Preview

How Do Wilfred Owen in the Poem ‘Disabled’ and Sebastian Faulks on ‘the Last Night’ Highlight the Effects of War on the Characters Described?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
356 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Do Wilfred Owen in the Poem ‘Disabled’ and Sebastian Faulks on ‘the Last Night’ Highlight the Effects of War on the Characters Described?
War in general only has negative effects on people, it tears family apart, desensitizes people, turn people pessimistic, nostalgic and worst of all it kills people. The most devastating affects of war are not only experienced by the soldiers but also by the innocent people including children, not only that but it completely strips the identity off a soldier which is shown in the poem ‘Disabled’. War also has an effect on young children, making them think in a more mature manner and brings solidarity to people and this is conveyed in ‘The Last Night’.

Wilfred Owen was an English poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War. While he was recovering at a hospital he met Siegfried Sassoon, and that was when he found his passion for poetry. His shocking, realistic war poetry on the horrors of war and the effects it has on people such as, solidarity, loss of hope, pessimism, nostalgia, isolation and disillusionment. In this essay I will be focussing on one of his poems called ‘disabled’.

Sebastian Faulks is a contemporary writer who writes about war and the effects of it which is very similar to Wilfred Owen. The extract that I will be focussing on is from the novel called ‘The Last Night’ from Charlotte Gray, which is set in Vichy France while it’s under Nazi Germany control.

In this essay I will be exploring the way the poet conveys the effects that war has on people in everyday life and the techniques the two writers used from the poem ‘Disabled’ by Wilfred Owen and an extract from the novella called ‘The Last Night’ by Sebastian Faulks.

Wilfred Owen explores the idea of war impacts on a soldier’s feelings showing hopelessness and isolation – how it completely cuts of off reality and the absolute loss of hope in the soldier. He conveys this effect on a soldier who got injured after war in the poem ‘Disable’ through the use poetic language and metaphors. He shows this as the soldier is ‘sat in his wheelchair, waiting for the dark.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Wilfred Owen Essay

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Wilfred Owen successfully creates the truthful and terrifying image of war within his poems. The loss, sacrifice, urgency and pity of war are shown within the themes of his poetry and the use of strong figurative language; sensory imagery and tone contribute to the reader. This enables the reader to appreciate Owen’s comments about the hopelessness of war and the sacrifice the men around him went through within his poems, ‘Dulce et Decorum Est.’ and ‘Futility’.…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Poetry Analysis Essay

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages

    War is a part of our world and has been since the beginning of time. Through war, men have been given the opportunity to fight for freedom, for their country and for their beliefs. Young men have marched into an abyss, some never to return again. They have faced death on a daily basis and the way in which some of these soldiers have responded is through verse. The four poems entitled “Dulce et Decorum Est” and “Disabled” by Wilfred Owen, “Conscript” by FA Horn and “The Photograph” by Peter Kocan have aroused different emotions in their reader including…

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A study in to the way war affects the soldiers fighting in them in terms of mental and physical health with reference to Pat Barkers “Regeneration”, Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” and Penguins anthology “Poems of the Great War 1914-1918.…

    • 2527 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    2009 HSC QUESTIONS 1

    • 1435 Words
    • 1 Page

    The recollection of Wilfred Owen’s poetry epitomise the true depiction of war and consequently the dehumanising ramifications of warfare. Influenced by the extremities and first hand experiences on the battlefield, Owen’s poetry encapsulates the extraordinary human experiences to the degree of unbearable suffering and extreme states of dehumanisation. Owen’s vivid portrayal of war corresponds to his personal endeavour in condemning the misconceptions of war; where he manifests the brutal reality and the detrimental aspects of warfare- the powerful and destructive entity of war; the dehumanising consequences of slaughter; and the abhorrent physiological, psychological and emotional trauma suffered through modern warfare. These aspects are incorporated into the texts which correspond to Owen’s portrayal of suffering and pity; revolving Owen’s poetry on the basis of extraordinary human experiences.…

