Passages of writing have meaning and literary elements used in them. The poem "Dulce et Decorum Est," by Wilfred Owen and the excerpt from the novel The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brian both show ways they were impacted. These passages reveal how the soldiers were affected by modern warfare. There were physical and psychological damage done to the soldiers. The authors convey the soldiers' experiences through the harsh reality of war.

In the poem "Dulce et Decorum Est," Owen discusses the cruel conditions soldiers endured during World War I. Owen states, "All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue..." This creates a mood of depression and hopelessness. He does this by describing how the soldiers were tired and exhausted. The soldiers also felt weary from fighting. Suddenly, the mood changes on line nine. The mood now is thrown into chaos. Instead of the poem being emotionless and...