Themes - CCEAThe horror of war

It is Alec’s father Frederick who first gives an opinion on war when he comments that those who are pro-war are “Damn bloody fools.”

He also describes the young men who sign up as “Food for cannons”.

When he asks in desperation that his son not be sent to war his wife responds with the phrase “Dulce et decorum est …”.

This Latin phrase comes from a line written by the Roman poet Horace, “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” which means ‘It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country’.

Intertextuality is significant here because today we know the line from Wilfred Owen’s poem Dulce et Decorum Est.

Owen - who fought and died in World War One - became one of the leading poets of that conflict. He was famous for depicting the horrors of the trenches and the futility of war.

Dramatic irony

This line from Alicia is used by Johnston as dramatic irony because the modern reader - familiar with Owen’s poem - is reminded of the horrific scenes of despair and devastation evoked in his work.

Reading Dulce et Decorum Est will give you an insight into the real experiences of those on the front line.

Owen’s poetry exposes the glamour and heroism associated with fighting for one’s country in war propaganda and in the poetry of writers like Jessie Pope as false and misleading.

Johnston portrays trench life convincingly in the scenes in Flanders. Days are cold, wet and uncomfortable. Soldiers are surrounded by the sounds of war at all times.

References to rats, fleas and dead bodies highlight how difficult life was for men who had been promised heroic status and glory.

Psychological problems

One horrific incident is particularly significant.

A soldier is left in no man’s land screaming for days before being stabbed by Major Glendinning.

This shows not only the suffering of men who were wounded physically, but also the psychological problems endured from witnessing such horrors.

Shell shock - now known as post-traumatic stress disorder - was common as men came back traumatised by their experiences and the sights they saw.

The two main characters are dead and awaiting death by the end of the novel. The reader is therefore reminded of the great losses in war.

Johnston encourages us to question the wisdom of young, able, intelligent men with great potential being wasted in this no man’s land.

Johnston also uses Major Glendinning to make the reader question the decisions and behaviour of the upper class men in charge of the war. We see those with power dehumanise the men in their charge.

Glendinning describes his men as “Illiterate peasants, rascals and schoolboys”, showing his feeling that they are inferior to him.

He declares that there will be “no flaw in the machinery”, indicating that he has no care for his men as people but only cogs in a war machine.