“Compare how Vera Brittain and JG Ballad present the theme of ‘WAR’ in Testament of youth and Empire of the Sun”

Both the novel and the memoir are set during a war that disrupts the main characters life in a way that allows the reader to experience the raw brutality of war, whether that is physical or emotional. Testament of Youth (ToY) is set in WWI and Empire of the Sun (EotS) in WWII, the 27 year gap between the wars meant there were technological differences such as communication, aircraft and weapon advances. These factors highlight that the later war would have been more sophisticated in both ground and air defence/fighting techniques. This could possibly be why both characters envision the war differently, although there are other factors such as gender, geographical location and political positioning to consider. Ballad writes in a 3rd person emotionally detached manner whereas Brittain’s first person perspective allows us to empathise with her situation. The extracts I will be using to explore the way in which war affects the thoughts and feelings of each protagonist are page 30-33 from EotS where on the eve of pearl harbour Jim investigates Hungjao aerodrome and comes across an old fighter plane. This is when we see his fascination with warfare technology. I will compare it to pages 67-72, chapter 8, in ToY when Vera sees her future fiancé, Roland, receive his awards on speech day at her brothers school and both Roland and her brother are appropriately attired in their OTS uniform.

At the beginning of both extracts, sooth and calming nature is key and is juxtaposed to the violent acts of war that are soon to follow . The grass Jim walks on is described by the noun ‘blades’ that ‘seethed’. Both connote violence, anger and conflict that could symbolise Jim’s feeling and emotions. The fact that the nature at Hungao aerodrome is described in a violent manner yet Jim is not affected by it shows that he does not see the danger of the war. He doesn’t understand that the world is meant to be peaceful, like nature, so instead sees the world as an aggressive place which is reflected by his view of the aerodrome. The use of nature in ToY however, is paradox to that of EotS. Vera describes her summer as ‘radiant’ ‘sunlit’ and ‘shining’. The use of these adjectives makes the reader think of light and happiness as the words connote a carefree and warm summer. Vera's tunnel-visioned view on summer and the way she describes it so positively suggests that she doesn’t currently see the war as a threat to her happiness. We see this through her older and wiser narrative voice that deliberately sets up a sense of foreboding to highlight her innocence at the time.
Vera also speaks of nature from her personal point of view, converse to the ubiquity of it at the aerodrome, where Jim doesn’t seem to notice it nor is he affected by it. Given that the nature is repeatedly described as violent, it illustrates Jim’s inability to rid himself of thinking that violence is normality. Ballad describes Jim as walking through ‘grass that rose to his shoulders’ which symbolically tells us that he is overwhelmed by his emotions and they overpower him, in effect meaning he cannot express them.

The main protagonists come across as very naïve and can be viewed as selfish in parts of extracts. The childhood naivety could demonstrate how they deal with the reality of war. Vera noticed ‘nothing more serious’; her use of the pronoun ‘nothing’ tells us that she disregarded anything that could foreshadow her prosperous naivety. It becomes evident that Vera cannot see past her own experiences, so in her mind, the war is nothing that can duly affect her.
Similarly, Jim’s only experience of war was from a distance. And that’s how he continues to believe it to be. The way in which the war resembles a game to Jim becomes clear when he runs around the airfield saying ‘ta-ta-ta-ta-ta…vera-vera-vera’.We understand Jims child-like innocence despite his boldness in this extract as he doesn’t understand the danger that comes with the conflict he anticipate. When Jim describes the dead as being in a ‘deep dream of war’ it denotes that Jim too dreams of it, it seems apparent that the war would almost be a dream come true for Jim. The adjective ‘deep’ implies that they will not wake up, Jim’s distorted view of death means he compares it to sleep- the dead never really die. He appears to associate war and death to a lost dream. His naivety is clearest in this section of the novel.

Following on from Jim’s naïve view, the reader can explore why Jim sees war in this way, he remembers visiting the battlefield in 1937 with his parents. Ballad describes the scene as ‘parties’ that ‘parked their limousines’ and that the ‘debris of war (were) arranged for them’. He depicts an image of celebration and glamour. The class divide is an obvious factor in Jim’s detachment to the war; the only time he experienced it, it was ‘arranged’ in a way suitable for viewing. He has not yet seen the malicious nature of war as his experience is not first hand, nor was it educated, so he does not fear his reality.

