Hero
The simile of a hero has been used by the women for the soldiers in the trenches. Barbusse has satirized the romantic notions of women regarding the men, who were fighting at the front. The soldiers were giving away their lives and sacrificing everything and the women were fantasizing about their deaths. The miserable conditions at the warfront, hunger, hopelessness and deaths of fellow beings were not worth romanticizing. Instead they should be lamented because the deaths were futile just like the war. They was not any noble purpose for which the humans were taking each other’s lives.
Reflection
The author has employed the metaphor of reflection for the soldiers at both sides of the trenches. The narrator says that each army became “a reflection of the other,” which demonstrates the futility of war. The humans kill their fellow humans and it is not a plausible act in any way. The soldiers from both sides were suffering from miserable conditions and they shared the ruthless fates of each other. Barbusse has portrayed both armies as one entity because they had same emotions of love and hate and they all suffered in vain. The narrator says, “In spite of this diversity of age, of country, of education, of position, of everything possible, in spite of the former gulfs that kept us apart, we are in the main alike.” Both the armies decided to fight out of their sense of duty or patriotism but after watching the horrendous effects of war, they were regretting their decisions.
Cavemen
The metaphor of cavemen has been used for the soldiers. The narrator says that once the soldiers had their own lives, but the war snatched everything from them and threw them in dark trenches. They were reduced to mere cavemen who were afraid of pests, poverty and various dangers. They were living in pathetic conditions and they were surviving by eating putrid meals. They were outstripped of their hope and dignity before any physical degeneration.
