The Return of the Soldier Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The bring back of the S ancientier - Essay ExampleThis date of reference is often retraced as the final era of the old world for, it still held major class distinctions between the rich and poor. It was in any case known as an era of great elegance and luxury for the rich who lived on their large estates, and great suffering and hard body of work for the lower classes. The beginning of the war saw families of the soldiers desperately trying to uphold the Edwardian expressive styles in an ever changing world. It is against this backdrop that Wests novel is set.The novel deals with Chris Baldry, an army captain, who suffers shell-shock thus, causing him to forget all that had happened everywhere the last fifteen years. He believes that he is still twenty one and in love with Margaret, a lowly born innkeepers daughter. West uses a first person narrator, Chris cousin Jenny, to tell the story of Chris sickness and his recovery. The journey that Chris takes in regaining his memory displays the bridge between the old social order in the lead the war and the new emerging social order. Therefore, by looking at Chris and how the women in his life uphold restore his memory, it may be possible to better understand how the war changed the social order of England.In chapter one we are introduced to the three women who have been central to Chris during his life. The first half of the chapter sees Jenny, Chris cousin and Kitty his married woman in the nursery of Chris and Kittys dead child, Oliver. Jenny reveals to the reader how she and Kitty had especially crafted Baldry Court and the surrounding railyard of Harrowweald so that Chris may live a contented life surrounded by luxurious perfection. She also accounts the day that Chris left for the war, describing how he took leave of the house. When Jenny threats that they havent heard from Chris for a fortnight we are devoted our first insights into Kitty. She tells Jenny not to fuss. Kitty is described as beautiful ly perfect she is continually busy with her physical appearance. We get the idea that she is so unworried about something happening to Chris because she is perfect and she maintains a perfect household and grounds. This first half of the chapter depicts the Edwardian way of elegance and luxury. Jennys narration is also highly descriptive mainly focusing on the material, placing great emphasis on it. The second half of the chapter sees Margarets arriver to Baldry Court in order to bring the news of Chris illness to Jenny and Kitty. A great wrinkle is created between Kittys lovely appearance and Margarets weather worn appearance that shows a life of hardship. Many rebarbative words such as repulsive, unlovely, base etc. are used to describe her. Due to the extreme divide between the rich and poor, Jenny at first mistakes her nervous way of telling them about Chris condition as stupidity this woman butted like a clumsy animate being at a gate she was not intelligent enough to open yet, later realises it is because she does not demand to hurt Kitty by confessing that Chris does not entertain her at all, he faecal matter only remember his love for Margaret. Kitty further demonstrates how materialistic and aloof from true feeling she is when she disbelieves Margarets story being to a greater extent worried that Margaret is spinning a story to receive money. When Margaret leaves Kitty continues to ask Jenny if the story can be true for, if it is it will be a blemish on her perfect life. She