comment on style / language

The tone is one of despair and helplessness to overcome life's situations. There are many examples of this tone, seen through the affair between Amy and Dorrigo, the scenes from the Prisoner of War camp, the hopelessness of the Japanese and Korean soldiers who are merely doing their duty, and Dorrigo's loveless marriage. This hopelessness is underwritten by a sense of longing though none of the characters ever really achieve what they are longing for.