Analysis

• "He sat in a wheeled chair" --> soldier is in a passive state **DISABLED**

  • he has no autonomy or independence - dependant on others
  • PRONOUN "he" -->no one sees him as an individual with an identity, highlights the fact that this is a universal story
• "waiting for dark" --> soldier is in a passive state **DISABLED**

  • METAPHOR --> could represent death, which would allow him to escape his life.
  • euphemism for death, his future is dark
  • VERB --> indicates passivity, dependence and trapped, sense of hopelessness
• "ghastly suit of grey" --> impact of WAR **DISABLED**

  • ALLITERATION --> institutionalised, lost vitality and life
  • irony - he wanted to wear a uniform and be a soldier but now it is not what he wanted
  • colour imagery - mourning, death, monotony of life --> reflects dull and lifeless mood
• "Voices of boys ... voices of play" --> impact of WAR **DISABLED**

  • mourning his youth --> young man but presented as old
  • positive connotations of boys playing contrasts melancholic tone of a hymn
  • surrounded by joy but cant partake in it - emphasises his loneliness
• "threw away his knees" --> REGRET/RECKLESS **DISABLED**

  • highlighting naïvete of soldier and futility of war - suggests that it is his fault
  • blunt tone - showing the carelessness of his actions
• "Now, he is old" --> impact of WAR **DISABLED**

  • aged him prematurely
  • he has emotionally and mentally matured as well
  • physical toll
  • detrimental impact
• "leap of purple spurted from his thigh" --> impact of WAR **DISABLED**

  • purple is a patriotic colour - mocking the glorification of war
  • losing patriotism --> literally leaping or spurting from him
  • refrence to the blood - shows the physical pain and suffering that soldiers have to go through
• "- He wonders why." --> REGRET/RECKLESSNESS **DISABLED**

  • "-" indicating reflection
  • RETROSPECTIVE COMMENT
  • thinking about his past decisions --> reckless and impulsiveness
  • CAESURA --> he is actually taking a pause to reflect, now understands how naïve he was
• "smiling they wrote his lie" --> treatment by OTHERS **DISABLED**

  • sadistic, heartless --> don’t care about the soldier
  • sinister and menacing
  • indicates that he is really young, vulnerable and naïve
• "he was drafted out with drums and cheers" --> treatment by OTHERS **DISABLED**

  • happy to send him away but don't want him back
• "inquired about his soul" --> treatment by OTHERS **DISABLED**

  • melancholic tone
  • polite, doesn’t really care, no respect/warmth
  • sense of detachment --> emphasises soldier's loneliness
  • a priest - no family or friends
• "Why don't they come and put him to bed?" --> in a PASSIVE state **DISABLED**

  • repetition, rhetorical questions --> indicates his increasing despair
  • shows his life is not worth living
  • he wants people, but no one will answer his questions
  • seeking care and love “put him into bed” --> craves that compassion but is not receiving it
  • PRONOUN --> dependent, no autonomy
• "the fields of sunflowers scorched by the dry wind" --> lev exp HARDSHIPS in the PAST **SIG CIGS**

  • Rural scenery --> idyllic and picturesque
  • CONTRAST --> Sense of hardship underneath this, reflects his mixed feelings about leaving home.
• "leather jacket and jeans and a leather cap" --> lev exp HARDSHIPS **SIG CIGS**

  • Simple description --> Clear that he does not have a lot of money
  • Syndetic list shows that he is dressed simply
• "clutched an old red cotton handkerchief and a dented pack of Russian cigarettes" --> lev is VULNERABLE + ISOLATED **SIG CIGS**

  • scared and nervous --> vulnerable in this situation, anxious and apprehensive
  • Presented as almost child-like despite us knowing he is an older man
  • Source of comfort --> Clinging onto his culture and source of comfort
• “I’m sorry, but there is no smoking allowed on this bus” --> Lydia is ASSERTIVE/ENCOURAGING **SIG CIGS**

  • ASSERTIVE TONE --> direct, confident, DECLARATIVE SENTENCE
  • Contrasts Lev --> tries to avoid eye contact and pulls down cap etc.
• "fifty hours or more" --> lev exp HARDSHIP in the PAST **SIG CIGS**

  • emphasises low financial situation --> can't take a plane
• "separate aches and dreams" --> diff reasons for MOVING **SIG CIGS**

  • lev aches while lydia dreams
  • shows different reasons for moving
  • surprises reader - the cliché of ‘hopes and dreams’ is altered to show the grim reality of the situation
• "like a married couple" --> RELATIONSHIP **SIG CIGS**

  • SIMILE --> Journey is going to force them together
  • Shows how uncomfortable the journey is going to be
  • Shows how intimate it is going to be