Essay Questions

What is the significance of Stephen's journal?

Stephen's granddaughter Elizabeth finds his journal in 1978, decades after it was written. At first, she struggles to read the journal as it is written in code, but when she is able to read it she understands his story. The fact that the journal is coded represents the fact that history must be deciphered in order to be properly understood in modern times.

Reading Stephen's journals inspires Elizabeth to research further into the experience of World War I, as she begins to interview veterans who used to know her grandfather. The journals are incredibly personal, containing information about Stephen's experience of warfare, the psychological impact it had on him, and his personal feelings for Isabelle. The journal was originally hidden, which is s symbol of the experiences and feelings that he did not fully reveal while he was alive.

In 1978, Elizabeth is going through a tough time herself, as she is in a relationship with a man who is married. However, reading the journal helps her to better understand her own experience, as Stephen also experienced forbidden love during his lifetime.

What does Birdsong tell us about the aftermath of war?

Firstly, we see the psychological impact of war on soldiers through the character of Stephen. In the text, he becomes representative of soldiers who experienced psychological stress and "shell shock" after World War I. Stephen feels depressed and cynical due to his experiences and has post-traumatic stress as a result of warfare. He begins to see the worst in everything, including his own men and himself, struggling with the emotional and moral demands of warfare. He says: "No one in England knows what this is like... This is not a war, this is an exploration of how far men can be degraded."

We also see the physical effects of warfare through Isabelle, who is injured in a shell explosion, resulting in disfigurement and paralysis. Birdsong even shows the impact of the war many years after it ended, by including Elizabeth's narrative. As she reads Stephen's journal and interviews soldiers she realizes the effect that the war has had on her life.