> no one knew where the austrians were nor how things were going, but i was certain that if the rain should stop and planes come over and get to work on that column that it would be all over. (p. 213). here, frederics dread of air raids underscores the vulnerability and futility of the human condition during war. the rain, which once signified melancholy, now becomes an ominous barrier against imminent destruction. chapter xxviii thrusts frederic into the chaos of the italian army's retreat. the orderly world of chapter xix is replaced by stasis, disorder, and moral ambiguity. frederics decision to desert the army reflects his final severance from collective human endeavors. > "in the night many peasants had joined the column from the roads of the country and in the column there were carts loaded with household goods; there were mirrors projecting up between mattresses, and chickens and ducks tied to carts. there was a sewing-machine on the cart ahead of us in the rain. they had saved the most valuable things. on some carts the women sat huddled from the rain and others walked beside the carts keeping as close to them as they could. there were dogs now in the column, keeping under the wagons as they moved along. the road was muddy, the ditches at the side were high with water and beyond the trees that lined the road the fields looked too wet and too soggy to try to cross." (p. 211) this vivid description of the retreat underscores the breakdown of societal order. the peasants, displaced and vulnerable, carry remnants of their disrupted livesmirrors, mattresses, sewing machines. these objects, once mundane, now symbolize an attempt to salvage dignity amidst chaos. the imagery of women huddled against the rain and dogs seeking refuge under wagons evokes a profound sense of shared suffering. the "muddy road" and "waterlogged fields" serve as metaphors for the inescapable and suffocating nature of war.
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