presented
The Last Night and ‘Disabled’
The Last Night and ‘Disabled’ are both piecesof writing describing children in the theatre of war.In the poem ‘Disabled’ Owen describes theyouthful child entering the First World War andsustaining a horrific injury. “He sat in a wheeledchair, waiting for the dark” and “Legless, sewnshort at elbow” depicts his injuries in the firststanza. This describes the horrible truth of war andthe horrific injuries sustained by man. The phrase“waiting for the dark” implies a depression withinthe soldier that may have come from his wounds. Itcould mean his life is filled with boredom and he issimply waiting for his bed so he can reside to hisdreams and think of better places. On the otherhand this may also describe death; he is sodepressed and solemn that he feels his life neednot continue. This could relate to Owens owndepression during his experience in the war.Owen writes “Shivered in his ghastly suit of grey” symbolising the characteristics of an old manhowever the soldier is still in his youth thereforecreating a sense of depression and sorrow. Then,in the third paragraph, Owen continues this imageby writing “Now he is old; his back will never brace;He’s lost his colour very far from here”.As the poem progresses it talks of “About thistime Town used to swing so gay” and “Girls glancedlovelier as the air grew dim”. This describes thesoldiers past life of joy before the War. Owen thencontinues to say “In the old times, before he threwaway his knees”. This relates to the injuries hesustained and how he spends his time reminiscingabout his glory days and how he may have oncebeen handsome, popular and strong.The poem continues on the subject of injuriesin the third stanza by saying “half his lifetimelapsed in the hot race, and leap of purple squirtedfrom his thigh”. This describes perhaps whathappened at the time of the injury creating a clearimage in the readers mind. The words “hot race”suggests a childish ignorance he and his friendsmay have thought about when they joined up andeven when they went over the top, thinking it allsimply as a game. However he soon realized thetrue horror of war as the “leap of purple” describesthe blood squirting from his wounds.
