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Jeanne
A British soldier and commanding officer of the miners. Weir and Stephen form a close friendship and rely on each other during the darkest days of war. Weir is a kind but scared man, and Stephen’s superstitious card games give him something to believe in when life seems pointless. Weir is also a virgin when he arrives on the Front, and his fear of death and the sex challenges typical notions of masculinity. Despite his fear, Weir never falters during the war, and Stephen considers him the bravest man he knows. Sadly, Michael is shot and killed by an enemy sniper near the end of the war, and he is deeply mourned by Stephen.
Michael Weir Quotes in Birdsong
The Birdsong quotes below are all either spoken by Michael Weir or refer to Michael Weir. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part Two: France 1916
Quotes
“No one in England knows what this is like. If they could see the way these men live they would not believe their eyes. This is not a war, this is an exploration of how far men can be degraded. I am deeply curious to see how much further it can be taken; I want to know. I believe that it has barely started. I believe that far worse things than we have seen will be authorized and will be carried out by millions of boys and men like my Tipper and your Firebrace. There is no depth to which they can’t be driven.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Birdsong LitChart as a printable PDF.
Michael Weir Quotes in Birdsong
The Birdsong quotes below are all either spoken by Michael Weir or refer to Michael Weir. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part Two: France 1916
Quotes
“No one in England knows what this is like. If they could see the way these men live they would not believe their eyes. This is not a war, this is an exploration of how far men can be degraded. I am deeply curious to see how much further it can be taken; I want to know. I believe that it has barely started. I believe that far worse things than we have seen will be authorized and will be carried out by millions of boys and men like my Tipper and your Firebrace. There is no depth to which they can’t be driven.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
