Private Peaceful

Private Peaceful is a novel by Michael Morpurgo in which he has gone through the task of contrasting bravery with cowardice. The question of what is means to be a man and a soldier who is ready to demonstrate bravery and intelligence for the benefit of others arises. Even though it is a children's book, Private Peaceful possesses dramatic power and is a true description of the horror of war times. Private Peaceful is a humanizing recollection of the depravity that is overlooked by the British army to date. It has brought the plight of over three hundred British Army soldiers who were given the execution order for their alleged cowardice. The failure by the British government to grant posthumous pardons to these soldiers is also highlighted. Most of these young men had been uprooted from their lives and have been casted into the fore front of the brutal World War 1 forefront. Their journey from innocence to adulthood bares a sharp contrast from any illusion of the glory of war The simple literary style of this novel allow for it to be easily understood be a ten year old, despite the fact that it touches on some weighty issues such as cowardice, heroism, poverty, family, loyalty, modesty and innocence. The first person narrative has been effectively applied such that the reader has present day feel rather that a distant event look of a ninety year old event. The book evokes a real feeling of depression in its quest for realism

Keywords: Private Peaceful, Michael Morpurgo, World War