The American Crisis by Thomas Paine states thus: “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” This means that the hardships that the men were living were a test of their character; if they stayed, it meant that they were real soldiers who were deserving of the utmost respect, and they had a strong and enduring heart. If they had left however, they are like the sunshine patriot and the summer soldier that Thomas Paine speaks of, they would have failed the test of character. Paine also states that “the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” This means that only the things that are fought for, that are bought with blood and tears, are truly worth the most value.
The outside is unaffected by and unaware of what happens on the front because they are so distant from it; they come closest to the reality in displays of national pride. While Kantorek constantly lectures the boys on the importance of enlisting in the army and serving Germany, “There were thousands of Kantoreks, all of whom were convinced that they were acting for the best-in a way that cost them nothing. And that is why they let us down so badly” (Remarque 12). The young men volunteered themselves expecting combat to be the same as it was depicted to them. The rest of the world judges battle to be noble and necessary because they do not know what it is truly like.
“Every thought and event caused by the outbreak of the war came as a bitter and a mortal blow struck against the great conviction that was in my heart: the concept of permanent progress, of movement towards even greater happiness” (Englund, 46.) The outbreak of the war evoked a new society and drastically changed the participants’ lives. The beginning of the war was a bitter blow towards society and most participants within the entries were not pleased with the outbreak; it evoked responses and accelerated changes in each society represented. Happiness and progress are common themes within the entries. The continuation of their happiness would change and the progress of society is evident.
In the year 1914, a war started that would turn innocent people against each other, and have aftermaths that include thousands of people dead due to new equipment like tanks, gas attacks, and hand-to-hand combat. In this war there was a soldier named Paul Bäumer who is a German nineteen year old who has made friends that will last a lifetime during this experience, but has also felt immense pain. His daily routine is to sleep, eat, and fight in the trenches, and he experiences death every day. Most soldiers view death as a recurring event, but Paul views it as wretchedness, which makes him different from others by caring about his comrades more than others. Paul shows many qualities through this experience of being a soldier in the First World War, and he learns what is necessary in life, which takes some people years to figure out.
People also believe that those who die for their country or nation, are blessed. As time and the war went on, people started to become pessimistic because of the increase in price of goods, casualties, lack of goods, among other things. As stated in Erich Maria’s Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, 1928, “There are too many fresh English and American regiments over there. There’s too much corned beef and whole wheaten bread. Too many new guns.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that, “envy is ignorance; imitation is suicide.” (370). John Knowles’ A Separate Peace is set during World War I at Devon School, a boarding school for boys. The book centers on Gene Forrester, a student at Devon, who could be described as an intelligent, but jealous, conformist. A Separate Peace illustrates Gene’s envy and imitation of his friend, Finny, and how it affects himself and his relationship with Finny, and also how Gene eventually finds peace.
Emerson states that “envy is ignorance, imitation is suicide”(370). John Knowles is the author of a Separate Peace: a story based in 1942 during WWII at a prep school in Massachusetts. Gene is a little boy from the South. He is very average in sports but is very smart. A Separate Peace illustrates how Gene’s envy and imitation of Finny affect him, affect his relationship with Finny, and his lack of peace.
Emerson states “envy is ignorance; limitation is suicide”(370). John Knowles writes A Separate Peace about a boy named Gene returning to an old school. Gene is a teenage boy, smart, but jealous of his best friend Finny who is popular and liked by everyone. A Separate Peace demonstrates how Gene’s envy and imitation of Finny affect him, affect his relationship with Finny, and his achievement of peace. Gene’s envy and imitation affects him in a few ways.
In the novel, Tomorrow When The War Began, by John Marsden is about eight teenagers who confronted a situation that is out of their security and are trying to save their families. Fi, Homer, and Ellie are few of the characters that showed courageousness in the novel; finding out their unknown courage, taking risks, and not giving up to everything that happens. It is some of John Marsden’s message about courage. The characters also demonstrate it while they were in conflict with the soldiers who invaded their town and imprison their families in the Showground. Courage is what Ellie has that she never thought she had.
During that time period, war was displayed as a noble and honorable thing to do for ones motherland; dying for one’s country was seen as an admirable thing to do. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Kantorek, the teacher of many boys in the platoon, strongly created an impression that they had to go and fight for Germany. He “gave [them] long lectures until the whole class went... and volunteered” for the war (Remarque). This action alone caused the doom of many characters in this book, and undoubtedly there are many people in real life who were persuaded by their teachers and mentors to join the war. Similarly, in Sassoon’s poem, the civilians, rather than being frank, often cheered on the war in order to give the soldiers morale.
Throughout the ages, wars have wreaked havoc and caused great destruction that lead to the loss of millions of lives. However, wars also have an immensely destructive effect on the individual soldier. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, one is able to see exactly to what extent soldiers suffered during World War 1 as well as the effect that war had on them. In this essay I will explain the effect that war has on young soldiers by referring to the loss of innocence of young soldiers, the disillusionment of the soldiers and the debasement of soldiers to animalistic men. Many soldiers entered World War 1 as innocent young boys, but as they experienced the full effect of the war they consequently lost their innocence.
On all Quiet on the Western Front, there were several notions that the new recruits were not equipped with the precise knowledge or abilities to accurately fight in the war; without immediately dying. For instance, they were not aware of the chemical timings and procedures, how to cover from bombing and gun fire, and the timings of when to fire themselves. In addition, Peck stated, “at least 95 percent of the men going off to risk their very lives did not even have the slightest knowledge of what the war was about” (page 392). This was caused by the societies from which these boys came from, ideally forcing them into war through social norms. The culture within one’s nation when war arose was that males go and fight for their loved ones and for their nation and if they refused they were seen as cowards and taken to war anyway.
The war novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque depicts one protagonist, Paul, as he undergoes a psychological transformation. Paul plays a role as a soldier fighting in World War I. His experiences during the war are not episodes the average person would simply experience. Alternatively, his experiences allow him to develop into a more sophisticated individual. Remarque illustrates these metamorphic experiences to expose his theme of the loss of not only people’s lives but also innocence and tranquility that occurs in war.
In All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque exposes the reality of war by refuting the idea of the “Iron Youth,” revealing the mistreatment of soldiers, and showing the critical effects war imprints on them. When any war begins, young men are always the first ones to be sent into the war zones. To clarify, older generations believe young adults are the best options for fighting; these boys are strong, full of energy, and do not have anything to lose. “The chief source of this pro-war ideology were the older men of the nation: professors, publicists, politicians, and even pastors” (Literature and Its Times).
Commercial Food Production Essay The question of whether humans should eat meat is a controversial subject that most everyone has an opinion about. To prepare for this essay I watched, Paul McCartney on Slaughterhouses and Earthlings; 101 Reasons to be Vegan, I also chose to watch a third video entitled, A Video Tour of a Beef Plant Featuring Temple Grandin. All three videos shed light on the meat producing industry in different ways. Analyzing the content of these videos helps gain knowledge of the treatment of animals and how they are processed for human consumption.
