GCSE English - Hope CA Creative Piece Repeat Flashcards
Paragraph One
The pure, white snow hovered and glided down from the sky like a graceful Angel. The innocent precipitate landed on the war torn, blood stained ground in ‘No man’s land’ and lay peacefully, just like the bodies of the many men who had died in this war to end all wars. I tried to rub my hands together for warmth, but was only met by the squelching sound of my wet and cold gloves. My body shivered and shook as I breathed out and saw my breath condense in the polluted air.
Paragraph Two
The cool air on this frosty December evening assaulted my face, numbing my nose and ears. I closed my eyes and tried to think of my home, my family. But it was no use, all I could here was artillery fire, rats scampering the floor of the trench and injured men in the medical bay crying out in agony. I removed the cloth covering my nose and instantly regretted it. The rancid, eye-watering smell of blood, sweat, mud and faeces lurked in the trenches. I gazed around me and saw the terrified, scarred faces of my comrades. Some were sucking their thumbs and others were rocking back and forth. I could taste the despair in my mouth. These bleek Walls drove men insane. Staring for months at wooden panels, sandbags and dirt.
Paragraph Three
I was awakened from my day-dream to the screaming and shouting of my commander. Just then, a gas bomb was flung into the narrow trenches by the enemy. I was paralysed with shock as I witnessed the poisonous gas seep from the contents of the container, staring death in the face. I moved quickly and put on my gas mask, but some weren’t so lucky. A young man was struggling to put his mask on, fumbling and failing. The green aggressive gaseous chemical navigated the maze and engulfed the man. He screamed and choked as it entered his lungs, he dropped to the ground and began to hyperventilate. What a horrible way to die. The sea of green began to fade, and so did my hope of escaping this hell on earth.
Paragraph Four
It was late at night and the temperature plummeted. I sat on watch, gazing out over the decimated, lifeless battle ground. The moon played hide and seek as it disappeared and reappeared behind the vast sea of white clouds. Suddenly we heard the sound of our enemy singing ‘Silent Night’ in their native language. I turned my head and looked at the shocked faces of my fellow soldiers. We were cautious at first but began to join in. My eyelids began to get heavier and heavier, until the point where I couldn’t stay awake. My mentally and physically fatigued body drifted off into content sleep, listening to the calm melody of my comrades.
Paragraph Five
I was snapped out of my tranquil sleep by the shouting and bellowing of my commanding officer. I peered my head above the trench and gazed in disbelief. It was a German soldier, trudging carefully across the trench wearing his old worn out boots and his frayed uniform. “Stop!” I cried out. “He is not armed,”. The wary troops gradually brought their fire-arms down. My fellow soldiers and I cautiously trekked the barren, traumatised, earthy ground towards ‘The Enemy’ and met in the middle of ‘No Man’s Land’.
Paragraph Six
We laughed and smiled as we shook hands and introduced ourselves, the first normal social interaction I experienced since I joined the war effort. A feeling of contempt consumed my feeble body as I displayed photographs of my family back home and told stories of my childhood. A deafening silence was present all across the corrupted and impure landscape, as for the first time in months to a single gunshot or artillery fire could be heard echoing throughout the plains.
Paragraph Seven
Some of the German soldiers brought out a brown, leather football and made make-shift goalposts from their old, abused overcoats. We then organised a match and played for a few hours. I sat by the sideline on the grass-patched ground, staring up at the vast, sea of blue. The yellow, round sun arched low across the winter sky and casted shadows on all the troops. As I studied the players playing football, I saw their many shadows dancing and running across the ground. Their silhouettes reminded me that beneath our differences, our accents, our uniforms, hatred, nationalism and imperialism, we were all the same people. That was what worried me.
Paragraph Eight
The time I had spent with the German soldiers had humanised them, I had established a bond, a connection. I knew deep down in my soul, if I still had one, that these were good people being exploited. I feared that, if the time came when I had to kill, I wouldn’t be able to do it. Then came my worst nightmare. The cannons went off signalling the end of the seize fire. We gathered our stuff and set-off towards the trenches. All hope is lost as I know that in the inevitable future I will have to kill the ‘enemy’ … my friends.
