The concept of guilt is very strong in Owen's poetry. He uses guilt in his poem to highlight the indifference of those at home and the authorities. They should feel guilty for sending their young people to die, but they don't feel that way. On the other hand, Owen also expresses his own guilt and that of the soldiers. In this way Owen intends to highlight the mental torment that the soldiers suffer due to this guilt. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In Inspection the theme of indifference is very evident. Here the authorities are aware of the suffering the soldiers are going through but argue that "blood is dirt", meaning that the sacrifice is not worth recognizing. Here the use of blood imagery signifies the sacrifice of the soldiers. At various points in the poem it is intended that this sacrifice be eradicated and not be known; the 'spots' must be washed and the 'cheeks' not so 'red'. The authorities continue to hide the sacrifice of the soldiers and at the same time their guilt for the sake of national pride, since they themselves caused the untimely and untimely death of these young soldiers. This idea connects to the "ram of pride" mentioned in the parable of the old man and the young man. The deviation from the original plot of the Bible shows how the authorities would rather kill "half the seed of Europe, one by one" than give up their pride. They will therefore refuse to feel guilty about this, despite what they force soldiers to go through during the war. This notion of national pride coupled with false patriotism is also significant in Owen's other works. These notions fuel more propaganda and thus lead to brainwashing more soldiers into going to war. At the same time, propaganda leaves the public in a state of ignorance and therefore indifference towards reality. War propaganda based on false patriotism is particularly evident in Disabili and Dulce et Decorum Est. Owen provides clear examples of how young people have been brainwashed into thinking of war as glorifying. In this last work the poet harshly criticizes the war poets who promoted "The Ancient Lie" through their poetry. They too should feel guilty as they played a major role in manipulating young Britons into dying in the war. Through his poetry Owen wanted to move away from the poetry of the time which promoted war and spoke about the truth in his poetry. Propaganda, however, was also carried out by the authorities, as seen in Disabled. Owen presents us with a list of false ideals that glorified war like “jeweled kilts/For daggers in plaid socks.” This propaganda is one of the factors that led young people to recruit. In addition to this Owen also accuses the general public of encouraging them to go to war. He tried to please "the dizzy ones" but the same ones who encouraged him now "touch him like a strange disease". The absence of guilt is strongly felt here as we also get the notion of betrayal and betrayal. This also leads Owen to delve into another reason why the audience should feel guilty as there is no affection or type of connection between the audience and those who are sent to war. This is seen not only in Disabled but also in The Dead-Beat, The Send-Off and SIW. In Disabled we clearly see the lack of connection, as already stated, between women and young men. While the former encourage them to go to war, they are rejected by the soldiers when they return; disfigured. In thisOwen's work also shows the lack of affection where the authorities do everything and even accept underage recruits to go to war. This also highlights how the authorities do not appreciate the beauty and value of youth. The guilt that should be felt therefore continues to be emphasized here where readers realize the great loss of youth. This is also seen, as well as the lack of connection, in The Send-Off. Here we have the authorities abandoning and completely cutting every connection they ever had with the soldiers; "They weren't ours." The pinnacle where the lack of affection is truly expressed is in The Dead-Beat. There is no spirit of camaraderie here. The already exhausted soldier continues to be beaten due to the state he is in. Even soldiers who are against a common enemy do not have any kind of bond with each other. Rather, they beat up the most vulnerable, as they are only seen as dead weight and are therefore eliminated. They should feel guilty for how they mistreated one of their own to the extent that we are given the impression that he was left to die or was killed. The absence of affection is also seen where, in both this work by Owen and in Disabled, the soldiers are "rung up with drums and cheers", happy to be free, but return back in silence. In The Send-Off we see the lack of affection where the women encourage them and give them garlands and sprays, unconsciously and ironically foreshadowing their impending death. These too should be guilty of celebrating their departure since they do nothing but celebrate their death. However, these celebrations are fueled by the propaganda the public is exposed to. In SIW we also see the guilt that should be felt by the general public who placed social expectations on young people going to war. This too is fueled by propaganda that has not only brainwashed young people into going to war, but also the public into continuing to encourage them to recruit. "Death before dishonor, that's the style!" here we see the highly oppressive social expectations that put pressure on the soldier to be recruited, no matter what. The public, particularly the relatives' families, should also feel guilty for what they have done to Britain's youth. They were aware that they were sending them to war and that they probably would not return; however they remained in a state of denial that whoever they sent to war would die for the glory of Britain – however this was obviously not the reality. This immense pressure on the soldiers sent to war only led them to feel guilty because they failed to meet expectations. This ultimately led to them wanting to die. This guilt of soldiers in war was not only seen in SIW but was depicted more clearly in Mental Cases. In Mental Cases we have a clear representation of guilt as it is felt by the soldiers themselves, for two main reasons. We have survivor's guilt and murder guilt. The soldiers feel violated by what they saw, so much so that "memory runs through the hair of the murders". The fact that they trample on "lungs that had loved laughter" reminds them of the humiliations that those dead had to suffer because they had killed them. Those body parts and corpses were once people as living soldiers are, but they suffered a different fate from them. This guilt is continually accentuated at various points in the poem. The capitalization of "Dead" means that the deaths they have witnessed haunt them continually. This idea of eternal torment is seen in the image of day and night characterized by thoughts of the dead. The description of the soldiers as.
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