War Horse [Contains
spoilers]
Michael Morpurgo
1982
As I said, these figures have possibly been adjusted to
cause a moral panic. However, given the increasing amount of video games, films
and television shows catering for the country’s youngsters, it would not
surprise me if reading books is now a hobby enjoyed by fewer children each
year. I am not saying that reading endless novels is the only way
in which children can learn, but I believe that reading can be a big part of
any child’s development.
Which brings me, finally, to War Horse. Written in 1982 by the brilliant Michael Morpurgo, this
children’s novel documents the journey made by a horse named Joey, through the battlefields
of the First World War. Joey’s owner, Albert, is too young to enlist, and so
Joey has to make the harrowing trek alone.
Morpurgo’s narrative is first person, from Joey’s point of
view. Giving the horse a voice is a masterstroke, as it gives the often-overlooked and never-heard, a voice. More importantly, due to Joey’s innocence
and neutrality in the war, younger readers are able to get an insight into war
that most war books cannot do. Joey lives with and works for both English and
German soldiers during the novel and is treated well by Englishmen and Germans
alike. He is also on occasion mistreated by characters. Once again though,
there are no distinctions between the trenches.
War Horse has all
of the traits of a war novel and they are sensitively handled by an author very
adept at writing about difficult issues. The most moving death in the book is not, in
my opinion, that of any human, but of Joey’s companion and friend, the horse Topthorn.
Joey is devastated by Topthorn’s death and risks his own demise by staying with
his fellow horse's body. Once more, the innocence of the animals is exposed, highlighting the
sheer futility of war. This senselessness is further summarised by a German
soldier, believed by his comrades to be mad because he talks to himself and his
horses. He says:
‘It’s the others that are mad, but they
don’t know it. They fight a war and they don’t know what for. Isn’t that crazy?
How can one man kill another and not really know the reason why he does it,
except that the man wears a different colour uniform and speaks in a different
language? And they call me mad!’
There can be no arguing with "mad old Friedrich" here. Ultimately, the man who is one of the most sane characters in the trenches is killed. Friedrich had to be claimed by the war; surviving would have lessened the importance of his words. War has no mercy and Morpurgo makes that clear with the man's death.
Overall, I believe that Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse is a fantastically poignant and
important children’s book. If the country’s youth are to flourish and
understand the world around them, instead of wandering aimlessly and ignorantly
into their future, Morpurgo is required reading. His writing has a gentle, yet
brilliantly important message behind it, and leaves the reader, whether they
are children or adults (there are many people who are older who could gain a
thing or two from War Horse) thinking
about his stories for days after.
I remember reading it when I was younger, but it made me cry, so I only read it the once...it was good though, great review :)
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