However, Roland's experience with war is vastly the opposite. He ‘took the OTC very seriously’ as he wants to join the army. The adverb of manner ‘seriously’ tells us that he is intent on joining the army and that he is either brave, informed but stupid or oblivious to the threat the war poses. Vera mentions the ‘prescience’ of the masters and their ‘deliberate solemnity’, which could suggest Roland’s situation, is the latter. This indicates his experience with war is of a middle class detached nature. Wars experience with the middle class is much distanced; demonstrating that they do not believe war is as catastrophic as the numerous plights from other countries have made out.

A key theme apparent in both novels is the sudden transition from imagination to reality, representing the protagonist’s need to grow up swiftly if they are to survive the war. Jim ‘rested his balsa model on the engine cowling…and lowered himself into the metal seat’. This is the figurative moment that he starts to realise what the war is about and that the war can be dangerous, but still a child, he does not believe that the danger will affect him. The verb ‘rested’ lets us know that it is only temporary; his childhood innocence and naivety, represented by his balsa plane, is ready to be picked back up at any time. The verb ‘lowered’ proposes that he is in a more serious mind set as he prepares himself for what he perceives as the reality of war. Vera also experiences this shift in mentality. When she watched Roland in the awards ceremony she ‘did not feel inclined to tease him anymore’ this emblematic moment describes that she too understands that she vulnerable to the danger and changes war will bring to her life. The verb ‘tease’ is very light hearted and whimsy, implying that previously she hadn’t perceived the war as a threat to hers and Roland’s blossoming relationship but the adverb ‘anymore’ tells us that she is not accustoms to the significance of the role Roland plays now. Roland and his friends are going away to camp having being donned the ‘three musketeers’. There is a sense of British camaraderie in the sense that they’re all going together. War is displayed here as a joint effort and that unity will get you through the best and worst of times. Contrarily, Jim sees war as an act of solitude as he himself is experiencing it on his own. He ‘machine gunned flitting insects’, reiterating the way that Jim envisions the war as a game. It communicates to us that if he was not facing the world on his own then he would have a much more serious mentality about the coming war.

Jim sees the Japanese as the stronger force, as does Roland’s head teacher: on speech day he quoted the samurai Bushido code that states that ‘if a man cannot be useful to his country then he is better off dead’. Japan wasn’t an enemy to the British Empire in WWI and the idea of death before dishonour was a key focus of British patriotism. It is heavily ironic because Japan was part of the axe of power and we were fighting against them. It conveys that they see war as a politically fought battle where the outcome is pre-determined, all that is left is to physically brawl it out.

In Vera Brittain- A Life, from her perspective we see the war presented as self-indulgent and remotely selfish as she cannot see past her middle class experience. This is demonstrated when she sees ‘nothing more serious’ about her summer; her vision is censored.
In the Empire of the Sun however, Jim sees the war as a time of ‘excitement’. The adjective ‘excitement’ demonstrates that his perception of the war is deluded and naïve. We see that the war from both accounts is not seen in all its treacherous glory, instead viewed in a blurred privileged display.

Ballad, typical of many late twentieth century writers, keeps a distance between his protagonist (Jim) and the reader. We are never really told how Jim feels because it appears Jim forces himself not to feel. This could be the way Ballad informs us that war took away his capacity to feel emotion. He provides descriptions of Jim’s actions, even the things he thinks about, without ever truly exploring his feelings; “He remembered the swirling grass at Hungjao Aerodrome, and tried to imagine the slipstreams of the Brewster Buffaloes. He turned to the transport aircraft parked by the perimeter road.” The lack of feelings here displays Ballads 3rd person emotionally detached narrative.
Brittain, on the other hand, goes to great lengths to enable us to imagine how it felt to go through these experiences; “War possessed one’s personality the moment that one crossed the sea, making England and all the uninitiated marooned within its narrow shores seem remote and insignificant.”