Explore How Faulks Presents the Psychological Effects of War in ‘Birdsong’ Essay Example

Explore How Faulks Presents the Psychological Effects of War in ‘Birdsong’ Essay Throughout ‘Birdsong’ Sebastian Faulks presents the psychological effects through themes, characters and setting. The persistence of psychological trauma haunts characters throughout the novel and presents readers with a sense of true horror through the physical and mental conditions Faulks creates for his characters. This essay will be examining the way the author does this through his exploration of language, characters and techniques.Men had to leave their homes; family, wives and women were left behind when going off to war. Once leaving their women and their femininity behind, the men become deprived of sexual encounters and experiences, forgetting how to treat women. Stephen describes a woman as ‘a soft creature’ to create emphasis that he only sees women just to either scorn or pity them. This implies because of the psychological effects of sexual deprivation, Stephen doesn’t know how to perceive human beings because he’s seen many horre ndous things during the war, thus making things unidentifiable for him; leaving the readers to have a sense of sympathy for him.The reader witnesses Stephen’s tainted perception when approaching the prostitute, Stephen’s mind ‘emptied’ and ‘his tenderness was replaced by revulsion’. The structure in which the author portrays this is ambiguous because it opens the question whether he was disgusted by the prostitute or his own actions since he was ‘losing control’ and perceiving the ‘body was no was no more than human matter’. Now that Stephen is close to a woman after such a long time, it reveals an animalistic and dehumanising aspect to his personality that the war has inflicted on him which neither he nor the readers have experienced.In Part 2, after Weir encounters his failed sexual experience with a prostitute, he violently ‘hissed’ explaining he wanted ‘to leave’. Faulks creates the delib erate ambiguity to allow the readers to infer what might happen, which leave us with ambiguous and mortifying thoughts since Weir’s sexual deprivation proves to be counterproductive, suggesting to readers he is a coward and ultimately affecting his judgement later in the novel. In Part Four, ‘Weir ordered his tunnel to be evacuated’ which seemed to be the right thing to do, but ‘left two or three men’ down there. His judgement is altered later on since it was his ‘idea to put them down there’ leaving those three men to die. Because of this, the men had lost their lives due to his incorrect ‘duty rota’ he created. Furthermore, the readers now know that his decision-making was wrong and argumentatively cowardly.Once the men are away from war, their perception of life changes drastically and we see this through the stream of consciousness of Weir as the ‘mahogany of the chest looked alien’. This presents to readers that the psychological effect of war has made Weir feel alienated and feels like an outsider in his own home, presenting us a sense of realism to what the soldiers had to endure either on leave or after the war. Furthermore, its shows that the soldiers were so used to the ugliness of war and the naturalism of the mahogany presents to readers irony of how something that originates from natural substance could be estranged. When Weir returns, his body and mind has to get used to the ‘denseness of the silence’ that ‘pressed his ears.’ The metaphor ‘denseness of the silence’ shows readers how different the home front is, compared to that of how noisy the war was. The intertextuality of this shows readers that Weir feels out of place, suggesting he had become accustomed to war life. Leading from this, Weir feels psychologically out of place, like he is living in a different world with a sense of displacement.By constantly portraying the men as bein g dehumanised, Faulks presents this to the readers as a continuous perceptual construction of the war through the eyes of the soldiers. Through the entire novel, characters constantly think about death and how ‘death had no meaning’. This metaphor of death to illustrate for the readers a sense of realism and a true insight to what the psychological effects of war were like; people feared death the most in life and now even this has become meaningless, especially to the ones who have seen their comrades severely injured or die during battle.This links back to Jack when he had thought he was ‘immune to death’, but Faulks uses irony to expose him and readers to the setting when Jack was ‘underground with several hundred thousand tons of France above his face’ to symbolise that no one was safe, everyone is exposed; underground or above ground, dead or alive: you cannot hide from death when you are in the war. It could be suggested that Faulks is po rtraying the soldier’s naivety and innocence, by having ‘not to think’ anymore, expressing that their basic human characteristics of fear have simply disappeared. Faulks mentions how soldiers have been ‘unmoved by violence, hardened to the mutilation’ revealing to us how the psychological effects of war have affected men since they have become hardened by the loss of life they have seen, which has left them emotionless through their experiences leaving ‘only this physical mass’.As the novel progresses we are introduced to Elizabeth and explore the psychological effect of how war has affected her. Faulks portrays her character that seems to devote her life in a quest for knowledge of her Grandfather, Stephen. At first, we see her horrified at the information she has received, but because of her ignorance toward the war, she ‘always appreciate what sacrifices were made for them’, forgetting ‘Her nerves’ that †˜failed’ her when she called the ‘very old man’. The verb ‘failed’ shows readers that her emotions have been defeated, suggesting she desperately wanted to be successful and wasn’t prepared to fail, showing her ignorance about the war and its consequences.Faulks explores her ignorance through Gray when she asked him ‘Was he funny? Gray replies in a sardonic tone as ‘Funny? It was war’ highlighting her ignorance once more leading her to wish ‘she hadn’t come’ which shows her disappointment. All these negative psychological effects of her search soon turned to positivity and happiness. For instance, Elizabeth ‘would repay the debt; she would complete the circle’. Evidently, this shows that through unlocking her past, she would feel a sense of achievement and complete wholeness, leaving no margins for bitterness or negativity. Overall, she had ‘overcome her disappointment’; again showing the positive psychological effect and changes the information has been for her.Ultimately, war did corrupt the characters’ minds at one point or another, showing the reality and the implacable horrors of war. Through writing this novel, Faulks allows his imagination, views and personal opinions to create the real devastation of how both men and women psychologically changed during and, arguably, after war. Faulks explores these psychological effects throughout ‘Birdsong’ to his readers so that they can get a true feeling about the idea of how both men and women coped with the war and how it affected their lives during and after.

