Sheriff presents the mental effects of war in the extracts by emphasising Hibbert's desperation. Hibbert is pretending to be suffering from neuralgia in the hope he will be sent away from the fighting however Stanhope presents the hardship of their environment through the conditional clause, 'if you went I'd have you shot for deserting.' This is used by Sheriff to convey the consequences Hibbert would face if he attempted to leave the front line and it also illustrates how Stanhope has a lack of compassion for Hibbert's wellbeing as he ignores the suffering Hibbert is enduring. However Hibbert's poor mental state is also presented through Sherriff's usage of an exclamative in ''Go on then, shoot.' This demonstrates how Hibbert can no longer control his feelings against the war and he cannot cope with his current mental state. His drastic decision presents to the reader how Hibbert would rather be killed for deserting then go back to the front line. This conveys how soldiers were suffering due to the hardship of war as they found themselves to have no escape from their inevitable deaths as they had no opportunity to leave due to their superiors lack of consideration. This also shows how during WW1 if soldiers were not prepared to fight they were of no use in the war and their only way out was through their death.
Sheriff also illustrates the idea of coping mechanisms through the elements of belonging and friendship. Sherriff uses a rhetorical question in, 'Why didn't you tell me instead of talking about neuralgia?' This is used to show a more compassionate side to Stanhope as he is making Hibbert feel as if he can talk to him about how he is feeling and he can confide in him. As well as this Sherriff states 'we all feel like you do.' The quantifier 'all' is used by Stanhope to present the ideas that these feelings of fear and desires to leave occur within all the soldiers and they all share this hidden thought. Stanhope uses this to help Hibbert feel as if he isn't alone with his damaged mentality and that all soldiers share the same feelings. Sheriff also uses the inclusive pronoun 'we' to present the soldiers as a unit and to help Hibbert feel as if he isn't alone and he has others to help him through this experience and hardship. In addition, this pronoun usage also conveys that even superiors share these ideas and desires to leave due to the tough proximity in which they find themselves and their poor mental states. An alternative interpretation of this could be that Stanhope is only saying these things in order to stop Hibbert from leaving and to return to the front line.
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