Friday, July 30, 2010
"They" by Siegfried Sassoon
What most struck me about Sassoon’s “They” is the juxtaposition of the bishop’s thoughts and those of the soldiers, and the irony this creates. The bishop’s justifications for war - such as that it is an “attack on Anti-Christ” (3-4), or fought for the “right to breed an honorable race”(5) - are the standard ones, used historically by everyone from the Crusaders to the Nazis to make war seem like an righteous cause. In the second stanza, however, the reader hears from “the boys,” those who have actually experienced war, and the switch in tone is jarring (7). Though they agree that experiencing war will cause “some change” (11), to them war is altogether more damaging. Instead of the ennobling effect the bishop sees in battle, they see only the risk of losing “both… legs” or going “stone blind” (8). The ironic contrast between their words is heightened by the bishop’s lame response that “the ways of God are strange” (12), as if he himself cannot see what is noble about being “shot through the lungs” (9).
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I think that the irony created by the juxtaposition of the two different stanzas is what Sassoon wants to make public to the readers. Being a veteran of war himself, this difference of perspectives between the public and the soldiers is evident in other poems as well, like “Suicide in The Trenches” and “Does it Matter?”.
ReplyDeleteThe juxtaposition in this poem is focused on the concept of "change" (11). Like you previously mentioned, the Bishop says that "they will not be the same" because "they'll have fought...the...Anti-Christ" and "challenged Death", which now gives them the "right to breed an honourable race" (2-6). The Bishop presents the change as something which will be beneficial to all of society as well as “the boys”. On the contrary, “the boys,” who have been directly involved with the war, know how futile it is (7).Their response to the bishop’s claim is impacting. How simply they list the names and injuries of their fellows seems nearly systematic, “George…Bill…, Jim… and Bert” (8, 9, 10.) The sarcastic tone in “some change” summarizes how saturated they are with people telling them that war brings about good change; they are the only ones who know that the only “change” war will bring will that of mutilation (11). The Bishop’s last remark serves to mark how despite what the soldiers say, whoever has not been in war does not understand the truth of it.
The title of the poem is somewhat confusing for me. Throughout the poem, “they” is used to refer to “the boys” (1, 2, 3, 5). This poem, though, seems to be highlighting the faulty views of the civilians. I feel that the title is not very representative of the message, although it might be used as a juxtaposition itself. Why do you think that Sassoon would pick this title, as well as put it in under single quotation marks? (‘x’)
To me, the title is indicative of the depersonalizing effect an attitude like the Bishop's has. He doesn't see the soldiers as individuals so much as a means to fight "in a just cause" (3). Whereas they see each other as people with names, problems and personalities- as "George," "Bill," "Jim," or "Bert," the Bishop sees them only as a group, and a tool to be implemented in war (8-10). This is why he doesn't refer to them by name, but as "boys," or "they," because that is all he thinks of them as (1,2). The line that "their comrades' blood has bought new right" is, I find, very telling, as it demonstrates the cold-blooded view of war the Bishop has (4,5). As humans lose their lives he simply sees it as making a purchase.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that change is so central a concept to the poem is interesting, as it means completely different things to the Bishop and to the soldiers. However, I would have to say that the Bishop could understand the truth of war, to an extent, if he wanted to- he chooses to avoid the truth instead, however, and live in ignorance. I took the line "'the ways of God are strange!'" to mean that, though the bishop knows war is horrible, he still needs to find excuses to make the soldiers follow their cause (12). Though he may not have the experience of being "shot through the lungs," or seeing a friend go "stone blind," it would seem that the Bishop knows that war is a terrible experience, not an honorable one; he just won't admit it (8,9).
I find the line “bought new right to breed honourable race” to be not only very telling in the sense that it demonstrates’ the Bishop’s view of war, but also how he sees men in society in general (4,5). Here, it is as if the only people who are worthy of reproducing anything “honourable” would be “the boys” because “’they have challenged Death and dared him face to face’” (4,6). Of course this gives these men some recognition for fighting in battle and differentiates them from people who have not even been to war, but he does not consider those who have lost their lives. It is as if those who have not managed to succeed to “challenge Death” are not worthy and thus have no “right to breed” (5,6.) I think that this could be related to the personalization of “Death”, perhaps referring to the devil (6). He says that they have “dared him face to face”, and there is also the reference to the “Anti-Christ” (4, 6.) I also think you are right in the sense that the Bishop does not want to see the terrible side of war, and I think he also disregards the ones who die and suffer in war. He thinks the only heroes are those who come back alive and “have fought in a just cause” (2, 3).
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