Mason Flashcards
role
- an army officer’s servant.
-He is presented as less well educated than the officers and of a much lower class due to his accent
-he provides comic relief and coping mechanisms making each scene funnier in the bleak war
-he is hardworking and tries his best and is often place by Stanhope but is resilient and humorous, offering light relief and a sense of normality against which the madness of the war seems even more apparent and sad as its all temporary
-HE OFTEN apologises about the food quality representing usability to control in war not even food-it is a deiced fate’
class
-‘‘e said a leopard can’t change its spot, sir’ (pg 22) meaning its impossible for one to change character. metaphor could link to him ‘e his class contrast with character no matter how hard he works; and also for other characters.
See in 1918 there was a big social gap when the rich did not want to be associated with the poor but they are all presented as heroic
-‘don’t want to get lorst’ (pg 91) he says to hibbert. his innocence and bravery is highlighted here through ‘lorst’ and shows he is juxtaposed with hibbert and is braver than him despite his class but wont be remembered for it as shown with ‘mason following behind’ these types of soldiers werent remembered.
war life and home life
-‘its a yellow soup, sir’ (pg 24) humour but also tragic as unable to identify it. yellow symbolises optimism and joy what food is to trotter also, contrasting with being unknown and in a dark place…anticipation of war never being known
anticipation ad unknown
-‘Your tea, sir!’ breaks tension whilst stanhope and Osborne talk about war. exclamation mark brings them back to reality, tea sobering for stanhope too. comical relief as mason is always in places he shouldn’t well it seems
-‘stands diffidently in the background’ (pg 43) when Stanhopee and osrboen are talking about going to the raid
