DOSSIER Fiction et réalité

Benjamin West, Tim O’Brien, Stephen Crane

THESIS : through the medium of artistic representation, the set of documents engages with
and problematizes the patriotic myth of war as a heroic experience.

1. Heroes and anti-heroes

1.1. (Anti)epic portrayals
- (doc A) focal point of the composition: the martyr of the itutlar historical figure
- (doc C) in sharp contrast, “singular absence of heroic poses” (l.24)
- (doc B) the opening of the text on every-day activities (l.2) v. combat and the act of killing
(l.17)

1.2. Bravery and fear

- (doc B) courage and heroism as the marks of the soldier’s true (masculine) worth
(“treasonous pussy,” l.45) > the fear of physical confrontation, dodging the draft
- (doc C) the petrified recruit (l.36) and the commanding officers (l.32-33)
- (doc A) conventional representation: absence of fear; reverenced expressed in the pose of the
figures surrounding Wolfe

1.3. Confusion
- (doc A) combat still raging in the background (not clearly discernable)
- (doc C) metonymic and allusive description: “the war atmosphere” (l.1) and its effects on
the soldiers’ behavior
- (doc B) the idea of dodging at first “purely abstract” (l.21): the same could be said of war as
the reality of combat is still elusive

2. War on man
2.1. Individualization and depletion
- (doc A) contrast between the figures in the foreground (individualized) and the faceless
soldiers in the background
- (doc C): loss of identity and individuality: anonymous youth, interchangeable soldiers
- (doc B) a clearly identified personality; narrator grappling with the idea of being bereft of
his youth (l.2-4) and forced into a role he has not chosen (l.11-12)

2.2. The enemy: blurring the line

- (doc B) a faceless, non-descript enemy: “a Hitler” (l.9), Communists (l.44), “killing” (verb
without an object, l.45)
- (doc C) physical presence never made concrete (l.29-30)
- (doc 1) does not depict the actual confrontation: the French troops and their allies are outside
the frame; the flag and the uniforms identify the figures in the foreground as British

2.3. The enemy within

- (doc B) inner turmoil: fear of combat and fear of exile, “a moral split” (l.26)
- (doc C) “the red rage” (l.3) and the allusion to possible friendly fire because of the confusion
(l.47)
- (doc A) the serene expression of Wolfe: acceptance of death even as victory is announced

3. Trying to make sense

3.1. Celebration v. indictment
- (doc A) celebrating British victory and glorifying a national hero
- (doc C) the senselessness of combat (analogies); the violence of the officers against their
men (l.39-40)
- (doc B) small town America’s simplistic grasp or ignorance of international politics (l.34-35)

3.2. Patriotism
- (doc A) a patriotic narrative: dramatized (theatricality) and idealized (absence of blood)
- (doc C) historical settling: no mention of secession or slavery (neither camp is identified) >
what is foregrounded is the individual experience of battle as chaos and confusion
- (doc B) “their simple-minded patriotism” (l.35); “plain and simple” (l.44)

3.3. Myth and complexity

- (doc A) illustration of the myth of war experience: self-sacrifice, patriotism, glory and
heroism
- (doc C) debunked in the description of the youth thoughtlessly embracing his battling
impulses (l.5-6) and in the description of the deaths of the battlefield
- (doc B) ambivalence: no pacifist (l.8), idea of the “just war” (l.9 and 14) yet fear of dying
(l.14) > different type of heroism: critical reflection and efforts required to try and
comprehend war (l.43)

Rapport du jury 2016 (CAPES ancienne formule mais exemple de mis en relation des
documents: corpus Crane, O’Brien, Sassoon
https://saesfrance.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/rapport-capes-externe-2016.pdf