exp summary

• Exposure tells the horrifying story of a brutal experience in the trenches during WW2.

  • It shows the reader the enormous burden placed on the soldiers, not only by the opposing army, but the weather too.
• Exposure subverts traditional ideas of the glory of war by showing the visceral (feel it in your guts) and horrifying reality that most soldiers face.
• Exposure exposes the trauma faced by soldiers whilst also showing how mentally taxing war can be on those who fight in it.
• [1] The soldiers are waiting in a trench.

  • Piercing winds hurt the soldiers.

  They are worried by the silence and so are on edge.
• [2] The soldiers are afraid of the immense wind and weather and are afraid to rest for fear of an attack.

  • The soldier questions what caused him to be in this situation.
• [3] Dawn comes but brings no rest or freedom.

  • Instead, it just signals the beginning of another day of misery - nothing happens.
• [4] Nature and the trenches both show signs of suffering.

  • The bullets that are shot at them are not as deadly as the weather, showing the power of nature.
• [5] The soldiers lie in their trenches, slowly succumbing to the cold.
• [6] The soldiers finally fall asleep, and for a bit the other animals damaged by the war such as mice roam free in the trenches.
• [7] The passage of time is shown by the transition into spring.

  • The suffering the soldiers have endured has rendered their belief in God shaken.
• [8] The next night the frost will once more hurt the soldiers.

  • They are now numb to their pain.