1
Oscar Gonzalez
English 309
Professor Milford
Sacrifice in War
The topic that was chosen and was closely examined for this course over all the poems
that were read was sacrifice. The main problem that many people do not see about the war is the
sacrifice that is deeply put in. People in my opinion do not think about what is being left behind
for these soldiers. Many of the soldiers have families that are being left behind. One of the
saddest things that for me just gets me every time I think about is, that many of the soldiers do
not know if they will ever return home. The amount of heart and bravery that a person needs to
have to sacrifice their own life to protect their country is outstanding. The one author that really
connected with this topic was Wilfred Owen. I found that with Wilfred Owen poems, there is
different views of sacrifice that is put in through a person. Examples that can be found because
of sacrifice would be the aftermath of the war, what can happen during being in combat, getting
injured during the war, and the one that brings everyone down, losing your life. The rest of this
essay will closely examine how each portray sacrifice through the poems by Wilfred Owen.
While reading many of Wilfred Owen poems, I did not think about the topic of sacrifice
until actually seeing a pattern between different poems. One of the first poems that truly caught
my eye and talked about sacrifice was the poem called “Disabled”. While reading this poem it
kept me wondering if the person being talked about in the poem believed that joining the military
was worth it. This poem spoke about an ex-military soldier that has been put in a wheelchair
because of his injuries during war. Before going to war it mentioned how snice he was a stud in
football, he believed that he will remain a stud by joining the war. This made me believe that he
2
sacrificed his body just to impress many people. The line where it mentions “Now he is old; his
back will never brace/ He’s lost his colour very far from here” (15-17). This goes with the topic
of sacrifice because this shows the aftermath of what war can do. This is the kind of tragedy that
can literally happen to any soldier. Sadly many believe that once joining the military not only are
they sacrificing their lives to protect they’re county, they are also constantly living in fear
everyday while being out in battle. This poem has the topic sacrifice involved throughout
reading. It can see being seen from the very beginning to the end. I believe that there is some sort
of guilt felt from the guy in the wheelchair. So it is very clear the sacrifice plays a big role in this
poem. Seeing how once saying how the character it the guy that is involved in this poem joined
just so he can impress and boost his ego is very sad. We as the readers read how it all ended for
the soldier. Now going on to the next argument and how this one talked about the result, the next
