Essay Questions

What is the connection between the poet’s life and the poem entitled Weapons Training?

In the poem Weapons Training, the poet talks from the perspective of a general talking with soldiers. The general treats the soldiers as worthless people, telling them what they must do once they reach the battlefield. The experience may be a genuine one as the poet was a soldier as well starting from 1959. He was sent to Malaysia to fight against the Japanese and he eventually returned after six months. It is thus possible that the author was presenting his own experience to the reader.

Why the poet mentioned death as often as he did in his poems?

The author wrote during a time when Australia was involved in the Vietnam War. During that time, many soldiers were sent on the battlefield and the vast majority did not return home or were badly injured during the fights. The author was also able to see firsthand how the war influenced people since he served in the military as well. Because of this, it is no wonder that death is a common theme in his poems.

What are some of the ways presented in the poem that have the power to dehumanize a person?

In many of his poems, the author decided to focus on what dehumanizes us and makes humanity less humane. We can distinguish two main reasons for the population’s dehumanization and the first way a person can lose his humanity is through war. The author analyzes the way war influences us as humans and presents how many lost their quality as men and women because they were exposed to war. According to the poet, war uses soldiers but does not sees them as humans but rather as weapons. In times, the soldiers start believing they are just weapons as well and when they are no longer involved in war they continue to maintain the same belief. Another way through which humans lose their humanity is through consumerism. The poet stresses that a consumerism nation will not focus on others but only on themselves and thus, little by little, will reach the conclusion that other people are not worth their time or fighting for.