Question

Which parts of these excerpts indicate that soldiers are completely unprepared to fight in a war?

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!–An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime...
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
(Wilfred Owen, “Dulce Et Decorum Est”)


You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you'll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.
(Siegfried Sassoon, “Suicide in the Trenches”)

Answer 1

The correct answer for the question that is being presented above is this one: "But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime... 
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. "

Answer 2

Answer:

The answer is the first excerpt from Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. This excerpt emphasizes the lack of preparation of the soldiers put in the extreme circumstances of the battle field. In the first world war (which provides the historical context of this poem), many young men were sent to the lines and found no way to fight against the many deadly weapons they encountered. The author says "flound'ring like a man in fire", which may be interpreted as the cluelessness with which this man faced death, as if he were mistaking the gas for fire. Also, he says "an ecstacy of fumbling" to describe the reaction of the soldiers when they find out about the gas. The word "ecstasy" shows a very frantic, infantile response to danger, as opposed to what an experienced soldier or a more seasoned man would feel in the face of threat, which would probably be something relating exaltation, over awareness, etc.