Analysis of the "Riverboat Trip" in the novel "Birdsong" by Sebastian Faulks as a key narrative moment

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English Literature

Riverboat Trip

The riverboat trip is a key moment in the first part of the novel. The way that it prefigures the war shows how Faulk’s interlinks peacetime with war. The trip can be used to highlight Stephen’s view of the war, and also his views of companionship, shown by his interactions with Madame Azaire.

The first piece of evidence that it is relating back to the war comes in the first paragraph on P44. All of the characters have had their lunch and they are sitting quietly, passing time. This is as though they are men after war. They are all silent and want to be alone. During the paragraph, there is no speech. This is like the aftermath of war because they are all reflecting on the events of the day. This point is reiterated in the next paragraph where they ‘clambered back into the boat.’ This does not make it sound like they are all out for lunch, but more like some form of struggle. This is made clearer by the afternoon laying ‘heavy and dull on them’. During the war, men would have struggled with weather. The men would not have liked hot weather, because it would make it hard for them to carry out light tasks. They would also dislike cold weather, because they would struggle to function normally. Wilfred Owen highlighted the problem of the weather in Dulce et Decorum Est;

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Knock-Kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge

Throughout the riverboat trip, and the novel, we would be able to assign each character a position in the army. The Bèrard’s would probably become the generals. This is because of Bèrard being such a dominant character. He doesn’t really value people’s opinions and would rather listen to himself. On P45 we are told how ‘Bèrard propelled the boat on its slow, straight course.’ The boat can be used to symbolize the war. The generals only have to tell people orders for hundreds of men’s lives to be changed. Using the ...

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