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Transformed By War
In poetry, literature, memoir…
In this set of readings, you’ll not only get a sense of the ferocity of the fighting during the Great War, but you’ll also read how veterans interpreted their experience. Understanding these attitudes are essential for us, because these young men will go on to shape post-war Europe. If optimism, science, progress and faith in human reason were the characteristics of pre-war Western attitudes, what had become of them by the end of the war?
We’re going to do another writing exercise in class just as we did for our last lesson!
TASKS: [READ CAREFULLY!!!]
In your NEW Reader (“Progress & Catastrophe) you have some degree of CHOICE about which texts you will read. You will be reading passages on pages 56-74. I don’t expect you to read everything, but I want you to dig into more than one piece—if you find it interesting, perhaps you’ll read it all!
EVERYBODY MUST READ
(59-66) Remarque: “What would our fathers do…?” [everybody must read this]
Remarque fought in the war on the Western Front. Following the war he became a journalist who eventually wrote the most famous war novel of all time: All Quiet on the Western Front.
What else to look at/read???
You need to read at least one of the two choices below.
OF COURSE... YOU CAN READ MORE AS WELL...
CHOICE 1
To read a different perspective from Remarque, read Ernst Jünger, (71-74). In his non-fiction memoir, Storm of Steel (1920) he expresses his positive view of front-line combat. Much of it is descriptive of battle, but on page 74 he explains how he believes battle improves individuals and the nation.
...a still from the 1930 film
OPTIONAL
...for those who want to understand actual battle tactics...
Armies always plan for the last war… (56-58)discusses battlefield tactics and how they changed.
If you’re particularly interested in this, you can watch scenes from Stormtroopers 1917. Check it out HERE
CHOICE 2
Finally, there are some spectacularly famous English poets (pages 67-70). If you choose to read all the poems you won’t be disappointed (that is, if you like poetry!).
[If you’re just curious and only read two poems they must be Owens’ Dulce et Decorum Est (lines 85-120) and Siegfried Sassoon’s Banishment (67-83).]
In class, you can either write a descriptive piece of historical fiction that reflects more than one perspective or a newspaper article including interviews with soldiers. – You will want to have them express what they think about the impact of combat on their feelings and beliefs.
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