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.
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Good job, Sian - you've got most of the relevant points about Jack, well done. He's also important as a family man - so that Faulk's can portray the impact of trench warfare on men like that - he finds it very hard to think about home, his wife and child.
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