Q) How does Boey Kim Cheng evoke sympathy towards the reservists in this poem?
A) Boey Kim Cheng’s “Reservist” is a free verse poem that encapsulates the onerous lives of men who are obligated to devote themselves towards Military Service. The poet deploys a sardonic tone, adroitly accentuated through the usage of images, irony and striking diction to eloquently elicit profound sentiments of sympathy towards the reservists.
Throughout the poem, a sense of routineness is manifested through the poet’s diction. The words “time again”, “annual joust”, “regular fanfare”, “same hills”, “same forests”, “same trails” and “same roar” indicate the multitude of instances where the repetition of “same” or similar words is used to portray the monotony in Military Service. The feelings of tedium are underlined through the oxymoronic visual image in “rusty armour” and the words “battle weary knights ”; they are worn out due to their recurring call for military service and even something as shiny as their armour has began rusting, which signifies the regularity of their service as soldiers. Moreover, the phrase “again united with sleek weapons we were betrothed to in our cavalier days” depicts the eternal relationship between the army weapons and the Reservist, further emphasizing on the recrudescence of Military Service, which significantly evokes a sense of pity regarding the plight of the reservists.
Boey Kim Cheng also prevalently evinces the compulsion that the men are subjected to. The repressive call for military service is elucidated by “imperative letters” and “king’s command” and the inevitability of their submission to this service is marked in “same trails will find us time and again”. The peremptory nature of the government is highlighted through the analogy between the men being sent to war and children being forced onto carousels signifying the impotence of these men being compelled into fighting as soldiers. This accounts for their despondency, which is denoted in the auditory image in “suppressed grunts” and the kinesthetic image in “creep to attention”; “creep” depicting their lack of willingness in their actions and “suppressed” highlighting their utter exhaustion, hence accentuating the feelings of sympathy in the readers’ minds.
The horror and violence that pervades in the province of war is powerfully represented through striking imagery and phraseology that vividly portrays their abomination towards Military Service. The poet uses the tactile image in “creaking bones” to illustrate their scathed physical condition, which delineates their experience through a gruesome aspect. To emphasise on this, Boey Kim Cheng makes a reference to court martials, which is essentially a court for those who oppose the military law. This reference suggests the fact that any reservist who fails to appear for the “joust” is subjected to judicial action. Their familiarity with violence is signified in “monsters armed with the same roar”; the metaphor “monsters” referring to their enemies, who they so frequently fight against that their brutality no longer frightens the reservists. These terrifying images invade the readers with compassion towards the reservists who live such strenuous lives.
Furthermore, profound emotions are elicited in “helmets shutting off half our world” and “too old, too ill-fitted for life’s other territories”. Here the poet laments and expresses his regret for their requisite devotion to being reservists; their allegiance has resulted in them neglecting other pursuits in life and by the time they are no longer fit to fight in the army, they are too old to experience the various aspects of life. This is underlined by the illusion created in “shrinking gear”, a comical remark that sarcastically suggests that their gear is shrinking whereas in reality they are growing older, carrying the same duty with them as their age ascends.
Boey Kim Cheng deftly maintains a cynical tone throughout the poem, which is underscored in the last paragraph where he portrays hope, however, it is done through irony and a series of paradoxical statements, that suggest that the hope is artificial. The poet wishfully claims that one day the “lordship” will perhaps “sleep” and that they will “emerge [as] unlikely heroes” however this is contradicted throughout the poem as the poem persistently represents the continuity of military service and the title of the poem: “reservist” explains that these men are simply reserves, hence they are unlikely to be remembered or honoured for actively fighting for their country. The sarcasm augments the sympathy that pervades in the readers’ minds for this instance signifies how a reservist must force himself to be optimistic and believe that their misery will come to an end whereas in reality their current state of perennial monotony is their eventual fate.
Lastly, in “sisyphus is not a myth”, the poet uses an allusion to compare their plight to that of Sisyphus who, as a punishment, was made to push an immense rock up a hill only for it to fall down everytime he nears the top. By deeming his situation as a punishment, the poet elucidates his state of distress. Thus, by making the poem replete with literary devices and diction, the poet emanates his vexation at military service, invoking deep sympathy for the reservists.
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