Brothers In Arms Analysis

Australian’s are prideful of past endeavours in war and celebrate this twice a year in ANZAC day on the 25th of April and Remembrance Day on the 11th of November. They celebrate this because the war represented the ultimate from the mateship. A prime example of this was the battle of Gallipoli, were the Australian soldiers (diggers)

The Australian public now commemorate the sacrifice made for them by having ANZAC day every year. Today we commemorate the sacrifice by tending to their graves on foreign shores there are prayers said and wreaths laid on ANZAC day when we remember their sacrifice. There are walks across ANZAC cove with memorial scattered throughout. Though we commemorate Gallipoli more than the western front this is unjust to the 10’s of thousands of men who died on the western front as some of Australia’s most respected battles were  fought on the western front

Representations of events in the past are created through choice of historical evidence and personal memory. Factors utilised by a composer to demonstrate a purpose are consciously chosen to ensure the idolised meaning is constructed. Mark Bakers non-fiction text The Fiftieth Gate articulates the manifestations of the holocaust, contrasting historical facts with personal memory. Bakers deliberate utilisation of differing perspectives integrated throughout the text, challenges and questions the validity of both history and memory. Similarly Steve McQueen’s film 12 years a slave and Redgums song “I was only 19”, exhibit the composer’s choices of particular historical knowledge and memory, idolising the idea of selection defining perspective.

Bruce Scates declaration that the Great War as nothing but a loss that tore Australia to pieces is, in part, a very truthful one. The glorified ANZAC Legend celebrated annually by this country overlooks the negative aspects and the damage that WWI inflicted on all concerned. The misdemeanors of war and its aftermath had devastating effects on those who supported the soldiers and the sliders themselves who often lost their support to the war and faith in their leaders. The ANZAC legend is one of great courage and unshakeable spirit, and it continues to help being a young nation together in celebration. The glorified ANZAC Legend celebrated annually by this country overlooks the negative aspects and the damage that WWI inflicted on all concerned.

An individual’s life, identity, and their relationship with other people can be impacted by the suffering and loss that war and its aftermath bring. Australian composers address these issues in their novel to convey the Australian identity. Australia composer Sue Lawson explores and creates images of the Australian identity through their actions, words and personality. Showing the effects of war not just of immediate generation but those who follow war. In exploring clear features and techniques of the Novel FINDING DARCY we find that the protagonist and antagonist eventually connect and interact with each other.

Australian troops fought their first major battle as a nation in the shores of the Gallipoli Peninsula, which resulted in a catastrophic failure. Despite the failure, the cultural significance of the first day of landings is reverberated by McKernan (1980, p.214), who informs that, “In 1925, the government introduced a bill to make Anzac Day [25 April] a public holiday… all shops, hotels… theatres and cinemas would be closed.” The information highlights the significance of the event through its declaration of being a national holiday for a recently federated nation, given it was the first time the people of Australia fought as a country. The combination of the timing of the battle and the characteristics of ANZAC soldiers also implies that it is observed as the national and cultural identity of the Australian people. Moreover, Australia’s perception of warfare transformed as years passed with high casualties and minimal progress.

The quote ‘I did not have the power to build a memorial, so i wrote a play instead’ reveals to us John Misto’s view on the forgotten heroes of the war, that the POWs deserve just as much respect as the soldiers do. The play was also written to criticise the British and Australian government actions and how they responded to the POWs “Just keep smiling”. This statement that was sent to the POWs reveal to us how out of touch the government is. The composer engages with the concept of distinctively visual using a powerful image of comradeship, friendship and loyalty through Bridie and Sheila’s interactions.

“Nineteen”, by Elizabeth Alexander uses language and tone to form a multi-sensory poem about remembering her youth and desire to connect to her past Vietnam vet lover. These aspects of language and tone are embedded in the outer form of the poem, as the author forms an imaginative recreation of her young adult life, which directly impacts the reader to allow for an enjoyable simple read. The elements of language and tone formation ensure the translation of Alexander’s emotions or feelings of her youth for the audience to relate and understand. In the first place, the language within “Nineteen” is casual and not really poetic.

In Sherman Alexie’s short story, “War Dances,” the narrator unravels in thoughts and takes us through events in his life. He picks up by speaking about a cockroach that ends up dying in his Kafka baggage from a trip to Los Angeles. The cockroach still appears many times throughout the story. The narrator spends quality time in the hospital with his father, who is recovering from surgery due to diabetes and alcoholism, all along the way while he, himself, discovers he might have a brain tumor, leading his right ear to talk about his father. Using a style of tragedy and care both incorporate together a symbolic story that would make even a plain reader feel touched, leading to the major occurrence of a theme of the importance of family.

We live in a world where we have to hide to make love, while violence is practiced in broad daylight. John Lennon. Based on his own reading and reflection, Bruce Dawe constructs his attitudes towards war in his poems, Homecoming and Weapons Training, believing it to be lacking sense historically and ultimately futile. By specifically addressing an Australian cultural context, the poet exposes a universal appeal in that the insensitivity and anonymity are common attitudes towards soldiers during war. Dawe clearly expresses his ‘anti-war sentiment’ through his use of language and imagery as he examines the dehumanising aspects of war and its brutal reality.

“There is a convoy of government soldiers coming our way.” Lizard snapped his cellphone shut and rammed it in his pocket. The phone was a badge of authority, proof that he was in command. “Who will volunteer to fight?” Once again, hands shot up.

A more informed and accurate viewpoint of Australian mateship is seen in Jeremy Sims film ‘Beneath Hill 60’ and Mark Knights cartoon, ‘Anzac day lives on’. These two selected

Oscillating between the progression of life through the memories and experience of an individual is expressed through Gwen Harwood’s poem The Violets. The poem encapsulates the human experience as both integral to the formation of our perceptions of life and the timelessness that it provides to the audience. Gwen Harwood is able to create a text that goes beyond the way we respond, creating a deeper awareness of the complexity of human attitudes and behaviours. The matrilineal theme reveals that the core of the poem The Violets stem through childhood memories as a component to reveal our own personal reconciliations.

“Someone will Remember Us,” holds the hope that even in death, someone will remember and thus those people will be a part of history. However, in Renée Vivien’s translation of the poem, concepts such as, “erotic suffering, obsession, and anxiety” are present. Nonetheless, those negative emotions resulted in “eternal devotion” within the poem (36). Through the translation of Sappho’s poem, Vivien takes on the role of Sappho’s lover, and thus she proves that someone did remember her. Love believes that Sappho and Vivien both represent loneliness and isolation within the poem.

Gillian Clarke’s “Lament” and Seamus Heaney’s “Mid-Term Break” are both very poignant poems that convey a sense of depression and tragedy. Both poems are based on real-life tragedies: while “Lament” is an elegy for the unprecedented loss of life and nature in war (specifically the Gulf War), “Mid-Term Break” describes Heaney’s experiences and the feelings of people that are close to him in the event of his younger brother’s untimely death. In “Mid-Term Break”, Heaney makes good use of sound imagery to breathe life into the poem and to convey a sense of melancholy. In the beginning of the poem, Heaney mentions hearing “bells knelling classes to a close”, ringing as if they were funeral bells instead of normal school bells.