Faulks presents us with a moving series of letters home on the night before the first day of the Somme. Compare these to Roland Brittain's real letters to Vera. Does the fact that Birdsong's letters are fictional make them any less moving or powerful?

It is the natural assumption that fictional work is generally more powerful in presenting emotions and events than real work, as the writer of fiction is able to exercise an element of 'poetic license' to emphasise certain points. Imagination is far more flexible and easier to mould than reality, so it is therefore not unreasonable to assume that the fictional letters are more moving and powerful than the real ones. That said, it is also true that when reading about real events happening to real people, the impact on the reader is greater than a few exaggerated points. The letters in Birdsong and those between Roland Brittain and Vera are all roughly centred around the same points; they are all just written differently. The majority of the letters in Birdsong and the letters from Roland to Vera all feature some information of the attack; however the way in which they're presented couldn't be more different. The letters in Birdsong describe their attack as "absolutely thumbs up", "unlikely that [...] the enemy will survive (their) bombardment" and comparing it to "putting on a display like Firework Night". The comparison of their guns to fireworks and the whole event as "absolutely thumbs up" show the reader that their view of the war, and their attack, was definitely positive. The conviction presented in the men's letters is what has the reader empathising with their family.

  • Word count: 1089
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

How does the presence of the Japanese soldier threaten the unity of Sergeant Mitchem's men?

English Coursework Essay - How does the presence of the Japanese soldier threaten the unity of Sergeant Mitchem's men? The play is set in the Malayan Jungle during the Japanese advance on Singapore in 1942. Seven British soldiers have different power due to the ranking hierarchy and they have different attitudes to one another. Sergeant Mitchem is the leader of the soldiers. He is a responsible and good leader which is evident due to him stopping many quarrels among his men and making decisions. For example, when Corporal Johnston and Private Bamforth are having an argument, Mitchem stops the argument by saying 'Right. Pack it in. Both of you'. Next we have Corporal Johnstone, who is second in power to Sergeant Mitchem. It is obvious that Johnstone does not have the respect that Mitchem has. This is because Bamforth has many arguments with him and does not follow his orders efficiently. One example of a quarrel between the two is when Johnstone tells Bamforth to 'Get your pack on!' Bamforth then responds saying 'you going to inspect us, corp.?' The next highest in the hierarchy is L/Corporal Macleish. He is a Scotsman and has regular arguments with Bamforth. In one argument Bamforth called Macleish a 'Scotch Haggis'. Macleish responds telling Bamforth to 'Watch your mouth'. However this only encourages Bamforth to continue by saying 'Aw, come off it, son. Where I come from

  • Word count: 2259
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Write a comparison in the ways in which warfare is presented in the novel Strange Meeting and the play Journeys end

Write a comparison in the ways in which war-fare is presented in the novel Strange Meeting and the play Journey's end: Ware- fare is the issue of conflict between not only the opposite forces but between the comrades. It is apparent that this is a central theme in both texts 'Strange Meeting' by Susan Hill and in the drama 'Journey's End' by C.R. Sherriff. The subject-matter of war-fare is a broad topic, in which both texts cover a wide range of issues that were prevalent during the war. In particular there will be a thorough examination of both texts, in their presentation, of war-fare and its effects. As they both present war-fare by dealing with the issues of the relationships of men, as well as the relationships with their families at the home- front, an issue which is linked with the soldier's detachment of their homes. In addition I will explore the presentation of war-fare initiating fear, the inevitability of death and the futility of war-fare which is a key point, which both texts try to emphasise through language and action. The subject matter of war-fare is portrays a strong sense of detachment of soldiers from their home. This is clearly demonstrated through the language and can be seen particularly, in the initial pages of Strange Meeting, through protagonist, John Hilliard, who due to his determination to stay awake, in his bedroom, because 'He was afraid to

  • Word count: 3015
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Mary Shelleys novel Frankenstein and Ridley Scotts film Blade Runner, demonstrate a myriad of social criticisms of their time on issues of science beyond moral conventions.

