Bernard Monologue

corpses of the dead. They lay down the road we travelled. Some might have been taken for bundles of rags. Or discarded rubbish. Others were unmistakeable” (Levy, 371). Those were not the only people he had seen dead. He also witnessed his best friend die within a burning building. “The smoke was getting thicker… My basha. The one that had the meeting in it. The truth is I didn’t even think about it when they shouted ‘Maxi’s in
Bernard was also sent to jail. During the fire, he had the role of a night guard. He left his position to try to save his friend from the burning building, since that was what he found moral. He was not thinking about the authorities, and if he was allowed to, he did it because he felt it was important. Despite trying …show more content…
He was Bernard’s father, and showed how negatively the war can affect someone without any physical damage. Gilbert finds Albert lost, and soon discovers that he was mistaken for another black man. He learns that Arthur did not speak; Gilbert tries to ask Bernard if he needed anything. No response, he is not verbal. It wasn’t until later that the readers knew Albert had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, but it was definitely obvious early on, without any news that he was in the First World War. PTSD is caused from previous amounts of stress. At a young age, Albert has suffered from the side effects of war, and has never fully recovered. “But he was never my pa again. Every time he looked at me was for the first time. It didn’t matter if I just left the room, when I came back I was a stranger” (Levy, 403). This following quote shows how horribly people can be impacted by …show more content…
By the time of the next war, it was no better. The wars had ruined Arthur’s life, and took away any of his potential. He is no longer able to communicate, and he is stuck in a lifetime of fear. With Gilbert, Arthur was frightened by loud noises. A plane flies overhead, “he was shaking, like electric volts quivered through his body…He was gyrating like a bad dancer who could not find the beat…I realised this man was not quite right in the head” (Levy, 165). Soon another plane flies by. We can see that Arthur wishes to scream, but he is unable to. We can see the fear that fills Arthur and that he is definitely upset by the noises despite them not causing any harm, “The aftershock of another plane booked in the distance. The man covered his ears, his have contorting to a soundless scream” (Levy, 165). He was afraid of what was happening around him. He just wished to go home. He despite it being the Second World War, he was still drastically changed. He tried to give Gilbert a slip of paper that would help Gilbert find his home, “Once he had handed me the paper this man then jumped-and I make no exaggeration -jumped five feet away from me.” It is quite easy to see how scared Albert is. When war did hit, Albert was difficult to care for. It was harder to get him to safety: we couldn’t get Arthur into the shelter when the real bombs came. No amount of pushing could get him into another trench during bombardment. He was off.