Trauma

The theme of trauma runs through the entire narrative. Primarily, combat-related trauma concerns most of the main protagonists in the story. Billy Prior, Charles Manning, and Siegfried Sassoon all suffer from war-related trauma. Each man's symptoms manifest differently, but they all share the experience of having been significantly altered by their combat experiences. Billy is physically wounded. Charles Manning's leg is damaged almost beyond repair in France and Siegfried Sassoon first becomes a victim of shell-shock and is subsequently shot.

What is most important to remember is that the trauma the characters undergo is not just physical. Certainly, each of these men has been wounded. But the psychological effect of war is vividly represented here. Prior develops a second self in order to deal with the brutality of life at the Front. Prior develops becomes aggressive, sadistic tendencies. Charles Manning develops a pronounced stammer. Sassoon's psychological fallout takes...