Although perspectives and values change with time, ideas and concepts can transcend. The gothic novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and the science fiction film Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott although composed over one hundred years apart contain the same perennial concepts on the nature of humanity. This is portrayed through notions of dehumanization, monstrosity and redemption, of the "indistinguishable" creator and creature relationship. The romanticist Shelly wrote her gothic novel the enlightenment era which posed questions concerning the mystery of life and nature of humanity. Scott on the other hand composed in the post-industrial age, where technology and morality played a dominant role in society. The composers explore their contextual values while upholding transcendent concepts of humanity incorporating morality and creation though unique techniques in accordance to their text type. Both Frankenstein and Blade Runner, although established within different contexts, communicate the universal notion that knowledge, beyond the morally conventional limits of society, initiates the human desire to understand and manipulate the natural world. Shelley's novel, influenced by romantic writers such as Coleridge and Percy Shelley, sees her examine and hyperbolize the obsessive passion of the scientists of her day. Thus, her archetypal scientist, Victor, is characterized

  • Word count: 1411
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

War poetry comparison

By comparing the following three extracts, and by referring to your wider reading, examine how typical in both style and treatment of subject matter these writings are of literature form the First World War. - A - Paul Nash extract - B- Glory of women - Siegfried Sassoon - C- Perhaps - Vera Brittain It seems that extract B is written as a bitter response to the experience of women during the war and C is written as a lamentation by a woman about her dead fiancé. Effectively, both extracts deal with women's points of view regarding the war. Extract A focuses on the reality of war as seen by a painter. However, it is important to distinguish that it is only extract A which deals with the reality of war where the others are somewhat opinionated towards reactions to it. In addition, all three extracts were written at the peak of WW1, therefore their attitudes would have been regarded as somewhat realistic and immediate to their time. Being a male artist, Paul Nash is more likely to have first-hand experience of the war. It seems that his intention, like Sassoon's is to call emphasis on the reality and truth of war. Arguably, this misunderstanding about war was most experienced by those at the home front - primarily women. Perhaps this is why much of female poetry of the time, like Brittain's, focuses on the lamentation and emotion associated with war rather than this

  • Word count: 1418
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Compare and contrast the theme of idolatry in Pat Barkers Regeneration and R.C Sherriffs Journeys End. How far do you agree that Sherriffs presentation is more believable?

Luna smith Compare and contrast the theme of idolatry in Pat Barker's "Regeneration" and R.C Sherriff's "Journey's End". How far do you agree that Sherriff's presentation is more believable? Barker and Sherriff use "Regeneration" and "Journey's End" respectively, in order to convey similar views on idolatry. In both texts this form of adoration and reverence is depicted as flawed and the view is conveyed that other forms of relationship are more constructive. This is achieved by portraying characters in idolatrous relationships which are not conducive to coping with war- namely, the relationships between Raleigh and Stanhope, and between Owen and Sassoon - in parallel to those mutually respectful relationships based on understanding and empathy such as Sassoon and Rivers' and the friendship between Osborne and Stanhope. In "Journey's End" the dramatic form allows for a much starker contrast and consequently the message, and particularly the condemnation of idolatry, is more believable. In both texts the motivations behind the characters' idolatry are explored. Sherriff presents the character of Raleigh as young and naïve, which perhaps accounts for his idolatry. When Raleigh first enters the trench he is oblivious to the realities of war, as is demonstrated when he comments, "I thought there would be an awful row here - all the time" when, in fact, it is the constant

  • Word count: 1704
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Show how the members of the patrol in "The Long and the Short and the Tall" respond to the pressures of the wartime situation, focusing particularly on the presentation of the characters of Macleish and Bamforth.

Josh F Keeler 10.10.00 English Literature Essay: 20th Century Drama Show how the members of the patrol in "The Long and the Short and the Tall" respond to the pressures of the wartime situation, focusing particularly on the presentation of the characters of Macleish and Bamforth. Right from the beginning of the play we see a number of contrasting characters of different nationalities thrown together in a wartime situation. Tensions are running high, the ever-worrying threat of conflict with the Japanese looms large over the patrol. The scene is set in a deserted, palm-thatched store-hut deep in the Malayan jungle with the rumbling of machine gun fire in the distance. The constant fear of attack, dislike of war and resentment of their lot, and the differences in character understandably leads to conflict between the various members of the patrol. The first action of the play occurs when an argument between Bamforth, a loud and confident Cockney, and Macleish, a brash and anxious Scotsman, almost results in a fullblown fight between the two. Nerves are further frayed when Whitaker, the radio operator, while trying his best to contact base, inadvertently receives an incoming message from the Japanese. The prospect of the "Japs" advancing ever closer adds to the increasing tension and introduces a thread of excitement to the

  • Word count: 1606
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

What similarities can you find between Cormac McCarthys The Road and John Steinbecks Grapes of Wrath?

