Faulks presents the idea of religion in Birdsong when Jack and Arthur Shaw were on one tree hill observing the battle beneath them and they watched as ‘Horrocks pulled the silver cross from his chest and hurled it from him.' Faulks uses this to present the effect witnessing the mass violence has had on Horrocks as he appears to be desperate to remove his faith from him. The verbs 'pulled' and 'hurled' are used by Faulks to present how he exerted force and appeared to be desperate to remove this cross from him and to rid himself of all faith. This also shows more of an angry side to Horrocks as he cannot believe that the fighting he is witnessing is being allowed to take place, this also presents the loss of humanity conveyed through the soldiers behaviour. Faulks uses the noun phrase 'silver cross' as a method of symbolism for religion however Horrocks now appears to have lost all faith as he believes if there was a God he would not allow these atrocities to take place. Also in this extract Faulks uses the simple sentence 'Jack knew what had died in him.' This is used to show Jack's immediate understanding of Horrocks' loss of faith as he didn't even need it to be confirmed to him. An alternative interpretation of this could be that during the war many soldiers lose their faith due to the extreme conditions they have endured and the horrific events they have witnessed. In addition Faulks uses personification in 'what had died in him.' This is used to imply that Horrocks religion was previously alive inside of him due to it being a huge aspect of his life prior to the war.
Faulks also references religion in the extract through Jacks' desperation as shown in 'Please God, let it stop.' The adverb 'please' is used to implying a begging tone in Jack's voice as he is desperate for this fighting to stop and is asking God to help as he believes he is the only one that can end this mass destruction. Jack is desperate to escape his situation and can't bare to watch this fighting take place which emphasises soldiers reliance on God throughout the war. As well as this 'let' is used by Faulks to present how God is an authoritive figure and has the power to end the war. In this extract Jack appears as if he is pleading with God to help these soldiers escape these events. Also Faulks uses personification in 'let it stop.' This is used to present the war as if it were alive and needs to be stopped due to the on-going suffering and deaths it is causing.
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