Graphing Calculators essays

Graphing Calculators essays Students begin the study of algebra. The numbers of those who do not understand are gradually reduced. They struggle at first, and eventually most begin to understand. Or do they? Studies would suggest otherwise. A great amount of research has been done in the past decade in an attempt to find out why Americans are consistently near the bottom on international comparative studies in mathematics. The minimum requirements of most universities establish a passing high school grade in one algebra, and one geometry course, as necessary for acceptance. Failure to meet these requirements excludes thousands each year from college entrance. A significantly large percentage of those who do pass, enter college with deficiencies in mathematics. Even upon completion of college algebra the struggle is not over. Calculus is the final summit that looms over the prospective college graduate. Demana (1995) says, Though college students may have had as much as 2 Â ½ years of algebra instruction, one of the most common complaints that we hear from our colleagues about college calculus students is that the algebra preparation for calculus is very poor. And it is our experience that this criticism is a valid one. American performance when compared internationally is alarmingly, but not surprisingly weak. In a recent study that compared four nations, the United States was ranked last. In most areas of relevance, Americans were three to five times behind the other countries (Brenner, Herman, Hsiu-Zu Ho, Barbara, 1999). The focus of much research on international mathematics competency has been the ability of the pupil to obtain a correct answer (Herman, 1995). In the study entitled Cross National Comparison of Representational Competence (Brenner, Herman, Hsiu-Zu Ho, Barbara, 1999), the authors take a unique approach. Past research establishes that American students tend to utilize a visual technique in ...

Choose one of these article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Choose one of these article - Essay Example that in the above quotation, Confucius no way intends to convey that individuals born in nobility do not happen to accrue superiority by the dint of their birth and the privileges they have access to. It is a fact that Confucius supported the upholding on the old norms, ideals and values. However, while cherishing the old, in this quotation Confucius also does make way for a possibility of social mobility achieved through self worth and personal talent (Rainey, 2010, p. 18). Thereby, Confucius is making the echelons of power more open and accessible to the commoners who aspired to wrest social recognition and privileges through hard work and ingenuity (Rogers, 1993). Therefore, one simply cannot help appreciating this Confucian twist to the traditional Chinese idea of a ‘superior man’, eking in a way of harmonizing the claims of the aristocratic class with the aspirations of the more ambitious commoners. One can certainly discern the hint that this Confucian idea of the ‘superior man’, and its association with self worth and personal ability is indicative of a society, which though still governed by the nobility, is yet, gradually becoming more open. In that context the Confucian inclination of preserving the old, while welcoming the new is amply implicit in the given quotation. If one correlates the given quotation with the available historical facts, it is well known that irrespective of being a gentleman of noble birth, Confucius did allow individuals from the lower social strata to become his followers or students (Rainey, 2010, p. 18). In other words, Confucius was respective of and understanding towards the idea of social mobility and a notion of social status and position, directly ensuing from the actual abilities, efforts and drive of a person (Rogers, 1993, p. 46). Confucius does agree to in this quotation that the social space dominated by the nobility and th e aristocratic class could not remain impervious to an individual who is willing to put

