We are introduced to a naive narrator who spends his time on a bird sanctuary on his friend, Ashley's property. Jim has a faithful understanding of the birds' lives, and appreciates the role each one has in its environment. Furthermore, he is amazed at how these creatures are able to travel thousands of miles, "across oceans without a guiding mark" to reach their destination.

Jim's friendship with Ashley, and later Imogen Harcourt, an English photographer, reflect the undisturbed, even balanced life they are living in. Each one of their contributions creates for a successful recording of the bird life of the sanctuary. To Ashley, Jim's hobby expresses "a fire of individual passion." Imogen is ad

Jim, perhaps unexpected after his death, is seen digging along with many other men. This time the "earth smelled so good." "The earth was rich and warm," just the opposite of what it was like when he was fighting. But now, unlike before, he has all the time necessary in order to dig. His plan is to go the "direct route-straight through." The narrator, despite being dead is shown here doing what he would wish for if he were alive- to go home. When Imogen hears of the tragic news, she mourns for her friend's death. She thinks that all life, whether great or small had enormous pride and honesty. She went on. "A life was not for anything. It simply was."

To Jim, since there was a war going on, he feels as though he has no choice but to fight in it. "He would never understand, when it was over, why his life and everybody he had known were so changed, and nobody would be able to tell him." When he arrives in Europe, he meets many people like himself.

ded to the picture when introducing her photographic view of birds to Jim. Showing him a photo of a sandpiper, Jim feels "oddly moved to see the same bird in this other dimension." Class, experience, and gender are overlooked among the three characters, a connection to war that is later experienced in Europe.

The contrast of life Jim experiences in Australia to what he has been through in Europe, further emphasizes the appalling conditions of war. Jim, before enlisting, knew only of a place that was new, alive, and yet to be formed. When arriving in the long-established conti

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1051
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)