how does wilfred owen portray sympathy for the soldiers in disabled.

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‘Disabled’, by Wilfred Owen, is about a young boy who experiences war first hand, which results in losing his limbs. The loss of his limbs cause him to be rejected by society and be treated ‘’like a queer disease’’. Wilfred Owens personal opinion on war is evident throughout the poem. Own expresses a negative attitude towards war due to own traumatic past, experiencing war first hand.
Owen creates sympathy for the soldier in ‘Disabled’ by using a wide range of poetic devices. Owen explores the themes of regret and loneliness to portray sympathy for the soldier. Moreover he criticizes the soldier for joining the war at a young age and for the wrong reasons.
The structure in ‘Disabled’ moves from past to present, then back to past. In the first stanza (which is present) Owen emphasizes the soldiers isolation, ‘’sat in a wheeled chair’’, this shows the aftermath of the war (the loss of the soldiers limbs); this makes the reader fell pity for the soldier. Also in the first stanza the imagery and language is dark. Owen makes the reader empathize with the soldier by using the term ‘’shivered’’ which means to shake slightly and uncontrollably as a result of being cold or frightened. In this case the soldier was cold and frightened due to the traumatizing events of war. This also emphasizes shock; it shows how the soldier is mentally scarred due to the war. This contrasts with the second stanza which begins with colourful imagery, ‘’glow lamps…light blue trees’’, this illustrates the good spirits of the town before the war. The contrast compares his life before and after the war, emphasizing the impact war had on soldiers. The structure highlights memory, emotion and sadness.
Owen portrays the soldier as helpless. In the second stanza ...

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...oem ends with a rhetorical question, ‘’why don’t they come?’’, this again shows how the soldier is dependent on others, however, nobody is interested as he is not ‘’whole’’ compared to the other men. This suggests the soldier feels a sense of jealousy. ‘’why don’t they come?’’ is repeated twice, this is effective as it concludes the poem, summarizing the soldiers thoughts, thus making the reader feel sympathetic towards the soldier.
Overall the war has a negative impact on soldiers, mentally, socially, and physically. Owen successfully portrays the struggles the soldiers were put through. Owens intentions were to bring the tragedies of war to light. Owens range of literary devices has highlighted the horrors of war and has taught the reader to acknowledge the sacrifices of the soldiers. In my opinion, Owens attempts to create sympathy for the soldier was successful.

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