Blog Post #4

"He wanted a father, and for the same reason, he wanted to be a father. It was common enough, to see so much death and want a child. Common, therefore human, and he wanted it all the more. When the wounded were screaming, you dreamed of sharing a little house somewhere, of an ordinary life, a family line, connection." (pg 227)

I think that the shift between Part 1 and Part 2 is quite jarring. The readers are taken from the English countryside and thrown directly into WWII, where we learn that Robbie is serving in the British Army in France. It is interesting, yet makes sense to me that this is where Robbie is most idealistic about his future. He has great plans for what he'll do and the new relationships he'll form as soon as he's back home, and especially focuses on fatherhood. I think having something to look forward to, and something to live for (besides Cecilia) is really important for Robbie's character. We are able to see him dream of reconnecting with his father, of becoming one himself, and living a normal life after the war, all while soldiers are brutally dying around him. He says that it's common to see death and want a child, which I personally don't understand. I feel like seeing such atrocities would make you not want to bring a child into this world, but then again I've never experienced anything like what he went through. This section is especially powerful, since we later learn that Robbie never gets to have anything like this, and neither does Cecilia. We learn that their dreams never got the chance to become a reality, all because one thirteen year old girl made a mistake years ago, which is crazy.