Literal Meaning
The first stanza begins with a very depressing description of a man in a wheelchair, not being able to walk or be involved with any of the exercise activities going on around him. It is assumed that he is dressed formally, but his attire is cut at the waist, which shows that he lost his legs in battle. He is listening to the voices of young children, which does sadden him because it reminds him of his past childhood. It wasn’t long ago that this soldier was running around like these little boys doing the same things, but the events of world war one really grabs your innocence and naivety and changes your life forever.
Looking at the second stanza, the narrator is remembering how life was before the war. Right from the first line, he says, “About this time Town used to swing so gay, and girls glanced lovelier as the air grew dim.” He was saying that around this time, he would go out and hang out with his friends down town. He remembered how the streets used to light up at night and how the various women became more flirtatious and inviting. In the last couple lines of the second stanza, he does regret losing his legs because he will never be able to hold a woman or dance with them or feel how “warm their subtle hands,” were.
In the third stanza, as a reader, you could really visualize his physical appearance. It seemed like he starts to become pale because he is coming to the realization that half of his life is gone, literally. If you were to look at this soldier before the war, his facial expressions would show that he is filled with happiness and filled with such sheer life, now it has become pale and shows no solitude since he has nothing to look forward too.
Moving on to the fourth stanza, he starts to remember when he used to throw the pigskin around and play some football. He actually was a great athlete and was very proud of the blood that was smeared on his leg after one of his games. He was lifted by the crowd of people at the game resulting in his victory of the match. The thought of entering the army first came to mind after he started drinking after the game. I think he wanted to show his manly side to the women that were flirting with him to prove how tough he was. He wanted to join so bad that he actually lied about his age, which proved to me that this narrator is relatively young.
In the fifth stanza, you can clearly recognize that the soldier wasn’t patriotic because didn’t care so much about the invasion of Germany or Austria. I think apart of that has to do with him being young and naïve so; he really wasn’t accustomed to be afraid of any type of fear. He cared a lot about where he was going to be assigned too and the feeling of pulling the trigger of a gun; the petty things that young kids want to experience.
In stanza six, I think reality starts to settle in for this soldier. He remembers that there was a big crowd when he left for the war, but when he finally came back; there weren’t nearly as many people. A lot of his friends were dead so, their families didn’t make the trip to see their loved one. He felt that no body really cared about him anymore and that the people only pitied his loss. He starts to realize that his life was changed forever.
In the final stanza, it is really sad and depressing. It depicts what he believes his future entails. He says that he is sick now and will “spend a few sick years in institutes.” I believe this soldier suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder and is lost because he doesn’t know what life will bring him. All he has is pity towards the war and pity towards himself because even though he knows that people will take care of him in the institutes, he is going to have to listen to their orders for the rest of his life. He realizes that the people, who cared for him before the war, have not gone looking for his soul to continue caring about him.
Looking at the second stanza, the narrator is remembering how life was before the war. Right from the first line, he says, “About this time Town used to swing so gay, and girls glanced lovelier as the air grew dim.” He was saying that around this time, he would go out and hang out with his friends down town. He remembered how the streets used to light up at night and how the various women became more flirtatious and inviting. In the last couple lines of the second stanza, he does regret losing his legs because he will never be able to hold a woman or dance with them or feel how “warm their subtle hands,” were.
In the third stanza, as a reader, you could really visualize his physical appearance. It seemed like he starts to become pale because he is coming to the realization that half of his life is gone, literally. If you were to look at this soldier before the war, his facial expressions would show that he is filled with happiness and filled with such sheer life, now it has become pale and shows no solitude since he has nothing to look forward too.
Moving on to the fourth stanza, he starts to remember when he used to throw the pigskin around and play some football. He actually was a great athlete and was very proud of the blood that was smeared on his leg after one of his games. He was lifted by the crowd of people at the game resulting in his victory of the match. The thought of entering the army first came to mind after he started drinking after the game. I think he wanted to show his manly side to the women that were flirting with him to prove how tough he was. He wanted to join so bad that he actually lied about his age, which proved to me that this narrator is relatively young.
In the fifth stanza, you can clearly recognize that the soldier wasn’t patriotic because didn’t care so much about the invasion of Germany or Austria. I think apart of that has to do with him being young and naïve so; he really wasn’t accustomed to be afraid of any type of fear. He cared a lot about where he was going to be assigned too and the feeling of pulling the trigger of a gun; the petty things that young kids want to experience.
In stanza six, I think reality starts to settle in for this soldier. He remembers that there was a big crowd when he left for the war, but when he finally came back; there weren’t nearly as many people. A lot of his friends were dead so, their families didn’t make the trip to see their loved one. He felt that no body really cared about him anymore and that the people only pitied his loss. He starts to realize that his life was changed forever.
In the final stanza, it is really sad and depressing. It depicts what he believes his future entails. He says that he is sick now and will “spend a few sick years in institutes.” I believe this soldier suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder and is lost because he doesn’t know what life will bring him. All he has is pity towards the war and pity towards himself because even though he knows that people will take care of him in the institutes, he is going to have to listen to their orders for the rest of his life. He realizes that the people, who cared for him before the war, have not gone looking for his soul to continue caring about him.