Faulks resents the soldier’s experiences of war by making frequent deaths seem part of everyday life. At one point in the novel a big mistake is made by jack, 4 soldiers die because of it. However the soldiers barely seem to be affected by it in any way at all. Jack has just cost 4 soldiers their lives by not hearing the explosion, however instead of feeling guilt, he feels nothing. The soldiers have become so accustom to death. “Don’t worry, anyone can make a mistake.” Tyson acts as if this is only a small mistake, when in reality 4 people dying is massive things however in the trenches the attitudes of the soldiers are almost un human. The fact the soldiers drink tea after the deaths could symbolise how normal these occurrences have become, death is a part of their lives. Faulks has presented death as so normal that the men can have a cup of tea and a small discussion over it. Whereas if someone died in the real world you wouldn’t want to talk about it, because the shocking occurrence would make it hard to think about.
Most of the soldiers found war a living hell. Many struggled with the things they would see and the constant noise of explosions and gunfire. “It would make no difference to the outcome of the war weather he himself lived or died; it made no difference whether today it was turner whose head was blown from his body, or whether tomorrow it was his or Shaw’s or Tyson’s. Let them die, he prayed, shamefully; let them die, but please god let me live. This quote reflects how many of the soldiers would think during the war. They all realised the futility of it all, they knew themselves as an individuals they made no difference to the outcome of the war. This is a somewhat cry out of desperation to live through the war and return home to their false reality. This is symbolic of how many of the soldiers would think; it may come across as selfish because they’re only thinking of themselves. However in these circumstances all of the soldiers would be...