Question

"The little man's face became a battle field on which rage, misery and a respect for the decencies of social life struggled to for mastery."
What does the expression "face became a battlefield" mean?

Answer 1

The expression 'face became a battlefield' means that he had a lot of conflicting emotions on his face. His face reflected anger for a while that changed to misery and respect after a while. The changing emotions changed the expressions on his face and so his face resembled a battlefield.