In order to further emphasise on the extremity of racial discrimination against the Jews, Auden compares the lives of Jews with that of the Christians. Reference to ‘daily bread’ shows Christian imagery as it is part of the Lord’s prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread”. “They will steal our daily bread” refers to the tension between the Christians and Jews with the Christians having much better standards of lives in society. Contrast is the key to highlighting alienation to the readers. Even from the first stanza of ‘Refugee Blues’ contrast is made as it says:
“Some are living in mansion, some are living in holes.”
The injustice of society can be felt. Any individual from any race should be allowed shelter in his or her own country. The contrast builds up as Auden moves on to compare how Germans treated their pets to the way they treated the Jews as seen in:
“Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin,
Saw a door opened and a cat let in;”
Germans believed the animals were more relevant and worthwhile in society compared to the Jews. The fact that the Jews aren’t even considered as humans but even lesser than animals proves the extreme levels of discrimination. Discrimination has left the Jews so alienated and restrained from society that they envy the ‘free’ animals in nature:
“Went down the harbor and stood upon the quay,
Saw the fish swimming as if they were free.”
For one to envy fish swimming in the water implies how restrained the Jews must have been. Not only does the Jew in the poem envy the fish, but he also envies “the birds in the trees” that have “no politicians and sang at their ease”. The Jew feels more estranged as he sees the birds and fish so close to him but yet they are so far away from him in terms of how carefree the animals are compared to him. He wishes he could have the same amount of freedom as the animals. It can be seen that he wishes people were as peaceful as the carefree fish and birds, which persuades the readers into thinking that peace could bring so much good into the world.
In ‘Disabled’, the theme of isolation is conveyed through the emphasis on regret. The ex-soldier is regretting his decision to join the war. The irony lies upon the fact that he himself was the one who actually lied about his age to become a soldier on the frontlines.
“He asked to join. He didn’t have to beg;
Smiling they wrote his lie; aged nineteen years,”
The fact that the recruitment officials allowed the innocent teenager to “throw away his legs” and scar his own youth injects pathos into the readers. Owen is desperate to prove how detrimental war is in terms of bringing pain and hardship to everyone. Therefore, Owen is also promoting the peace, forgotten through war, similarly to Auden by writing war poems.
However, Owen and Auden express alienation by displaying very different emotions and perspectives from each other. ‘Disabled’ takes a form of third person narrative that displays a clear sense of extreme loss of human dignity. The narrator pictures an isolated man “waiting for dark”. The man’s life now lacks exuberance and he has a lot of time to fantasise or recall past exhilarating memories while he pities how helpless he has become.
“Now, he will spend a few sick years inn institutes
And do whatever the rules consider wise”
War has turned him into a helpless and lonely individual who is always dependent upon others due to his physical disabilities. The fact that the poem was written in third person helps show the sense of loneliness. This is because first person perspective would allow readers to relate to the character more directly, which weakens the whole purpose of creating the sense of loneliness.
“How cold and late it is! Why don’t they come
And put him into bed? Why don’t they come?”
Owen further strengthens alienation towards the character by making him feel forgotten and taken for granted. Describing from the narrator’s perspective, an ex-soldier seeming lonely and irrelevant by others creates a stronger sense of loneliness compared to if it were the ex-soldier talking to himself.
On the other hand, ‘Refugee Blues’ is written in the first person perspective in order to help build a strong connection between the readers and the Jews mentioned in the poem. Auden makes the readers directly feel the same emotions that the Jews are feeling; desolation, helplessness, and vulnerability are gradually emphasised on throughout the poem. Another reason behind Auden’s decision to use the first person perspective is to make the poem sound like a speech from one to his or her loved ones talking about the harsh reality that they have to endure through.
“But there’s no place for us, my dear, but there’s no place for us”
He seems to relating to an individual very close to him; however, his words can be interpreted on a larger scale. The speech that the Jew is giving can be read as something he wrote for all the other Jews restrained under similar circumstances.
Alienation can also be conveyed through the setting of the scene. Owen uses both visual and aural techniques to create an ambience full of dismay and depression for the disabled ex-soldier.
“waiting for dark,
And shivered in his ghastly suit of gray”
From the opening lines of the poem, the readers will already feel the sense of doom and end to life. The man is waiting for his death to come around the corner. Even if his heart is beating, his soul can be said to be dead. By using hues such as “gray” and “dark”, Owen visually creates a very dismal atmosphere. The unpleasantness of the situation is emphasized by aural techniques utilized by Owen. The gruesome sound effect given by the alphabet letter ‘g’ portrays the dark side of war. Him sitting in a “ghastly suit of gray” conveys a very strong image of darkness towards the readers. Consequently, this intensifies the theme of loneliness. The presence of darkness is one of many ways, which Owen portrays the perception of alienation. When a disabled ex-soldier is abandoned by those in society who once cheered his bold decision to join the war, a sense of darkness is felt by the soldier and is directly portrayed to the readers.
With ‘Refugee Blues’ Auden uses assonance, similar to the aural techniques implemented by Owen. Assonance is present via the ‘s’ sound throughout the poem because it resembles whispering that shows secrecy.
“Say this city has ten million souls,
Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes:
Yet there’s no place for us, my dear, yet there’s no place for us.”
The constant repetition of the ‘s’ sound undoubtedly creates the sense of seclusion, which was very common at that era in Germany. The Jews didn’t have freedom of speech and were banned from voicing their opinions and thoughts to the general public.
Last but not least, imagery is a factor that seems to be present vividly in both poems. Imagery helps create a visual image for readers who may not have experienced war. ‘The brutality and abomination of war is the image depicted by the detailed and descriptive adjectives and adverbs in the poems. For instance, in ‘Disabled’, the visual image of the ex-soldier through colours is essential:
“He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark,
And shivered in his ghastly suit of gray”
Detailed mentioning of colours to describe the man’s current status portrays the gloomy mood. Owen also creates a much more gratifying and pleasurable image of the disabled man’s youth:
“When glow-lamps budded in the light blue trees
And girls glanced lovelier as the air grew dim”
The readers can see how the bright and light colours of the man’s youth was gradually shaded into the dark and gloomy colours of the man’s current status and his possible future.
How influential is war? How much of an impact can war have on individuals? According to Owen and Auden, all that war results in is disgust and alienation. ‘Disabled’ and ‘Refugee Blues’ are set on two very different historical backgrounds: World War I and World War II respectively. They both consist of different themes and perspectives. However, both poems still manage to reach the same conclusion of war being a monstrous and atrocious thing and that it has been the cause of many cases of alienation in society. Many can see wars’ brighter sides such as bravery, heroism, and patriotism but how many can actually see the harsh reality of war and the immense sense of alienation it leaves behind that traumatises certain individuals in today’s society?
