How does Faulks Depict Sympathy and Horror in Birdsong

to this title. Faulks uses many ways of depicting sympathy and horror throughout the

whole novel, but in this essay, I will focus on the battlefield sections and the trench

warfare. The two sections I have chosen are as follows: pages 185 to 187 and pages 208

On page 185, we are presented straight away with Stephen feeling a certain discomfort. It

says, “…each slow inch bringing new pain and some older feeling of what it meant to be

alive”. This tells us the reader that Stephen is in a great deal of discomfort as every time

he moves, he feels a new pain. He describes this as what being alive is all about. We also

get a feel for the type of conditions the men had to put up with. It says, “…there was the

rough comfort of old linen, washed and disinfected beyond softness”. This shows us how

harsh the conditions were. Even the bed sheets were uncomfortable, as they have been

washed so many times, they have lost the comfort they once had. Straight away, we feel a

bit of sympathy, as we know he cannot move without aching and also the uncomfortable

because Jack knew he would never see his son again. The letter is a contrast between

add the effect that he cannot say a lot.

Some topics in this essay:
, Jack Firebrace, jack son, trench warfare, son’s death, sympathy reader, page 185, graphic detail, harsh conditions,