To What Extent Would You Agree That Attitudes in Sasson’s “the Hero” Reflect Sasoon’s General Attitude to War?
To what extent would you agree that attitudes in Sasson’s “The Hero” reflect Sasoon’s general attitude to war?
When the first world war began hundreds of thousands of men hurriedly joined the army, disillusioned with patriotism , Siegfried Sasson was one of those men. Due to Sassoon’s social class he entered the army at a high status and performed a service so outstanding that he was awarded with a military cross. On the surface
Sasson appeared to be the typical upper class boy but in reality he was a keen poet, a slightly effeminate hobby to possess in the early 20th century .Sassoon also appeared to posses other effeminate qualities such as compassion for his fellow man but in a stark contrast also had an abundance of arguably masculine qualities such as courage and aggression as portrayed in his declaration and poetry where regardless of his military achievements or former patriotic ideologies , he is a martyr for his fellow soldiers .I feel that there are many aspects to Sasoon’s attitude to war , the poem, the hero, in my opinion is an accurate depiction of his attitude to war in relation to his fraternal bond with his fellow soldiers and the deception of the government.
The hero is unique in that it is painfully ironic but not in the usual negative sarcastic manner but in a thought provoking deeply saddening one , Sassoon has written the poem in a manner that allows you to take what you will from it , Sassoon is almost challenging the reader just like “the hero” and the government , you can divulge the poem and discover that it is not purely a tale of coward who has lost all respect , it is also about the repressed feelings of family beyond the propaganda and the fact that everything is of insignificance to the government. The name “ Jack ” ,first line of first stanza , is seemingly insignificant initially but with understanding of the poem comes the realisation that the name jack is chosen to emphasise that he is any man , an object , he is
When the first world war began hundreds of thousands of men hurriedly joined the army, disillusioned with patriotism , Siegfried Sasson was one of those men. Due to Sassoon’s social class he entered the army at a high status and performed a service so outstanding that he was awarded with a military cross. On the surface
Sasson appeared to be the typical upper class boy but in reality he was a keen poet, a slightly effeminate hobby to possess in the early 20th century .Sassoon also appeared to posses other effeminate qualities such as compassion for his fellow man but in a stark contrast also had an abundance of arguably masculine qualities such as courage and aggression as portrayed in his declaration and poetry where regardless of his military achievements or former patriotic ideologies , he is a martyr for his fellow soldiers .I feel that there are many aspects to Sasoon’s attitude to war , the poem, the hero, in my opinion is an accurate depiction of his attitude to war in relation to his fraternal bond with his fellow soldiers and the deception of the government.
The hero is unique in that it is painfully ironic but not in the usual negative sarcastic manner but in a thought provoking deeply saddening one , Sassoon has written the poem in a manner that allows you to take what you will from it , Sassoon is almost challenging the reader just like “the hero” and the government , you can divulge the poem and discover that it is not purely a tale of coward who has lost all respect , it is also about the repressed feelings of family beyond the propaganda and the fact that everything is of insignificance to the government. The name “ Jack ” ,first line of first stanza , is seemingly insignificant initially but with understanding of the poem comes the realisation that the name jack is chosen to emphasise that he is any man , an object , he is