ANALYSIS OF THE MAN HE KILLED BY THOMAS HARDY
by Annisa Nur Ratri Oktavianti
A. Synopsis and Interpretation
Thomas Hardy wrote the poem "The Man He Killed" in 1902. The events of the Boer War in South Africa are notably regarded to have served as inspiration for the poem, which emphasizes the senselessness and wasted tragedy of human conflict. The poem educates the readers on death, battle, and warfare. Thomas Hardy especially depicted a conflict between two combatant men in his writing. In a dramatic monologue, the speaker of the poem describes having to kill a soldier with whom he had come face to face during combat.
The narrator pondered in the first stanza how they may have become friends if they were not on the battlefield. They stood on the same ground yet they had to fight for each other’s country. Line 3 – 4 implied the meaning that the narrator intended to share his hospitality to the man.
The second stanza sets up a contrast with the first. He had expressed a desire to be close to the man in the previous stanza, but instead, as they were both staring at each other, the narrator shot and killed the man. “Ranged as infantry” means that the narrator and the man were forced to be “ranged” or “distant” because of the war.
Although it was clear that the narrator did not want to confess it, he attempted to persuade himself in this stanza of reasons why he should kill the man. The word “because” that repeated two times implied the meaning that the narrator was hesitating and doubting his decision. The phrases "Of course" and "That's clear enough" are obviously ironic because the hostility is not something that happens by default, the narrator did not find the claim to be "clear," and the narrator's pretense of assurance is dispelled by his admission that begins with "although..."
The fourth stanza implied a meaning of regret. This can be seen on the many use of stop sign “—”.The soldier's decision to enlist was somewhat impulsive ("Off-hand like") and partially motivated by a need for money because he was out of a job and had already liquidated his things. No other cause existed for him to enlist. The last stanza concludes the poem about the cruelty and stupidity of a war. The narrator finally realized there are no good reason for a war.
B. British Society
Celtic Society
A class of nobles at the top of Celtic society was ruled by a monarch or chieftain. The artisans, of which metalworkers were the most significant, were situated beneath them. Then the farmers arrived, who helped with food production and supported the chief in battle. Tribes were formed from the Celts. They were divided politically and engaged in a lot of fighting.
Roman British Society
Upper-class Celts assimilated the Roman way of life following the Roman Conquest. They constructed villas that were based after Roman structures and benefited from amenities like mosaics and even a system of central heating known as a hypocaust. Rich Romans also adorned their homes with murals, which are paintings on the wall. They had glass panels for windows.
Roman rule, however, probably didn't make much of a difference to the majority of the poor Celts, particularly in northern and southwestern England. For them, life continued largely the same as before. Their residences remained basic huts.
English Society in the Middle Ages
Society in the Middle Ages was structured like a pyramid. The king was located at the summit of the pyramid. The barons, or tenants-in-chief, stood beneath him. They were given land by the monarch in exchange for providing a certain number of warriors to battle on a certain number of days each year. A loyalty oath to the monarch was also required of them, and they were made his vassals as a result. Knights received land from the barons. They were required to battle for a certain number of days each year in exchange.
The king exercised divine right to reign during the Middle Ages. In other words, many thought that defying him was wrong because God had appointed him to be king. That, however, did not put an end to uprisings.
English Society in the 16th Century
Tudor society was split into four main categories. The nobility at the top owned enormous amounts of land. The gentry and wealthy merchants were below them. Yeomen and tradesmen were classed below the gentry. Tenant farmers who rented their property from the wealthy were below the yeomen. Paying workers were also present.
English Society in the 17th Century
During the 17th century, merchants' standing rose. Merchants gained greater respect as a result of the public's realization that trade was a vital component of the nation's riches. Rich landowners, however, maintained positions of influence and authority in politics.
English Society in the 18th Century
There were around 6 1/2 million people living in Britain at the beginning of the 18th century. By the end of the 18th century, it had expanded quickly, reaching nearly 9 million people.
English Society in the 19th Century
Britain was an oligarchy at the beginning of the 19th century. In national elections, only a tiny minority of men (and no women) were permitted to cast ballots. When more men were granted the right to vote in 1832, the situation started to alter. Additionally, districts were redrew, and some industrial towns were given their first-ever representation. In 1867 and 1884, the franchise was once more expanded. The secret ballot was first used in 1872.
However, at least 80% of people in the 19th century belonged to the working class. You needed to employ at least one servant in order to be categorized as middle class. Most domestic helpers were women. Because men received larger compensation, male servants were more expensive. Throughout the century, women were primarily employed in "service."
Poverty in the 19th Century
More than 25% of people were living at or below the subsistence level at the end of the 19th century. According to surveys, 10% of people were extremely destitute and unable to pay for even the most basic essentials, such adequate nutritional food. 15% to 20% of people only had enough money to get by (assuming they didn't lose their jobs or have to take time off work due to illness). You had to check into the workhouse if you had no income at all
C. Analysis
Thomas Hardy wrote the poem “The Man He Killed to express his disapproval about the Boer War. As a liberal, Hardy and his wife, Emma, did not agree with the Boer War. The War made Hardy hesitated to trust British Empire and he wanted to know what made them agreed to decided to start a war. Hardy could not understand why English wanted to take over the gold and diamond mines in South Africa.
He rode a bicycle miles and miles over to Southampthon to take a look at departing ships of English troops in 1899 when the war started. English had it worse in the early phase of the war. Thus, he wrote many poems to express his condolence for that situation.