What similarities can you find between Cormac McCarthy's The Road and John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath? The opening of The Road immediately captures the dark mood of the novel. "Nights dark beyond darkness and days more gray each one than what had gone before." This sentence suggests the desolation of the world. Grapes of Wrath similarly starts off with the author describing in vivid detail the setting of the novel. He emphasises the importance of nature and how it can affect the lives of people and force them to become helpless victims. Both authors use compound sentences linked by the coordinating conjunction 'and' to create a deliberately flat style and one reflecting the bleak world the characters find themselves in. Moreover both authors create a foreboding atmosphere by using very desolate phrases to describe the surroundings. For example Another similarity in both novels is the use of pathetic fallacy. There is lots of visual imagery being used in the opening of both novels. Another literary device used is personification. Steinbeck writes "the last rains falls on the "scarred earth". Moreover there are lots of similes being used by both writers. For example McCarthy writes "the banished sun circles the earth like a grieving mother with a lamp." Similarly Steinbeck writes "the sun was as red as ripe new blood". Both these descriptions seem to be very negative and

  • Word count: 604
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

Compare and contrast the ways in which the authors of

Contrast and Compare the ways in which the authors of "Survivors" and "The Dead-Beat" portray the horror of war. "Survivors" by Siegfried Sassoon and "The Dead-Beat" by Wilfred Owen have both similarities and differences in their illustrations of violence and horror during the war, despite the fact that Owen's poetry is heavily influenced by Sassoon. To begin with, the very title 'Survivors' hints at a tragedy (which, of course, proves to be WW1), that the subjects have fought through in order to carry on their lives, the actual word 'survivors' could also be interpreted as showing the men as a select few, with others not being so fortunate as to hold out. When delving deeper into the content of the poem, it becomes clear that the soldiers have not come out of this catastrophe unmaimed; "the shock and strained" graphically depicts the state of the soldiers minds, and the alliteration used for this puts even more emphasis on the point. Yet the title of Owens 'The Dead-Beat' gives the impression of a sluggish, hopeless figure, not one of action. This is a paradox in that 'The Dead-Beat' is actually the more graphic of the two poems, as well as being set (?) at a faster pace: it opens with the words "he dropped--", instantly beginning the poem without need for setting or description, composing pictures of dead bodies, of exhausted soldiers, immediately displaying the violence

  • Word count: 0
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay

The Male Suppression of Female Power: Antoinettes Downfall in Wide Sargasso Sea

Lauren Gallegos Professor Boscagli English 114WR April 20, 2011 The Male Suppression of Female Power: Antoinette's Downfall in Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea is much more then an appropriation of the classic novel Jane Eyre. It evokes poignancy because it serves as a metaphor for female oppression in patriarchal society. Set in the Victorian era, and written during the first wave feminist movement, Wide Sargasso Sea explores the destructive control that civilization pressures men to posses over women. Forced to marry someone subordinate to himself and rely on her economically, Mr. Rochester suppresses Antoinette in order to regain his sense of power and identity. The control driven relationship between Antoinette and Mr. Rochester juxtaposes the two characters' antithetical philosophies, forming Rhys' main leitmotif-the potency of despotic power and its interconnection to sex and culture. Through Rochester's anguish over Antoinette' s economic and sexual dominance, Rhys examines the male tendency to reduce powerful women to objects, stripping them of all emotion, in order to regain their "mandatory" feeling of superiority. Almost immediately upon his arrival at Granbois, Rochester begins to question his hasty and financially motivated marriage to Antoinette. Threatened by the lack of power he holds in his new home, Rochester begins to

  • Word count: 1695
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
Access this essay