A Review of War in Anthem for Doomed Youth and The Parable of the Old Man and the Young

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Last Updated: 16 Apr 2023
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In 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' and 'The Parable of the Old Man and the Young', written by Wilfred Owen, the attitude to war of those not involved in it are presented. This presentation is portrayed by the various language techniques employed by Owen to show the division. This division is portrayed as being between the population of the era of World War One and the soldiers caused by political agenda and mass denial and ignorance. In 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' the attitude to war of non-combatants is presented by language carrying culpable connotation. This occurs by the symbolic expression of inferiority of the soldiers denoted by their description of being 'those who die as cattle'. Using the plural pronoun 'those' coupled with the symbolically inferior 'cattle' the idea of division and culpability is created and emphasized by the inclusive plural form of the pronoun 'those'. The use of division and culpability reflects the situation of the soldiers. This situation is that soldiers behave as pawns of the government, being expendable to a certain extent, for material gain in the form of profiteering.

By this the idea of culpability and division is presented as to develop the idea of conscious ignorance and/or denial of the soldiers' situation by non-combatants. Furthermore in 'The Parable of the Old Man and the Young' Owen deliberately alludes to the King James Version of the Bible. This is important as Owen, as shown in many of his poems, presents anti-religious themes. In this poem Owen refers to the event denoted in The Bible where Abraham was 'tested' by God, rather cunningly, by asking him to sacrifice his son as to be appeased. This allusion is key in the presentation of the attitude towards war as the illusion of free will is hinted. Given the choice of killing his son or not, suffering the consequences, Abraham is thought to be given a choice of what happens, having the future in his hands. Although this is the case Abraham's supposed free will is spectated by God's negating omniscience. Using this idea of the watch of a higher power with a supposed unfair advantage a mirroring of that era's government can be made. By this idea of governance the idea of being subjected to rule by fear is created, developing the attitude of towards war as being one of fear of the punitive system by those not involved in war if to question this authority.

Moreover in 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' the attitude of the non-combatants are emphasized by Owen's symbolic diction. The attitude is presented as Owen states in the poem 'What candles may be held to speed them all?", which presents the idea of how the non-combatants cannot comprehend what has been observed during the war and by this they have no empathy for the soldiers. Using this absence of sympathy the act of 'drawing-down of blinds' is enhanced developing the idea of intentional denial and/or ignorance of the situation of the soldiers, in this case being of their perilous serving in the front lines. By this analogy the attitude of the non-combatants is further developed and presented as being one of absence of empathy or conscious ignorance by the common man of 1914-1918 of the soldiers who they themselves are known to have urged on to be sent off to fight in the war.

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In addition, in 'The Parable of the Old Man and the Young' militarism's arrogance is presented to show the attitude of those not involved in combat. This attitude is further described by the allusion to the biblical account of 'The Binding of Isaac' where Isaac is tied up by his father so that he may be sacrificed to God. Using this allusion further Owen refers to the non-combatants' attitude to war. This allusion is shown as Owen lists, creating emphasis of the text, references to war being: 'belts', 'straps', 'parapets' and trenches. By using this connection Abraham is developed as the representation of the common people of Owen's time who are shown as arrogant in terms of mindset towards war, binding the reluctant soldiers symbolically so that they may appease a higher power, in this case being the government, themselves being governed by social expectations and traditions in the process. In both 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' and 'The Parable of the Old Man and the Young' the attitude towards war by those not involved in it are of varying magnitude. Using descriptive, symbolic, allusive language techniques this attitude is portrayed as commonplace by Owen's presentation of the idea of the division of attitude towards a global issue being World War One.

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A Review of War in Anthem for Doomed Youth and The Parable of the Old Man and the Young. (2023, Apr 16). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/a-review-of-war-in-anthem-for-doomed-youth-and-the-parable-of-the-old-man-and-the-young/

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