Shoe Horn Sonata Analysis Essay Example

a significant contrast between the women’s attitudes to the war once they had arrived in their prisoner of war camps, under the power of the Japanese. These effects convey to the audience of John Misto’s point of view on the war, thus enabling it to be a distinctively visual text. Similarly, the poem “Beach Burial” by Kenneth Slessor depicts the passing of unknown soldiers during World War 2 as well as conveying the poem as a distinctively visual text through its use of techniques such as imagery and similes.

An example of imagery in “Beach Burial” can be seen in the line “To pluck them from the shallows and bury them in burrows. ” The imagery used here communicates that the remaining soldier felt it was his duty to tends to the hundreds of passed soldiers and bury them once they had passed. The word “them” is repeated to reinforce the anonymity of the soldiers and the senseless nature of war. These two examples show the horrific realities the soldiers endured as well as the great sense of mateship they felt towards one another.

The simile “As blue as drowned men’s lips” is a comparison between the colour of ink used on the inscriptions written on tombstones. The ink used was a blue colour, similar to that of a drowned man whose lips are blue, from the coldness of the ocean. These techniques reinforce Slessors perspective of soldiers within the war and help create it to be a distinctively visual text through its use of imagery and similes. Throughout the play, “The Shoe Horn Sonata” gives further evidence of being a distinctively visual text.

The friendship Sheila and

Bridie share is unlike any other. They have survived and battled through a war of abuse, starvation and mistreatment. During their years in the prisoner of war camp, they did all they could to protect each other. An example of this is seen on page fifty-eight when Sheila tells Bridie of the sacrifice she made in order for Bridie to stay alive. Bridie is in shock that Sheila “went off with a Jap”, which is something Bridie had always frowned upon. This is evident though Bridies lack of speech.

She repeatedly says “No” as if trying to convince herself that this had never happened. The use of repetition, combined with the obvious tension between them enables the audience to picture what is currently happening between the two women. John Misto’s point of view is distinctively visual through the use of various techniques, encouraging the reader to picture in their mind the events of the play. “Beach Burial” reinforces the destructive nature of war by using techniques such as irony and onomatopoeia to enable it to become a distinctively visual text.

In the line “between the sob and clubbing of the gunfire” onomatopoeia is used to recreate the setting of war. A particular point of view is seen through the use of irony in the line “Dead seamen, gone in search of the same landfall , weather as enemies they fought, or fought with us, or neither, the sand joins them together, enlisted on the other front. ” This quote is ironic because at one point these men were fighting each other with such effort but now they have died because of this.

But they now are united all

together, in death on the same land. These techniques are evidence that displays “Beach Burial” is a distinctively visual text. For a text to be distinctively visual, it must explore a particular point of view with a variety of techniques to enhance its power of communicating a point of view. “The Shoe Horn Sonata” and “Beach Burial” are great examples of a distinctively visual text because they explore a variety of ideas and perspectives.