The Reality of WWI through Dulce Et Decorum Est

World War One was a very monumental, but also tragic time for our country. Some may not fully understand the effects of war, and the actual sacrifices that are made. Some may say our country would not be what it is today without the soldiers of that time laying down their lives for this country. To help understand the reality of this war, Wilfred Owen wrote the poem Dulce et Decorum Est. Wilfred Owen had first-hand experience of the horrors of gas warfare during WWI (World War I). I believe that Owen wrote this poem as an attempt to show the true horror of this war, from a firsthand experience During this time, the technology of war was far more advanced than just gun on gun combat. As WWI progressed the Germans began to actively develop chemical weaponry, which gave them the upper hand on each and every enemy. They called this weapon Mustard gas. This gas blistered the skin, eyes, and lungs. They claimed to use the gas to slow their enemy down as a whole, and to take out large groups of soldiers at a time. Owen focuses mostly on the aspect of chemical warfare throughout his poem. Throughout the poem he describes the physical condition of soldiers involved in the war. He projects very vulgar imagery to truly show the effect of a gas attack, and the shock that it had on the soldiers as well. Then he continues by dwelling on the results of this fatal, and dreadful experience. I feel that is generally short-sighted to correlate the narrator of a poem with its author, yet I feel it is quite likely that in Dulce et Decorum Est Wilfred is narrating in his own voice. He uses certain methods to directly address how terrible war really is to the audience of the poem. He wants to make sure that each reader knows exactly what these soldiers went through. He starts the poem off by describing a group of unnerved, and weakened soldiers falling back from the midst of battle. Each man is clearly on his last leg, and just simply beat to a pulp, Men marched asleep. (line 7) Each man is so worn down that Owen also describes them as being, drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of gas-shells dropping softly behind (lines 7-8). This goes to show that chemical warfare was just as gruesome or more so than common warfare. Though it seemed that chemical warfare was to advance to be defeated, it was not unavoidable. As the Germans continued to develop chemical weapons, the USA did not have the proper resources or technology to create the same chemical weapons as the Germans. Therefore, we developed a protective mask to prevent our soldiers from inhaling the poisonous gasses. These masks were somewhat air tight around the soldier's face, and had an air filtration system on the front of the masks that allowed the soldiers to continue to breathe without breathing in toxins. These masks became a valuable resource for the soldiers in WWI, and in this poem. Although these men knew that death was upon them, deep down they still had the will to survive. Owen portrays this will as a soldier shouts Gas! GAS! (line 9), and each man goes into an ecstasy of fumbling (line 9) using the last bit of energy left in their brutally, beaten bodies to put on the gas masks before the deadly poison kills them all. Every solider but one successfully put on the mask; the narrator watches from behind the glass of his protective gas mask into the green sea (line 14) that the gas bombs have created around him and his comrades, watching helplessly as the gas took the life of his fellow comrade. The memory of that solider dying as he sat by not able to help in any way is one that the narrator will never forget. Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams before my helpless sight, he plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. (line 13-16) This is just a small glimpse of the gruesome reality of the mental effects that war can have on a man. Physical wounds were only a fraction of the problem for most soldiers involved in WWI. The amount of philological damage that these troops endured at this time was nothing like anyone had very seen before. After numerous troops began to experience the same philological effects. Doctors gave these symptoms the name of shell shock: The term shell shock emerged in the harsh winter of 1914-15 as soldiers sought to describe how they felt when under fire. During training, they had been instructed to conceal their fears because panic was known to spread rapidly through battalions. Yet, apart from trusting to luck, there was little that an infantryman could do to protect his life when being shelled. Without regulated tours of duty and no prospect of an early end to the conflict, many frontline soldiers were worn down by the emotional demands of trench warfare. https://www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/psychological-wounds-of-conflict-the-impact-of-world-war-one-71084/" The emotional impact of war is more than any normal man could ever understand. As the narrator describes watching his brother in arms die, he uses such precise imagery. He puts you directly into the narrator's boots. He makes it seem as if you are in the trenches witnessing a cruel death. For a memory such as that to haunt you every time you close your eyes is something that one would never want to experience. I believe that Owen might have a difficult time writing this poem, due to the fact he is writing from such an intense personal experience. Especially when the personal experience is one of the worst experiences possible. Although some may feel they may have a true understanding of war, I believe one would never truly understand unless they have experienced it themselves. As the war continued more and more lives were lost, and more and more families continued to receive devastating news about there loved ones losing there lives to war. WWI was not only a very hard time for the soldiers themselves but also for their families. As most of the soldiers had been deployed to fight in the war, women had to replace men in the workforce at that time. This put a lot of pressure, and responsibility on the older children of the household as they had to take care of most all of the household duties along with taking care of many younger siblings. Many of the men who came back from the War were suffering from serious injuries, the effects of Mustard Gas and or shell shock as discussed earlier. They were to haunted form, war to talk about their experiences and it would often take them a great amount of time to recover from the trauma of War. Due to these men not being able to recover properly most women became responsible for supporting the entire family. As well as the children being frightened about their fathers going off to war because they might not ever see them again. However, when some fathers did return home their children were confused on how their fathers would act because they did not understand the effects of the war and the trauma it can cause to a man. Not a single solider was prepared for the brutal reality of this war, as well as their families. As Owen continues to dwell on the war, he begins to discuss the aftermath. The aftermath and amount of deaths was nothing the world had ever experienced before, and it absolutely took a toll on our great country. In this online article it describes the amount of soldiers that were permanently effected by the war, and the ones who lost their lives. In the end, around 4,000,000 soldiers were mobilized and 116,708 American military personnel died during World War 1 from all causes (influenza, combat and wounds). Over 204,000 were wounded and 757 U.S. civilians died due to military action. https://www.historyonthenet.com/how-many-americans-died-in-ww1/ At this point in the war it seemed almost as if America had lost hope, and everyone was beginning to believe there was no chance of us walking away from this war victorious. As Owen began to experience more and more deaths he began to question whether or not it was truly noble for a young man to make such a brutal sacrifice for one's country. Who began to believe that every cruel death was not worth it. As he begins the last paragraph of the poem. He continues to talk about how the war still haunts him. He really brings the poem to an end with some of the most gruesome images one could think of. He dwells on the dreadful experience of walking behind the wagon full of dead comrades. As he discusses this it becomes mare clear of how a soldier of this time truly began to feel throughout the war. And just how awful it truly was. He makes it clear that one will never know the fellking unless they experience it themselves. If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,??” My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori As he describes looking at his dead fellow troop in the back of the wagon, he uses imagery so cruel that you feel as if you yourself are walking behind this wagon full of dead soldiers. Looking at this man's hanging face. In all Wilfred Owen brings out the true emotion of this war throughtout the poem. Having witnessed the fatalities. He helps us better understand how terrible of a time this was for many solders and many family's to follow. As the poem comes to an end Owen is still questionable able one laying down his life for his country is a noble gesture. As said before our country would not be what it is today without the men of this time going through such unberable circumstances to keep us a free country.

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