A Letter to the Soldier in "Dulce et decorum est"
Task: Write a letter to either speaker in O’Brien or Owen’s work, sharing your reactions to his narration and asking any questions you have about his experience.
Stanley Switalski
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
February 14, 2008
Dear Speaker,
I have recently read your story through your narrative “Dulce et Decorum Est” and I am quite intrigued by the peril and torture that you had to face. Although the government states that joining the army is a fantastic thing, I now know better. However, I did not know that war was so brutal. If you don’t mind, I would like to ask you some questions and compliment your bravery and honor.
I feel as though you are a very strong soldier. If I had seen one of my colleagues “plunge at me, guttering, choking, drowning,”1 I don’t believe that I would ever be the same. Seeing him suffer would permanently destroy my life. On top of that, I do not believe that I could “limp on, blood-shot”2 with pounds of equipment on my back. It is too demanding of a task for the average person such as I. Meanwhile you are trudging through sludge fighting against gas bombs to defend “the old Lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.”3 It’s this that causes me to ask, how did you do it? Did you have to go through intense training? I, personally, cannot operate without sleep. Meanwhile you are defending your life and your nation with little to no sleep. Another question I would have to ask is how many battles have you faced where you had to bear with these same conditions? From the way you described putting your helmet, it doesn’t appear as though you had much experience. The final question that I have for you is if you believed “the old lie” when you first became a soldier. In other words, did you sign up to fight in the war or were you picked as part of a draft?
To conclude, I salute you. I cannot come to understand on how you fought and lived through these conditions. To be able to stay focused for hours on end and still be able to fight is beyond me. To have the courage to rush though poison gas and still fight for your country is courage I wish I possessed. To be able to stand strong while your closest friend is dying is something I could not do. I hope that you can answer these questions, as the answers will assist me in comprehending exactly how a soldier becomes so strong during a terrible time.
Sincerely
Stanley Switalski
Stanley Switalski
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014
February 14, 2008
Dear Speaker,
I have recently read your story through your narrative “Dulce et Decorum Est” and I am quite intrigued by the peril and torture that you had to face. Although the government states that joining the army is a fantastic thing, I now know better. However, I did not know that war was so brutal. If you don’t mind, I would like to ask you some questions and compliment your bravery and honor.
I feel as though you are a very strong soldier. If I had seen one of my colleagues “plunge at me, guttering, choking, drowning,”1 I don’t believe that I would ever be the same. Seeing him suffer would permanently destroy my life. On top of that, I do not believe that I could “limp on, blood-shot”2 with pounds of equipment on my back. It is too demanding of a task for the average person such as I. Meanwhile you are trudging through sludge fighting against gas bombs to defend “the old Lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.”3 It’s this that causes me to ask, how did you do it? Did you have to go through intense training? I, personally, cannot operate without sleep. Meanwhile you are defending your life and your nation with little to no sleep. Another question I would have to ask is how many battles have you faced where you had to bear with these same conditions? From the way you described putting your helmet, it doesn’t appear as though you had much experience. The final question that I have for you is if you believed “the old lie” when you first became a soldier. In other words, did you sign up to fight in the war or were you picked as part of a draft?
To conclude, I salute you. I cannot come to understand on how you fought and lived through these conditions. To be able to stay focused for hours on end and still be able to fight is beyond me. To have the courage to rush though poison gas and still fight for your country is courage I wish I possessed. To be able to stand strong while your closest friend is dying is something I could not do. I hope that you can answer these questions, as the answers will assist me in comprehending exactly how a soldier becomes so strong during a terrible time.
Sincerely
Stanley Switalski
1 Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen – Line 16
2 Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen – Line 6
3 Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen – Lines 27-28