    • 1435 Words
    • 1 Page
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Contrary to popular beliefs which state that war glorifies patriotism and machoism; Wilfred Owen's 'The War Poems' strips back all that is perceived as good and warns readers of the dark underbelly of war. By targeting all the senses of the readers, Owen is able to reveal the main message that lies beneath all the words of his poetry: war is futile. By examining the warnings and messages Owen tries to convey, not only do the detrimental effects of war on a soldier's mentality become stark; readers are also allowed to immerse themselves into a world filled with war propaganda. In constructing his poetry in such a way, the warnings of the horrors of war act as a deterrent to all of those who still believe the Old Lie: 'Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori'.…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Wilfred Owen's poems 'Disabled' and 'Mental Cases' each portray very different aspects of war and its consequences. As their names suggest, 'Mental Cases' is about the psychological effects war had on soldiers, whereas 'Disabled' focuses more on the physical consequences of war. However, in both poems the physical and mental costs are all intertwined, and although they describe very different situations, in many ways the poems are alike in their portrayal of the consequences of war overall.…

    • 1944 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    A poem written by the World War One poet, Wilfred Owen, is 'Exposure'. This poem is set out to show the reader what the conditions were really like during the First World War and to make it clear that the events that surrounded him, were not pleasant. In this essay, I am going to write about how Owen exposes the pointlessness of War, throughout this poem.…

    • 2093 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The ‘horrors of war’ have been conveyed through the over-glorification of war and emotional distress due to witnessing an innocent individual being victimized to war. Denise Levertov and Wilfred Owen’s poems highlight these points through their highly acclaimed war poetry ‘Weeping Woman’ and ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est.’ Utilizing poetic devices and techniques such as imagery, hyperbole, simile, symbolism, anaphora and personification to convey their message across to the audience.…

    • 915 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wilfred Owen was not only a soldier exposed to the horrific realities of war, he was also a talented poet who addresses important themes within his poetry such as the false glorification of war. His vivid and visceral descriptions of the horrors of war also strongly addressed the futility of war that people should not have to endure in any lifetime. When exploring his poetry, the audience is compelled to question ‘Was Owen aware that he would never return to…

    • 1333 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this essay I am going to compare and contrast how Owen presents the horror of war. We are going to be looking at two of Wilfred Owen’s poems “Dulce et decorum est” and “Anthem for doomed youth” Two very dark poems laced with the horror of war, Both poems are dark and disturbing and use persuasive language such as metaphors, rhetorical questions and alliteration to get their point across, that war isn’t great and glamorous like all young men were told at that time.…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Conflict can bare negative consequences on people’s lives forcing them to do things they wouldn’t choose to do and breaking them mentally. The commonly recognized conflict of war changes people’s life’s in many ways but in the poem ‘Disabled’ by Wilfred Owen sharing the story of a battered war veteran, shows that it has had a depressing effect on the main character. The tribulations of war not only affected him physically by needing three of his limbs amputated but affected him deep down, making him feel less of the man he use to be. The conflict of war had changed him from an attractive ladies man to nothing but a saddened and crippled figure left to spend years in an institution.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Wilfred Owen

    • 1268 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Wilfred Owen, having experienced WW1, skilfully conveys to us the nature of war and the horrific experiences and circumstances which come hand in hand with WW1 in particular. Owen’s intense focus on these experiences compels its readers to understand and empathise with both the men at war and the people back at the home front.…

    • 1268 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Wilfred Owen - War

    • 1393 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The nature of war is horrific and dehumanising. It is an extreme experience that deals with the obscenity of death and sacrifice for your country that pushes the individual to their emotional and physical limitations. Wilfred Owens poetry is a passionate expression of outrage at the horrors of war and of the pity for the young soldiers scarified in it, this is shown though a variety of poetic techniques. Owen explores the physical horror that war represents in “Dulce et Decorum Est”, this poem condemns those who glorified the war and tempted men to join the army with heroic rhetoric and looks at the realistic physical outcome of war. In “Disabled” Wilfred conveys the physical and long lasting effects that war leaves on the individual. By exploring these poems it compels the reader and gives them a better understanding of the experiences and harsh nature of war.…

    • 1393 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wilfred Owen was a British soldier and poet in WW1. He was thoroughly shocked by the horrors of war and based his poetry on his various experiences. In his poem, “Disabled”, he highlights the loss and pity of war, while in his poem “Dulce Et Decorum Est” he emphasises that there is no glory or honour in dying in war. Through the use of vivid visual imagery and various literary techniques he is able to develop these themes and make us question humanity and the purpose of war.…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Wilfred Owen Poems

    • 2350 Words
    • 10 Pages

    - he once felt “how slim girls waits are or how warm their subtle hands”…

    • 2350 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays