Faulks said of Birdsong that he wanted to explore how much suffering human beings could endure. Examine the significance of human suffering in the novel in the light of this view.

Essay Plan: Introduction: Faulk’s narrative highlights suffering as a phenomenon prevalent throughout all aspects of human existence, the novel’s episodic structure and juxtapositioning of imagery explores the manifestations of suffering, which are shown to drive human action. Faulk’s comparison of physical suffering with sexual imagery demonstrates an interconnectedness between pain and pleasure, implying that the endurance of suffering is an intrinsic part of human life and crucial to existence. 
Point 1: Talk about emotional suffering, analyse the novel’s structure and language and how this becomes progressively frantic, heated. Highlight correlation between emotional suffering and frantic actions. Hence the more suffering endured, the more it dictates human action. 
Point 2: This correlation can also be seen in other characters affected by psychological suffering. Unable to compute their psychological suffering, they take to drinking. Drives actions which they previously never did. Drinking to numb suffering, which is part of being human. Implies this is intrinsic human reaction to trauma. Interconnectedness.
Point 3: Disjointedness between human suffering and capacity for endurance also seen in physical suffering, visceral images of violence. Seems as though soldiers can’t endure more but they keep going. Natural for humans to think they can only endure so much but can do much more. This is the nature of suffering.
Point 4: Faulk’s juxtapositioning of physical suffering (violence) with physical pleasure (sex) builds upon idea that the suffering is intrinsic to human beings and both experienced in equal measures. Indicates that Birdsong not only a novel about war, but an exploration into meaning of human life, which is echoed by birth of new baby at the end.
Conclusion: As well as exploring what happens when humans reach their maximum capacity for enduring suffering, Faulks highlights how crucial a role suffering plays in human lives, therefore shedding light on the definition of being human.