Conversely birds such as doves are inseparable with the idea of beauty and tranquility and peace perhaps due to the bible, whereby Faulks draws on similar thoughts to English Romantic, John Keats' ‘Ode to a Nightingale’ in which a bird is used to represent transcendence. Birds are often regarded as ill omens (a crow for example). The associations with birds are manifold then and Faulks draws on these multiple meanings to maintain an ambiguity. This is therefore contrasted again whereby "birdsong" can also be used to evoke the feelings of innocence - because of this Stephen’s horror is all the more noticeable and unexpected. These birds represent a form of primitivism that Stephen is not able to control or repress. This carnal primitivism is one which is further exploited through the constant war motif, throughout the novel specifically also as the canary (another form of bird) is used to detect early danger when Jack is in the tunnel. His phobia is heightened when he sits with Isabelle and reacts to the presence of a pigeon and when he has to return the canary back to its cage. The horror for Stephen of the flapping birds wings is described in the telling of a recurring childhood dream, whereby the birds ‘brought their beaks towards his face’. This is first highlighted by Stephen’s phobia of birds. "Birdsong" and birds themselves are used as a central motif, throughout the novel.
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