MIH543 - Perspectives on Abuse Violence Module 5 - Case Essay

MIH543 - Perspectives on Abuse Violence Module 5 - Case - Essay Example Ethnic cleansing and genocide are frequently used interchangeably in a wrong sense. In reality, both of them are different terms and there is profound difference between the two. This is because, while genocide is an attempt to exterminate a minority, ethnic cleansing is a method to expel the minority. Thus, genocide is a type of ethnic cleansing. Genocide may be defined as any act that is aimed at systematic expulsion of a particular group of individuals from their homes either through threat or by force (Naimark, 2001). Infact, genocide is considered as an element of war crime and is considered a crime against humanity. Genocide is against the law and has a juridicial status. The term has specific definitions and has a meaning even in international law. People who are involved in genocide and get convicted like general Radoslav Krstic who was convicted for geneocide, later on appeal was convicted only for accomplice of genocide ("Prosecutor v. Krstic":56). A classic example of geno cide is the mass murder of about 7500 Bosnian muslims at Srebrenica. Thus ethnic cleaning and genocide occupy positions which are adjacent in the spectrum of violence against religions, countries and minorities. In some situations, ethnic cleansing is referred to as "forced deportation" or "population transfer". The means used to achieve this can be legal or semilegal. hence it can be said that genocide is the most extreme form of ethnic cleansing and as Michael Mann put it, it can be called as â€Å"murderous ethnic cleansing† (Mann, 2005:11). As such forced deportation occurs mainly during times of war or aggression and people seldom leave their homes during peace time. This is because each and every individual is attached to their land which their fore fathers cultivated and lived in. In my opinion, both ethnic cleansing and genocide are the same, both are inhuman and against the law. Both can have devastating

