In Remains, which theme is described as the initial reaction toward the killing?

In Remains, which theme is described as the initial reaction toward the killing?

• A. Guilt
• B. Nonchalance
• C. Hope
• D. Pride

Answer: (B)

The main idea is how war can blunt a person’s emotional response at the moment of violence. At the start of Remains, the speaker tells the killing in a flat, casual way, almost as if it’s nothing out of the ordinary. That detached tone—the sense of “nonchalance”—is a deliberate coping mechanism: by treating the act as routine, the speaker distances himself from the horror of what he’s done. The line that signals this stance, along with the blunt, colloquial voice, shows he’s trying to get through the moment rather than dwell on it. Guilt comes later in the poem as the memory recurs and gnaws at him, so it isn’t the initial reaction. Hope and pride aren’t supported by the mood or language of the moment either; they don’t fit the immediate sense of numbness and defensive distance the speaker voice first conveys.

The main idea is how war can blunt a person’s emotional response at the moment of violence. At the start of Remains, the speaker tells the killing in a flat, casual way, almost as if it’s nothing out of the ordinary. That detached tone—the sense of “nonchalance”—is a deliberate coping mechanism: by treating the act as routine, the speaker distances himself from the horror of what he’s done. The line that signals this stance, along with the blunt, colloquial voice, shows he’s trying to get through the moment rather than dwell on it.

Guilt comes later in the poem as the memory recurs and gnaws at him, so it isn’t the initial reaction. Hope and pride aren’t supported by the mood or language of the moment either; they don’t fit the immediate sense of numbness and defensive distance the speaker voice first conveys.