Importance of Life Revealed in Erich Maria Remarques All Quiet on the

Importance of Life Revealed in Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front       Erich Maria Remarque's classic war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, deals with the many ways in which World War I affected people's lives, both the lives of soldiers on the front lines and the lives of people on the homefront. One of the most profound effects the war had was the way it made the soldiers see human life. Constant killing and death became a part of a soldier's daily life, and soldiers fighting on all sides of the war became accustomed to it. The atrocities and frequent deaths that the soldiers dealt with desensitized them to the reality of the vast quantities of people dying daily. The title character of the novel, Paul Bà ¤umer, and his friends experience the devaluation of human life firsthand, and from these experiences they become stronger and learn to live as if every day were their last.    The killing and death of WW I depicted in the novel desensitizes Bà ¤umer to the reality that death is now a regular and driving force in his life, and that each human life is no longer sacred and precious. Bà ¤umer feels great emotion and sadness when one of his childhood friends, Kemmerich, dies early in the war. Bà ¤umer expresses his emotional despair after Kemmerich's death, stating, "I become faint, all at once I cannot do any more. I won't revile any more, it is senseless, I could drop down and never rise up again" (Remarque 32). Because this is one of the first deaths that Bà ¤umer witnesses personally and because Bà ¤umer and Kemmerich were childhood friends, the emotional impact is even greater. However, not all the deaths of his comrades effect him in such a powerful manner. The fighting gets to a point at which Bà ¤umer... ... him. Death, which he once agonized over, is now a daily occurrence and seems commonplace to him. Life, which he once took for granted, is now cherished beyond belief, and holding on to it becomes his greatest preoccupation. These effects are not limited only to Paul Bà ¤umer, but extend to all the millions of people that are involved, directly or indirectly, in the war. WW I has far-reaching impact. It not only touches those in combat on the front lines, but also those who support the soldiers and help to make munitions and supplies on the homefront. Bà ¤umer, and the millions of other people involved in WW I, learn the difficult lesson that the most trying experiences in life, or in this case death, are what make us the strongest and what drive us to survive. Works Cited Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. New York: Balantine Books, 1928.

