Poem Analysis: Joseph Boyden's Three Day Road
Three Day Road - Geoffrey Hill Assignment
1.
Shrapnel
Whiz-bangs
Telltale
Sappers
Parapet
2.
War is a game of bloodshed, filled with feelings of enmity and hatred. Although this statement is involved, some people fight for their honour and love of their country aswell as pride, glory, and of course acknowledgement. The passage "Three Day Road" by Joseph Boyden brings us behind the eyes of a man in the battle of Vimy Ridge, World War 1. The nature of world war 1 is about using long range guns, resources, unexpected attacks, heavy artillery and of course the mood of this battle was melancholy, bitter and nerve-racking. Resources, unexpected attacks and heavy artillery all link together in a way,
and these tactics deemed worthy in this battle. Both lines would have some of their forces using scopes to hit the enemy from afar. They would use objects, sheets and in the story cement statues to hide themselves while shooting at the enemy lines. The war was a game of chess, who could make the right move at the right time and perfectly forsee the enemies attack. In this story the Canadians charged with the Artillery Barrage and managed to get up close and personal to the Germans. The Germans, not used to the close combat when the Canadian forces ran to them reacted in the way the Canadians wanted, akwardly. "For the first time, the faces of the Hun look nervous. The canadians are so close now that the rifle fire is almost useless, and the ones just ahead of me are on the German sandbags, stabbing their rifles at the men below them." (Boyden 238) The feelings melancholy, bitter and nerve-racking were expressed through the main character who was always scared of friendly artillery shooting up him, he was also always spectating his friends dying or dissapearing and generally had a negative experience with the war. When he goes to the charge he sees many of his friends die, and this sets negative tones and moods, it also courses adrenaline through the soldiers veins. "Gilberto sees me too, and turns toward me offering his hand to help me up, an expression on his face as if he's finally found his long lost-friend. I reach up to take it, just as the smile on his face blooms into a red flower." (Boyden 236) So yes, the nature of world war 1 was not of flowers, or smiles but of gruesome outright bloodshed. It wasn't a organized fight where each line would stand on either side of a farmer's field and shoot, it was about soldiers using advanced tactics to unexpectedly destroy the enemy in a heartbeat. This was a war of brutality.
1.
Shrapnel
Whiz-bangs
Telltale
Sappers
Parapet
2.
War is a game of bloodshed, filled with feelings of enmity and hatred. Although this statement is involved, some people fight for their honour and love of their country aswell as pride, glory, and of course acknowledgement. The passage "Three Day Road" by Joseph Boyden brings us behind the eyes of a man in the battle of Vimy Ridge, World War 1. The nature of world war 1 is about using long range guns, resources, unexpected attacks, heavy artillery and of course the mood of this battle was melancholy, bitter and nerve-racking. Resources, unexpected attacks and heavy artillery all link together in a way,
and these tactics deemed worthy in this battle. Both lines would have some of their forces using scopes to hit the enemy from afar. They would use objects, sheets and in the story cement statues to hide themselves while shooting at the enemy lines. The war was a game of chess, who could make the right move at the right time and perfectly forsee the enemies attack. In this story the Canadians charged with the Artillery Barrage and managed to get up close and personal to the Germans. The Germans, not used to the close combat when the Canadian forces ran to them reacted in the way the Canadians wanted, akwardly. "For the first time, the faces of the Hun look nervous. The canadians are so close now that the rifle fire is almost useless, and the ones just ahead of me are on the German sandbags, stabbing their rifles at the men below them." (Boyden 238) The feelings melancholy, bitter and nerve-racking were expressed through the main character who was always scared of friendly artillery shooting up him, he was also always spectating his friends dying or dissapearing and generally had a negative experience with the war. When he goes to the charge he sees many of his friends die, and this sets negative tones and moods, it also courses adrenaline through the soldiers veins. "Gilberto sees me too, and turns toward me offering his hand to help me up, an expression on his face as if he's finally found his long lost-friend. I reach up to take it, just as the smile on his face blooms into a red flower." (Boyden 236) So yes, the nature of world war 1 was not of flowers, or smiles but of gruesome outright bloodshed. It wasn't a organized fight where each line would stand on either side of a farmer's field and shoot, it was about soldiers using advanced tactics to unexpectedly destroy the enemy in a heartbeat. This was a war of brutality.