The Boer war started in October 1899. It was a war between British Army and Boers in South Africa. The war's objective was to unite the Boer republics of the Orange Free State and the South African Republic (commonly known as the Transvaal) with the British South African provinces of Cape Colony and Natal. It was the Britain’s desire and the Boers, Farmers who speak Afrikaans, did not approve it. The Boers’s desire was to keep and protect their land. Fortunately in 1880-1881 the Transvaal Boers won the war against the British.
In 1886, the Uitlanders (Outlanders), an enormous number of English-speakers by the Afrikaners were interested by gold discovery in the South African Republic (SAR). The boers saw them as danger and a threat. As an uprising attempt, the Uitlanders attemped The James Raid in 1896. The James Raid was led by Dr. Leander Starr Jameson with his British South Africa Company troops. The Boer and British administrations' ties continued to deteriorat as the result of the uprising. Paul Kruger won the presidental election in 1898 due to the Boer’s dislikes about The Jameson Raid. President Kruger was even less willing to give the Uitlanders political sway. The Britain did not attempt to reach a peaceful resolution hence, in 9 October, the SAR launched an ultimatum to demand withdrawal of all of British troops around their country. It was an obvious reason that the British disapprove the ultimatum. In 12 October, the troops attacked Cape Colony and Natal. The war eventually reached its end on 1902. The Boers agreed to accept British sovereignty in exchange for some degree of self-government under the terms of the Treaty of Vereeniging on 31 May, 1902. In 1910, the Union of South Africa completed its integration of the Boer republics.
The Boer war was the first modern war to ever exist yet it was also traditional. Many variations of technologies were involved in the war such as air balloons, trains, engines, and horses. Aside from modern technologies and innovations, the role of cavalry was necessary in the Britain troops. The British troops did not allow mercy as they subdue the Boers by using British troops’ railway. Animals like horse had critical conditions due to lack of food and health.
The war impacted heavily on both side of troops. Many people died and lose their house, even had financial loss. Variations of issue emerged because of this war.
Social Issue
The Boer War caused both sides to lose many lives and death rate raised increasingly. 75.000 troops of British Army were sent to war at first for Natal invasion. The British was unfortunate enough to lose 22.000 men of their troops from the war. Not only death because of the war, 13.000 people lost their lives due to disease. The same fate occured to the Boers. 27.000 lives were lost and even worse, the victims were dominatetd by young children. Another 20.000 black and ‘colored’ Africans died in concentration camps.
Boer women and children, and other black families were interned as a result of British military sweeps to clean the veld, which sparked debate from the beginning at the concentration camps of Boer War. The deaseas, measles, increased high mortality. This resulted in a lot of resentment, but the history of the camps has never been thoroughly examined.
Political Issue
The war led the disconteted South Africa race groups from 1910 since the war ended. The Afrikanerdom was divided – the bitterreinders vs the hands-uppers, and the joiners specifically. The bitterreinders were were humiliated and resentful.
The black people were not in the same thoughts with the British authorities which gave the image of political equality and rights of social to the black people. This resulted in the forming of policital organisation for example, South African Native National Congress (SAANNC) on 8 January, 1912. SAANC was formed due to black people suspiciousness of white people. The black people often dragged into conflict with the white people later on.
South Africa’s connection with other countries was also impacted which led to sports banning, pressure of economics, and the imposition of a mandatory United Nations arms embargo in November 1997.
British Army lost 450.000 contingents from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and India.
Psychological Issue
Lot of people dealt with their post-war trauma. Some Afrikaners kept their hatered, bitterness, frustration, and fear for many years. Years passed by, but the trauma still went on in some cases. A great fear of foreigneers (non-Afrikaneres) still dominanted them eventhough many years passed by. This trauma occured for at least 59 years since the end of Boer War. At the same time, people among races began to differentiate and formed an alienation towards them.
Economical Issue
The amount of money spent in this war has a very large amount that was around £210 million (over £25 billion today). This large amount of money was the cost of having many many troops, and the mobilized resources. The result of sickness and insufficient medical care accounted for two thirds of the deaths. British Empire and British goverment were supplying that many cost for British Army and yet, they lost.
In addition to the large amount of money, buildings, public facilities, and animals were heavily impacted by The Boer War. British troops were unable to subsist off the soil like their adversaries caused lots of damage such as burning farms, railway sabotage, and devastation in the countryside. In other hand, the Boers also blown up a railway bridge at Kroonstadt in 1901.
D. Conclusion
This poem entitled “The Man He Killed” is about a man hesitation and guilty from killing the other man. This poem described about the uselessness and foolishness of a war. Furthermore, it is also about how war brings out the worst in people and what teribble things it can lead and cause.Thomas Hardy wanted to draw attentions to the plight of the poor men who were forced into this war. He wanted to help give a voice to those who were suffering and got injusticed. The Boer War influenced in the making of the poem. It was a political conflict about land, ownership, and resources. The Boer War heavily impacted both side of troops, the British and the Boers (Afrikans). Many issues were found after analysing this war. Death became major social issue in this war due to getting killed in a war or caught in a desease. Political issue emerged from the lack of trust from black people with white people. South Africa were banned in almost every aspect by the other country. The Britain lost many contigents due to the war. In addition, many people were affected physically and mentally. Many Afrikans felt hateful towards the Britain and some cases revealed that Afrikans also got post-war trauma. Over £25 billion of money were sacrificied as an important source of foods, aids, animals, camps, and technologies. Public infrastructures were affected from the Boer War such as burning farms, railway sabotage, and devastation in the countryside.
References :
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Author's Note :
Here goes the last post of my college assignments. Well that was quick lmaoo.
I hope I can graduate soon and get out of my thesis :"(
Until we meet again. Goodbye