The Blood Brothers Essay Example for Free

The Blood Brothers Essay Willy Russell writes entertaining drama about believable characters and champions the cause of the socially disadvantaged. With reference to the historical and social context of Blood Brothers, analyse the accuracy of this statement. Blood Brothers is a musical play written in the 1980s during a recession in a United Kingdom. Written by Willy Russell, the play revolves around the subject of social class, which is definitely a constant theme throughout the play. Set in Liverpool, the story centres on a set of twins that are separated at birth with both mothers desperately trying to keep them apart in vain. In this essay I will analyse the accuracy of the statement above and relate to it throughout this essay. Russell uses a variety of techniques to make Blood Brothers an entertaining piece of drama. One way he portrays the story in an effective way to engage the audience, is by using dramatic tension. Dramatic tension is used when Mrs Lyons blackmails Mrs Johnstone to not tell anyone that the two boys are brothers, by using her fear of superstition. They say they say that if either twin learns that he was once a pair, they shall both immediately die. You wont tell anyone about this Mrs Johnstone; because of you do you will kill them. This section of the play is an excellent example of dramatic tension as it creates suspense and makes the audience sympathise with Mrs Johnstone. Dramatic irony is also another technique Russell uses to entertain the audience. The section of the play where Mickey and Edward meet as young children is great example if this. Ey, we were born on the same day that means we can be blood brothers. Do you want to be my blood brother, Eddie? The audience (and the narrators) know the full story, and know that Mickey and Eddie dont need to be blood brothers because they are already real brothers, and share the same blood. This frees up the audience to observe the implications of the characters actions and having an advantage over the story, by knowing the full plot. Blood Brothers is a musical play, and the songs involved, play an important role throughout. As well as keeping the audience entertained the songs gives us character insight, provides extra information, and carries along the storyline. The songs emphasise and highlight key moments during the play, and make the audience aware of their importance. Techniques such as foreshadowing are made clearer, and the music portrays certain moods making characters emotions and thoughts clearer. An interesting technique Russell has used at the beginning of the play is by using a prologue. This is a very effective way to engage the audience, by giving the audience an insight into the plot for example of one womb born on the self same day, how one was kept and one given away It brings forth questions in the audiences mind and the answers are revealed as the story unfolds. It frees up the audience to speculate the storyline and how the ending came to be. This intricate plot structure shows how the characters actions have severe consequences throughout the story An did you never hear how the Jonstones died, never knowing that they shared one name Foreshadowing is fantastic technique that Russell uses successfully in the prologue and throughout the play. Foreshadowing is when events that happening later on in the play are foretold or hinted by earlier events. The prologue makes foreshadowing possible because the end is revealed to the audience and makes them look for possible omens of this during the story. There are many great examples of this throughout the play, especially in the beginning when the children are playing with toy guns. But you know that if you cross your fingers, and if you count from one to ten, you can get up off the ground again, it doesnt matter the whole things just a game. The reference to guns and its just a game is repeated throughout the play, and relates to the twins death at the end as both of them are shot. At the end of the play its not just a childish game, and the reality becomes too difficult for the characters to deal with. The quotation implies a long for childish innocence from all the characters, and a cry for help from the tragic ending. Although the outcome of the Blood Brothers storyline is tragic, Russell adds comedy and humour throughout. When the boys first meet, an example of Russells humour occurs; So they took him to the hospital an put a plate in his head A plate? A dinner plate? Russell lightens the mood by injecting humour into a scene full of tension and irony. The comedy in the play makes Blood Brothers a more enjoyable and entertaining piece of drama for the audience to watch. By adding this childlike humour into the play, it shows that Russell can invent realistic and believable characters which make the audience more likely to sympathise with the characters. As well as having a great understanding of young children, Russell also has an understanding of adolescents as well. Linda, I wanna kiss y an kiss y but I dont know how to tell y because Ive got pimples an me feet are too big an me bum sticks out

The Nuclear Power Debate Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Nuclear Power Debate   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1953, nuclear energy was introduced into America as a cheap and efficient energy source, favoured in place of increasingly scarce fossil fuels which caused air pollution. Its initial use was welcomed by the general public, as it was hoped to lower the price of electricity, and utilise nuclear power for it's potential as a resource, not a weapon. However, as people became aware of the long term dangers involved in storing nuclear waste, it's use was criticised. Two accidents, at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, demonstrated to the world the enormous risks involved in producing nuclear power.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nuclear power provides 17% of the world's electricity but coal is the main source, making up 39%. However, fossil fuels such as coal, require greater quantities to produce the equivalent amount of electricity produced from Uranium. The use of nuclear power opposed to burning fossil fuels has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 2 billion tonnes per year, minimising the global warming effect on the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is responsible for half of man made gases contributing to the Greenhouse Effect, and has sparked action from the UN Intergovernment Panel on Climate Change. Their consensus is a concern for the environment in the next century if fossil fuels continue to be used, even at present global levels. The Panel claims that for carbon dioxide to be stabilised to safe levels, a 50-80% reduction in all emissions would be ...

