remains

Question 1

what things can be said about
‘on another occasion, we get sent out’

Answer 1

• tone created and the effect
• 2 interpretations of the in media res
• ‘sent out’

Question 2

‘on another occasion we get sent out’

Answer 2

• casual tone: shows how violence and conflict has become normal things to the speaker
• in media res: also shows how this is just another regular occurrence and is just one of the many vile experiences the soldiers are thrown into. this presents the solders as dehumanised instruments of war and Armitage is trying to enlighten people about how soldiers are carelessly thrown into these violent situations and are just expected to cope- but we see the detrimental impacts of this assumption on the soldier
• in media res could also draw the reader in which is exactly what Armitage wanted- to bring awareness of the internal conflict soldiers face after war so the in media res is successfully used to widen his audience and spread his awareness further. it also denies the reader any context so we, just like the soldiers are thrown into this moment which allows us to emotionally connect with the soldiers and it helps us understand the confusion and chaos they experience on a daily basis
• ‘sent out’ - connotes dismissal. suggesting war is like an exclusion physiologically, he is being expelled from his own identity.

Question 3

‘i see every round as it rips through his life’

Answer 3

• ‘i see’- in present tense: continuous and ongoing visions- PTSD
• noun ‘round’ - cyclical nature: soldier is stuck in a cycle of grief, guilt, and PTSD
• verb ‘rips’- expressive and shows the fragility of the looter and how easy it was to take his life. consequently, the memory ‘rips’ through the soldiers mind, leaving him tortured with guilt.
• plosive ‘p’ sound in ‘rips’ imitates the sound of a gun shot. the looters life is lost and his body is violently assaulted. ironically, the soldiers actions also ‘rip’ through his own life

Question 4

what can be said about
‘one of my mates goes by and tosses his guts back into his body’

Answer 4

-effect of crude language
-‘tosses’
-rhyme between ‘body’ and ‘lorry’

Question 5

‘one of my mates goes by and tosses his guts back into his body’

Answer 5

• crude language shows how he is aware of how horrible the event is but war has messed him up- unable to express his feelings.
• ‘tosses’ connotes a lack of respect- the body isn’t being respected and is being treated as an object. this also suggests that this is an action they’re used to and its just a natural reaction. the body has no value- conflict causes the devaluation of human life.
• the rhyme between ‘body’ and ‘lorry’ creates a sense of fluidity- suggesting this is a routine and they have become used to it. bc they have been exposed to so much death and violence they are now desensitised to it.

Question 6

what things can be said about
‘and the drinks and the drugs wont flush him out’

Answer 6

• irony
• alliteration
• armitages intention

Question 7

‘and the drinks and drugs wont flush him out’

Answer 7

• soldier is turning to drinks and drugs to get rid of his PTSD- ironic bc b4 he caused harm to others but now hes causing harm to himself.
• alliteration of ‘drinks’ and ‘drugs’ demonstrates how this is a continual cycle for a lot of soldiers. armitage wants to bring awareness to the situation as PTSD isn’t recognised so therefore it cannot be dealt with appropriately. this means soldiers are forced to turn to harmful substances to momentarily escape the mental hellish nightmare he constantly relives.

Question 8

what can be said about
‘but near to the knuckle, here and now, his bloody life in my bloody hands’

Answer 8

-rhythmic balance links back to start
-‘my’
-‘bloody’

Question 9

‘but near to the knuckle, here and now, his bloody life in my bloody hands’

Answer 9

• rhythmic balance reminds the readers of the opening stanza which links back to the start- creates a cycle which shows how solider is always stuck in this state and it’s continuous and ongoing showing how he will never truly be able to escape his PTSD
• personal pronoun ‘my’ contrasts collective ‘we’ earlier on. he is now alone feeling guilt or it could also show how hes now taking responsibility for what he has done which contrasts the repetition of ‘all’ in stanza 2 which could suggest how he was trying to deflect the blame onto others and make it clear that it wasn’t just him
• adjective ‘bloody’ allows us to draw parallels to Lady Macbeths hands- blood is a motif and is used as a symbol of guilt in both texts. the soldier is now feeling the immense guilt (makes it worse bc he didn’t know if the soldier was armed or not- ‘possibly armed, possibly not’)

Question 10

structure

Answer 10

• enjambement- ‘and i swear/ i see every round’ shows the speaker is unable to separate events; his trauma causes all these experiences to be mixed into one continuous dialogue- may also mirror how his memories mix into his present mental frame
  → enjambment occurs at key moments of death and suffering, perhaps showing how the suffering breaks him just as it breaks the structure.
• caesura- ‘then i’m home on leave. but i blink’ - full stop in the middle of the sentence provides finality, like that should be the end of the matter. however the conjunction of ‘but’ emphasises how that there is always more and his suffering is never over; it pervades his life at home
  caesura interrupts the sentence like how the flashbacks to conflict interrupt the speakers daily life.