“Testament of Youth” by Vera Brittain 1933; How does the writer portray her feelings about war?
“Testament of Youth” by Vera Brittain 1933
How does the writer portray her feelings about war?
The testament of youth was written 15 years after the First World War, therefore it is not perhaps as reliable because she’s had time to forget the memories and also be given different people’s views which would mean that she didn’t put something in or changed it because it didn’t fit with her new views. However it may be even more reliable because since the war ended more truths have come out, when the war first ended no one knew about it because no one would talk about it and therefore if Vera Brittain knew more about it, she would be more likely to be knowledgeable about what she was writing for example if she writes about people coming back mentally unstable then she would be able to put in her book that he was shell shocked, had she written it as soon as the war had ended then she would not have been able to say that. Brittain was a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) during the war so she has first-hand experience of the war, this meant that she could write about her own real experiences rather than someone else’s or make them up. The autobiography is to entertain as well as inform therefore some parts may be a little bit exaggerated.
In the testament of youth, Brittain talks about arriving in Etaples she recalls there being “A heavy shower” this pathetic fallacy suggests that Brittain was miserable about arriving at Etaples but it “ceased” by the time she gets there suggesting that her worries and misery disappear. It could also suggest that it cleanses her so that she can have a fresh start in Etaples because it washes out any worries she may have had. Brittain describes how she “squelched” through the mud; the use of this onomatopoeia helps us to use imagery to picture just how muddy and wet it was. She also uses very negative words such as “littered” and “grimy” which suggests that she didn’t like it and didn’t want to be there. It also suggests that the place
How does the writer portray her feelings about war?
The testament of youth was written 15 years after the First World War, therefore it is not perhaps as reliable because she’s had time to forget the memories and also be given different people’s views which would mean that she didn’t put something in or changed it because it didn’t fit with her new views. However it may be even more reliable because since the war ended more truths have come out, when the war first ended no one knew about it because no one would talk about it and therefore if Vera Brittain knew more about it, she would be more likely to be knowledgeable about what she was writing for example if she writes about people coming back mentally unstable then she would be able to put in her book that he was shell shocked, had she written it as soon as the war had ended then she would not have been able to say that. Brittain was a VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) during the war so she has first-hand experience of the war, this meant that she could write about her own real experiences rather than someone else’s or make them up. The autobiography is to entertain as well as inform therefore some parts may be a little bit exaggerated.
In the testament of youth, Brittain talks about arriving in Etaples she recalls there being “A heavy shower” this pathetic fallacy suggests that Brittain was miserable about arriving at Etaples but it “ceased” by the time she gets there suggesting that her worries and misery disappear. It could also suggest that it cleanses her so that she can have a fresh start in Etaples because it washes out any worries she may have had. Brittain describes how she “squelched” through the mud; the use of this onomatopoeia helps us to use imagery to picture just how muddy and wet it was. She also uses very negative words such as “littered” and “grimy” which suggests that she didn’t like it and didn’t want to be there. It also suggests that the place