These lines illustrate the fact that people react very differently to suffering.
these lines suggest that people who suffer from war are overreacting.
these lines highlight the idea that war is not as brutal as people think.
these lines emphasize the harshness of the scenes the speaker describes.

Time is not always change. time can also mean continuity, and it can mean keeping acknowledged truths in mind despite differences in circumstances. there is no better example of this in things fall apart than the retellings of the proverb about the bird named eneke, the language in both retellings is almost identical despite the length of time that has passed between their repetitions. in comparing the usages of the same proverb, achebe allows his readers to note the similarities and differences between the situations, and he them understand how this story can be applied to their own lives.