Compare and contrast the fictional letters in 'Birdsong' with the real letters written to Vera Brittain by Edward Brittain and Roland Leighton. Which do you find more moving and powerful and why?

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Compare and contrast the fictional letters in ‘Birdsong’ with the real letters written to Vera Brittain by Edward Brittain and Roland Leighton. Which do you find more moving and powerful and why?

        The letters sent in the war were one of the most important ways of communicating with loved ones. A stereotypical view would be that letters would seem quite heart-felt and filled with detailed descriptions of the reality thrown at the soldiers. However in reality the emotion doesn’t come across frequently. In ‘Birdsong,’ Faulks picks out key elements to format emotive letters. The tone of each letter varies, but a general positive attitude comes across through the letters, with the exception of ‘Stephen’s’ letter. The tone in ‘E.Brittain’s’ and ‘Leighton’s’ letters did not make much of an impression; it was a detailed account of their normality in the war. Their viewpoint of the war did not seem to emerge. Both letters consists of war jargon and formal language which prevents their true feelings to be empathised with, making their letters less moving than ‘Faulk’s’ fictional letters. In contrast with the reality, the readers can vaguely pick up on the characters’ viewpoint in ‘Birdsong’ through the language and tone making the letters to appear more powerful.

        ‘Faulks’ has intentionally written the character’s letters before the Battle of the Somme. In ‘Weir’s’ letter the first thing he says is “We are going to attack.” As readers we know how horrific the battle was, so immediately we can sense the naivety and the blindness of his character. In all the letters, there is a constant repetition of this. ‘Stephen’ is the only character who can see the premonition that “some crime against nature is about to be committed.” His letter is the only one, which shows negativity towards the war. He is sending his letter to ‘Isabelle,’ fully aware that she may not receive it. He contemplates his feelings of death and his present situation in his letter. The content of the letter gives the reader a clear picture of war life, which engages us to read more. ‘Stephen’s’ letter can be contrasted with the other letters in the chapter. The reader can recognise more excitement and even hope in the other characters’ letters. Their letter’s contain the information that the characters are going to attack and their warm wishes to their family back home, making the content of the letters seem a lot more personal. The letters written from ‘Leighton’ does not present itself to be personal. The content of the letter appears to be a log of the event in his day. “The Germans started shelling the town again…” “ The Rue Victor Hugo is just around the corner.” “We go in tonight and are relieved on Tuesday evening.” These quotations come from ‘Leighton’s’ letter written 11th April 1915, the first day in the war life. Considering this was his first day at war, it would be expected that there should be some emotion of excitement, perhaps fear, but none of that is portrayed, making the letter less moving. ‘E.Brittain’s’ letters were extremely short; they are like short bulletins. The reader could interpret this in different ways. Perhaps he was genuinely too busy to write his letters, or perhaps he could not bring himself to write about what his days were filled with. Judging from the content of all non-fictional and fictional letters, the fictional are more powerful in drawing the reader’s attention and empathy.        

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The letters written by ‘Leighton’ were all informative but there is a lack of attention on how he was feeling. His letters were quite self contained, he only ever showed any feelings at the end of his letters. “Yours always”, “…much love. I have been kissing your photograph.” This can be compared to ‘Weir’s’ letter in ‘Birdsong.’ Again his letter was self-contained, and quite formal. He ends his letter with: “From your son Michael.” This doesn’t show much emotion, however it is a sub-consciously touching. ‘Stephen’s’ tone in his letter is quite bitter but comes across as a realistic feeling, ...

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