Part Two of Birdsong

“The sweat ran down into his eyes and stung them, making him shake his head from side to side. At this point the tunnel was about four feet across and five feet high. Jack kept sticking the spade into the earth ahead of him, hacking it out as though he hated it. He had lost track of how long he had been underground. He found it easier not to think when he might be relieved, but to keep digging. The harder he worked, the easier it seemed. It must have been six hours or more since he had seen daylight, and even then not much of it, but a thin green haze across the lowlands of the French-Belgian border, lit by the spasmodic explosion of shells.”

The particular paragraph at the beginning of Part 2 of Birdsong is used to continue the introduction to Jack Firebrace, a miner in the trenches. Sebastian Falks portrays the way Jack passes time whilst digging forty-five feet underground and the way he felt about his job. “Jack kept sticking the spade into the earth ahead of him, hacking at it as though he hated it”. Although this appears at first to be describing the way in which Jack carries out this task; in fact there is a hidden metaphor portraying how the work is easier if he let’s out his true feelings towards the war: “The harder he worked, the easier it seemed”.
A sense of setting and atmosphere is created at the end of this paragraph through the imagery used. “A thin green haze across the lowlands of the French-Belgian border, lit by the spasmodic explosion of shells”. This creates a more peaceful image of the sights and sounds in the trenches as to Jack this sight was more appreciated after the long time he spent underground. The use of short sentences throughout the paragraph and then the following of this long complex sentence, emphasises this aspect.
The mood of Jack and the way in which he deals with his situation is revealed through: “He found it easier not to think when he might be relieved, but to keep digging.” This backs up the extended hidden metaphor mentioned earlier in the paragraph as the soldiers concentrate on making time pass quicker whilst fighting in the war by becoming oblivious and reluctant to face the realities of war.

Jack Firebrace

I think Jack Firebrace is a very good representational character. He comes from a poor background and so joined up for the war as a way of earning a better income for his family. There are no other reasons for him to join up for the war, like so many of the other soldiers in this war, he does not agree with the war and what is happening. At the same time Jack does not want to admit this to him as it confirms the horrors of the war and that what is happening around him is not likely to end soon.
He relies on religion and God to help him deal with the situation he and the other soldiers are put in and prays for his life to be spared. As he is a miner, religion helps him keep faith in himself and what he is doing and the constant worries that come with the task he is carrying out.
I think he is a very compassionate character; but unlike some other characters understands the need to move on after something horrific happens. He also represents the way that the soldiers are afraid to get too close to anybody in the trenches as this could cause them more pain than is necessary.

Birdsong

After reading almost a quatre of the novel Birdsong; I have found the description to be almost overwhelming. Although it is a very compelling novel to read and very enjoyable, the amount of description makes each chapter almost difficult to read. Thus refusing to allow an unbias opinion of the novel so far.
The images created within my mind seem very realistic through the accurate depiction of the novel's setting by Sebastian Falks and the way in which these characters are portrayed. It makes you relate to the characters and understand the goings on in the story, while being able to empathise or sympathise with them when appropriate.
So far, I am enjoying Birdsong and am looking forward to the complete change in scene yet to come when Stephen goes off to war although I am not sure how this will come about.