Country Lovers: a Reader’s Response

Country Lovers, Nadine Gordimer TLC 25 November 2012 ? Nadine Gordimer dramatically depicts the theme of forbidden love in Country Lovers, but more than just the depth of this love, the forbidden relationship between races during the years of apartheid. Gordimer brings forward very early the fact of racial division, â€Å"the black children are making along with the bodily changes common to all, an easy transition to adult forms of address, beginning to call their old playmates missus and baasie little master†. Gordimer, 1975) This short story powerfully demonstrates the ever present desire for that which is taboo and the often very tragic end for all concerned in an overtly subjugated society, race notwithstanding. She sets the story in South Africa on the farm owned by the white Eysendeck Family, early in the childhood of their son Paalus and the young black girl, Thebedi.The vivid descriptions or Local Color are depictions of culture and landscape within this setting allow the author to depict the atmosphere that shaped the characters moral values of individuals in a particular region. (Clugston, 6. 4) The use of setting, in this case the time and place of the story also illustrates Milhauser’s opinion, â€Å"†¦ if you concentrate your attention on some apparently insignificant portion of the world, you will find, deep within it, nothing less than the world itself.The author also cleverly uses foreshadowing to allude to issues the characters may deal with, â€Å"The trouble was Paalus Eysendeck did not seem to realize Thebdi was now simply one of the crowd of farm children down at the kraal†. (Gordimer, 1975) The overwhelming sense of cultural taboo was evident throughout the story and was recognized by both characters in their need to be secretive in their meetings. The use of foreshadowing and setting strongly supported the themes in the story, allowing Gordimer to bring the reader closer to the heart to the story.Although Nadine Gordimer grew up in South Africa during the enforcement of apartheid and attempted throughout her years of writing to bring attention to the under privileged; she and many other writers did not have the ability or desire to discuss the unfortunate issues that generations of the often over-indulged and morally corrupt class also had to face, â€Å"I will try and carry on as best I can to hold my head up in the district. † (Gordimer, 1975) The characters throughout this story were strong and richly developed.Both Paalus and Thebedi were similarly portrayed as equally developing young people in the illustrations of their interactions with classmates and friends, an example being the gifts they exchanged on holidays and the joy they gained admiration of them. (Gordimer) Ms. Gordimer expertly executed the account of two young people that were lifelong friends and eventually secret lovers and the on pressures that society, class and race can have on those individuals.An incredible sense of despair is exposed in the passages discussing the issues faced by the characters, Thebedi and Paalus, both showed a feeling of loss of control of the situation when he stated, â€Å"I feel like killing myself†; she could not help but feel sadness for a man she likely still loved, â€Å"her eyes began to glow, to thicken with tears†. (Gordimer, 1975) This effort to bring the ominous mood to the reader is astonishingly effective. In the last portion of the story the dialogue of the main characters demonstrates the deliberate change in the characters.Paalus becomes very aware of the potentially catastrophic outcome of his and Thebedi’s indulgences. The shift in characterization was brilliantly executed with the seemingly formidable white man becoming the pariah in the district where his family was well respected. The conflict or struggle within both characters became what to do with the baby who was the product of forbidden love in an unaccepting society. Lastly, the reader is made aware of several shifts that have shift occurred. The first shift being for Paalus and the Eysendeck family by being lowered in status â€Å" left with his mother’s raincoat shielding his face from photographers†.The next obvious shift of the Judge in his statement in court actually raised Njabolu’s status, †by commending the honorable behavior of the husband†¦ and even provided clothes for the unfortunate infant out of his slender means. † (Gordimer, 1975) The final line of the story provides insight on the outcome by bringing to light the fact that the girl â€Å"in her own language stated that â€Å"it was a thing of our childhood and they don’t see each other anymore’’ The symbolic nature of this last line demonstrated the eventual movement forward of the young woman and her embracing her life as it was set in motion by time and society to be. REFERENCES: Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Milhauser, S. (2008). The Ambition of the Short Story. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www. nytimes. com/2008/10/05/books/review/Millhauser-t. html

Structure, Theme and Convention in Sir Philip Sidneys...

Structure, Theme and Convention in Sir Philip Sidneys Sonnet Sequence The sixteenth century was a time of scientific, historical, archaeological, religious and artistic exploration. More attention was being allotted to probing into the depths of the human psyche and it was up to the artists and poets rather than the priests and scholars to examine and mirror these internal landscapes. The little world of man [1] was reflected through various artistic forms, one of which was the sonnet, which was conventionally used for dedications, moral epigrams and the like. Traditionally most sonnets dealt with the theme of romantic love and in general the sonneteer dealt with the over-riding concern of the self and the other, the latter of†¦show more content†¦Incidentally, although not a realistic autobiography, Stella is modelled on Penelope Devereux, who was supposed to marry Sidney but was then forced to marry Lord Rich, and phil in Astrophil is indeed an abbreviation of Sidneys first name, Philip. After finding out about Penelopes marriage, fate had i t that Sidney started to truly have feelings for her although by this time it was too late. Astrophils actions seem to be forgiven by some critics because he is after all driven by love. In fact Sidneys depiction of the male protagonist is one which makes some critics and readers empathize with him during his lamentations and praise of Stella. This may be because it is thought that Sidneys aim was to show readers how a man can let his emotions get the better of him, thereby leading him into eventual despair. It is through Astrophils mistakes and negative example that Sidney is able to inculcate morality. This is also another typical quality of sonneteers, who aim to morally instruct through their art. Beneath the witty surface of Astrophils lamentations, Thomas P. Roche seems to feel that Sidney is using Astrophils journey from hope to despair as a fictional device for the analysis of human desire in Christian terms. [2] Consequently Roche points out that in witnessing Astrophils despair the readers reaction is supposed to make them conscious of his limitations from a