Jack Firebrace

Jack Firebrace is a 38 year old, working class man from London, mining underground in the trenches toward the enemy line. He signed up in order to make more money to support his wife, Margaret, and his son, John, because they didn't have enough income. Obviously his preconception that he would return within the year, and the life wouldn't be that tough is shattered, and we can see how distressing life in the trenches actually is for Jack. This shows us how he is a representational character for a vast amount of the men at the time. Jack gets extremely nostalgic after receiving a letter from his wife, and he realises how far away from home he really is - especially when underground with only the darkness and opressive soil for company. He tries not to develop strong relationships with any of the men, because of how often they die. For example, when we are first introduced to his character 2 of the men he is underground with are straight away blown up by a shell. It is here that we learn that Jack believes himself to be 'immune to death' but he therefore gains empathy from the reader, as he is lonely and homesick. In contrast to the cold Stephen Wraysford, who is reintroduced in Part II as a Captain, the reader likes Jack - who is funny, often the joker asked to perform stand up or conjuring tricks when out at the billets, so he is well liked by the other men also. We feel empathy for him because his son is ill, and eventually dies, and there is nothing he can do about it, because his wife is lonely and obviously struggling to cope without him, and because we know that his life at home is not a good quality; we learn that some of the food he eats in the trenches is better than he is able to provide for his wife and son. His position is sad, so we naturally have pity for him. There is a constant underlying theme throughout the narrative surrounding Jack of religion. He often prays to God to be saved from the war and to go home, and in prayer we see his feelings emerge. The stark and selfish reality that the men just wanted to be saved and go home, and didn't care about the fates of the other men they served with, is tough, but understandable. It is impossible for us to fully appreciate how harrowing living day to day with death was for the men in the trenches, but Faulks, through Jack, brilliantly portrays the harsh thoughts and emotions of an average man in WWI.