Children in the darkness -task 2

Point of view- 3rd person point of view

The poem was narrating about the situation of the children, and it did not focus on the description of the children's personal feelings, which proves that it is a 3rd person's point of view.

Situation & Setting- It is narrating on the children that lives a completely different live, and born in a world of war with no light. It shows how blinded they have been turned into by the external circumstances and why it deserves our sympathy. The phrase "war consume them" further evokes the reader's feelings on how the children have been used as a machine for war, which then leads to the war being the entire point of their lives.

Language/Diction- Metaphors were used. One example would be the title, in which darkness do not necessarily meant a place with no bright light to light up the place. It has a deeper meaning in which refers to being blinded by war.

Personal Response- One will definitely empathise after seeing how children from somewhere on the other side of the world are living their lives. It will lead us into thinking how we do not treasure our lives and dampen it when others are clearly suffering much more than us.

Children in the darkness -task 1

Even though the title suggested that the poem was about poem living in the darkness, upon reading the poem one would realise that it is not referring to the children literally living in darkness. It actually reflected on how some children were forced to join the war and not giving them a chance to study and do other things a child should at that age. It also shows that it is not the child that does not wish to be like any other normal kid, but its because they were never given the exposure to learning and playing. This poem evokes feelings of sympathy towards these children as their lives were bound to be lived in misery.

Term 2 Post 4

I survived the ordeal.
It was painful watching my comrades die in the battle, but as time passes I learnt to deal with it.
War leads to suffering. Most of the time, you wouldn't even know how you die. It is as though you were running along with your team mates and suddenly you were shot. For those unfortunate enough to have to endure the pain before his life ebbs away, it was the moment in which they would think of their beloved ones. Even though we all went for the war prepared to die, it was still heartbreaking thinking how your loved ones would feel knowing your death. Struggling against death itself was useless, we all know that. Miracles do happen in war. Sometimes your entire team gets slaughtered but you and only you survived. But getting hit by a missile or a rifle straight through your chest and surviving it, not very probable. That was one thing I learnt through my experiences in war. You have to learn to let go of certain things.

For me, I had nothing to lose. I had no family left to begin with. They were all killed before the war. That was why I decided to join the armed forces in the first place. I signed up for the war bringing nothing along with me, and even though I survived, I came to realise that I bought nothing back along with me. So what if I did kill a few more people and somehow felt that my family was avenged? I tried thinking the problem in the perspective of the other party's family member. To them, their loved one died in a war. No matter which side you may be standing on, you will always feel the hurt. Do I gain pleasure and honour killing others? No. This is why wars go on continuously. The warlords have the urge to seek revenge or have their own other intentions, but those who foolishly offered themselves to war, and those who were forced to join in the fight-- those are the people who suffer in the end.

Wars brings misery. The advancement of technology only brought the killing of your opponent to a higher level. As all of us get astounded by the motion seeking missiles and killing machines, how many of us actually see that these are things that lead to the death of other people? Certainly war is important, but I am pretty sure there are many other ways to resolve different opinions other than through combat.

Yes, most of my comrades died. What was achieved in the end? Nothing but a sense of despair.