Vocabulary: The Battle Of Long Tan

The Battle of Long Tan only lasted three and a half hours. Too short to be considered a war yet too brutal to be classified as a simple ’fight.’ On the 18th of August 1966, 2,500 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong soldiers sided together to create one half of a battle which could only be completed with the involvement of 100 Australian and New Zealand rivals. Through intense rain and mud, each side sacrificed their possible deaths in order to regain land rights. 350 deaths later the Australian victory was achieved, as a result of the Vietnam army’s decision to back down due to their rivals increasing strength. The poem entitled ‘Was it Really Worth it?’ aims at vocalising general details in relation to the Battle of Long Tan, its impacts on the …show more content…
Through the use of this form of speaker, readers are able to have a greater understanding of the encounters witnessed by people who jeopardised their lives during the battle. It also assisted in conveying the series of events that occurred before, during and after the battle. Through the use of a variety of poetic devices in addition to a rhyme pattern, multiple emotions are conveyed throughout ‘Was it Really Worth it?’ A descriptive yet simplified vocabulary specifically aims to produce an emotive response from readers and enhances the effects caused as a result of the many poetic devices included. ‘Like shooting a blank gun at a wall filled with audible screams,’ is one example of a simile utilised to descriptively compare shooting an enemy with the agony it causes and conditions which were preventing the narrator from doing so. The reader expresses how pulling the trigger within the darkness of his environment could lead to many deaths and/or injuries only characterised by the intense screams of one's life ending. Readers are made to feel empathetic towards the soldier's position, as he has been put in a situation he many struggle to