Alternative Ending To Catcher in the Rye Essay

Anyway, I really did go home after the carrousel. First, Phoebe and I walked out of the park and took the bus to Grand Central, to get my god dam Gladstone’s out of the strong box there. Though it had stopped hammering down, I was still pretty wet. Boy, it really came down like a madman. I still had ‘Phoebe’s’ red hunting hat on, it was soaking wet though. I didn’t care though. â€Å"I’m glad we’re both going home now, Holden†, she said. â€Å"I’m just ready to get this over with†, I said, â€Å"Mom and dad will cry.† â€Å"Don’t worry, Holden. It’ll be okay†, Phoebe said. She squeezed my hand which she was holding and smiled. It just about killed me. We had most of Phoebe’s Christmas dough, so we got my Gladstone’s, and took the bus to 72nd street. There were a bunch of kids at the back of the bus. They were all horsing around, laughing and all. We sat next to them. We took up a lot of room, since we had my two suitcases, plus my old suitcase with Phoebe’s stuff in it. I heard some kid say, â€Å"Phoebe, your brother found you!† I looked across the bus. It was that kid I met in the park yesterday, the girls who roller skates I’d tightened and all. â€Å"Holden’s coming to see me in the play†, she said to the girl. She tugged my arm, â€Å"This is my brother Holden, Holden, this is Susie. She’s in the play too!† â€Å"Yes†, Susie said, â€Å"It should be really great†. She was so polite. I really liked her. I usually like Phoebe’s friends when I first meet them. Phoebe and Susie helped me get my mind off of how I was about to face my parents. I was worried about my mom. I tried not to think of how hysterical she’d get. Phoebe said mom and dad were coming home at around 7. It was 4 now. We got off the bus at 72nd street, said goodbye to Susie and all, and then walked home. â€Å"How are Mr. and Mrs. Antolini?† she asked me. â€Å"They’re doing pretty good†, I said. Of course I would never tell her what really happened. I still couldn’t believe it. Had he always liked me in a flirty way? We got home, and I took my suitcases into my room and I lay down on my bed. I was pretty tired. All of a sudden i got to thinking about Pencey. I wondered what they were all saying about me back there. I started thinking maybe I was wrong, leaving so suddenly after that god dam little tiff with Stradlater. He’s really not a bad guy. In fact, I sort of missed him. I’ll give old Jane a bell tomorrow, if it’s not too crazy here. So I unpacked a few things in my room, and smoked all of my cigarettes. I was so god dam nervous. Around 7 o’clock, mom and dad walked in together. At the time, I was right there in the hallway, so they saw me right away. I really didn’t care if they yelled at me. I felt numb and empty inside. I was really hungry, but too worried to eat. If you want to know the truth, I was in pretty bad shape. Even though I changed and washed before mom and dad came home, I felt that I must have looked a state. I hadn’t shaved in a few days. Anyway, they looked all dressed up and nice when they came through the door. â€Å"Holden! What’s going on? What are you doing here? Its’ Tuesday†, my dad said. I took a deep breath, and then started coughing all over the place. Christ, what a time to have a coughing fit ey? I finally cleared my throat. â€Å"Well†, I said, â€Å"I†¦I got kicked out again. I’m really sorry† â€Å"Damn it, Holden! I can’t take it anymore!† Dad yelled. Mom had already started sobbing. I felt awful. Seeing Mom cry really killed me. â€Å"Holden, what the hell is wrong with you!? I paid a ton of money to send you to these schools and all you do is get kicked out every god dam time! I know you’re not stupid! You can pass these classes! I know it’s that you’re not applying yourself!† Boy was he mad. His face was all red, and all these veins were sticking out in his neck. I was kinda scared that he would hit me. We’re a pretty non-violent family. I was thinking about Allie the whole time Dad was yelling at me. I don’t know how long the whole thing lasted. â€Å"Damn it, Holden, you’ve really pushed my buttons this time! Look at how well DB and Phoebe are doing. Can’t you follow their lead?† Mom was just sobbing the whole time that the argument was going on. I started drifting off again, I thought about Mr. Antolini. I could be there now, having an intellectual conversation with him, smoking a cigarette. I kept thinking about him patting me on the head. Does he look at me as another son figure? Or does he have feelings for me? Or was he just really drunk? It didn’t seem right at all. When I got there, he should have noticed how tired I was and just let me sleep. So, Dad was kept on yelling at me and sent me to my room. I walked into my room, shut the door, and lay down on my bed again and lit a cigarette that I found in my hounds tooth jacket pocket. I hardly ever see Dad this mad. I heard my mom crying in their bedroom, and my father trying to comfort her. I started thinking of the military school. I knew I’d hate it there, even more than the other schools I’d been to. The next thing I knew, I was sort of crying. Normally I’m not a huge crier, but here I was, crying my god dam eyes out. I heard a little knock at the door, and old Phoebe came in. â€Å"I heard you crying, don’t worry Holden, everything will blow over†. She sat on the side of my bed and hugged me. Trust Phoebe to do something phony like that, but all the same, it was kinda cute. Phoebe went to bed at around 9 o’clock and I was still awake by 11. I couldn’t sleep. I felt kinda weak, and I kept coughing like a madman. That’s about it, that’s all I’m gonna tell you. I could go on and tell you about the military school and Phoebe and all. But I think I told too much already.