Drummer Hodge' by Thomas Hardy
Drummers were usually the very youngest of soldiers and were
considered to be too young to fight. This instantly sets a very sombre
tone as the reader realises the soldier was very young when he died.
The word 'Hodge' is used to describe him and was once used as a
derogatory term for a farm labourer however Hardy means no disrespect
as he has openly showed his admiration for countrymen. This term is
merely one of many techniques used to emphasis how foreign the Drummer
is.
'A Dead Boche' by Robert Graves describes an encounter with a dead
"Boche"; the word boche was an offensive term for a German. These two
poems are instantly different as one is written about a fellow
Englishman whilst the other is written about an enemy.
The first stanza in 'Drummer Hodge' shows the horror of the soldier's
death and burial in a strange land:
"They throw in Drummer Hodge, to rest
Uncoffined - just as found
His landmark is a kopje-crest"
The word "throw" shows how disrespectful Hodge's burial is, he is not
lowered with dignity or given a proper military burial as he should be
entitled to. He is not even placed in a coffin and is buried "just as
found" making him sound more like an object than a person. The
Afrikaans words "kopje-crest" and "veldt" emphasise the foreignness of
Hodge's resting place, which is also highlighted again by the
reference to the "foreign constellations" that will rise nightly over
his grave. Graves' poem contrasts with this as it focuses more on how
the German visually looks and doesn't evoke the emotional feeling that
is brought about by the alienation in Hardy's poem. Gr...
... middle of paper ...
...indifference
and immunity to the horrors as he describes the dead German in a
cynical and matter-of-fact way.
It could be seen that Hardy describes the death of the soldier in an
idealised way. The imagery of stars and resting with the
constellations over the soldier is aromantic and pleasant way to be.
However his protagonist is a young boy who dies away from his home,
who will forever be under a sky he doesn't know and will eventually go
on to nourish the people he was fighting against. This seems to be
very realistic and cynical. Graves describes the dead German with very
simple and visual adjectives which instantly conjure up images in the
reader's mind. His view of the dead soldier could be seen as realistic
yet his tone, especially in the first stanza, suggests a cynicism that
makes his poem seem traumatic.
goes to show how important it is that a man's honor be intact no matter what the cost may
Out of This Furnace by Thomas Bell Out of This Furnace tells the impressive story of a multigenerational family of Slovakian immigrants who come to the United States in search of a better life in the New World. The patriarch of the Slovak family was Djuro Kracha, who arrived in the New World in the mid-1880s from the "old country. " The story tells of his voyage, his work on the railroad to earn enough money to afford the walk to the steel mills of Pennsylvania, his rejection by the larger mainstream community as a "hunkey," and the lives of his daughter and grandson. As the members of this family become more generally acculturated and even Americanized, they come to resent the cruel treatment and the discrimination they suffer.
Thomas Bell, author of Out of This Furnace, grew up in the steel mill town of Braddock, Pennsylvania. His novel reflects the hardships faced by his family during the time when the mills ruled the area. The book also focuses upon the life of immigrant workers struggling to survive in the "new country." All events in Bell's novel are fictional, however, they create a very realistic plot and are based somewhat upon a true story. In this novel, Bell refutes capitalistic ideals and the lack of a republican form of government by showing the struggles and success of immigrant steelworkers.
David W. Blight's book Beyond the Battlefield: Race, Memory and the American Civil War, is an intriguing look back into the Civil War era which is very heavily studied but misunderstood according to Blight. Blight focuses on how memory shapes history Blight feels, while the Civil War accomplished it goal of abolishing slavery, it fell short of its ultimate potential to pave the way for equality. Blight attempts to prove that the Civil War does little to bring equality to blacks. This book is a composite of twelve essays which are spilt into three parts. The Preludes describe blacks during the era before the Civil War and their struggle to over come slavery and describes the causes, course and consequences of the war. Problems in Civil War memory describes black history and deals with how during and after the war Americans seemed to forget the true meaning of the war which was race. And the postludes describes some for the leaders of black society and how they are attempting to keep the memory and the real meaning of the Civil War alive and explains the purpose of studying historical memory.
certain death in a short period of time should have the "right to die with
film as well as similar to 'Stand By Me' We simply used our own ideas
the Home Guard for $5 each. Because of his choice to sell off Inman he
Generally, adolescents feel as running away from home is a solution to all their problems. Most people think that running away from one’s problem leads to negative consequences, however, that is proven wrong, according to the novel Crabbe by William Bell. In the novel Crabbe by William Bell, 18-year-old Franklin Crabbe’s decision shows that running away is a considerable approach to solving one’s problems. He packs his bags and runs off into the woods in hopes of finding inner tranquility and freedom. Throughout his journey in the woods, Crabbe unexpectedly receives more than what he seeks for. In the woods, Crabbe receives great rewards such as quality moral support from a strong willed woman named Mary Pallas, he obtains many important survival skills, and he becomes an overall more responsible and mature person.
Bury him and he will rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage
On theme of August Wilson’s play “King Hedley II” is the coming of age in the life of a black man who wants to start a new life and stay away from violence. Wilson wrote about the black experience, and the struggle that many black people faced and that is seen “King Hedley II” because there are two different generations portrayed in King Hedley II and Elmore. Reporting the African American encounter in the twentieth century, Wilson's cycle of plays, including a play for every decade. The African-American group's relationship to its own particular history is a critical component in the play.
Accidents are happening everywhere. In the past few years, for examples, there were many people driving cars after drinking liquor, and peoples might have get injury or died after happened the car accident, Furthermore plane crash, explosion, or a disease, this still happening to people who are innocent but are they safe? Maybe there are still chances but not a lot of people have it. ‘’Hatchet,’’ by Gary Paulsen, is about an airplane accident happened to a young boy named Brian in Canada, and Brian had to survive with his hatchet and knowledge until someone finds him. Certainly Brian uses his positive thinking to solve everything he faced like making fire. Aside that Brian also used his knowledge to find food, protection and find himself
In The Walking Drum by Louis L’Amour the character Mathurin Kerbouchard is in search of his father. In the beginning Mathurin has an abundance of gold coins and tries to figure out where his father is. He goes on a boat and asks if they knew him. He didn’t have luck and is brought onto the boat as a slave. He convinces Walther, the captain, to let him be the pilot. He wants to go to Cadiz and finally persuades Walther to let him drive the boat there. In Cadiz he sells the boat while everyone is gone to a merchant named Ben Salom. He goes to Cordoba and meets Aziza. Aziza is royalty and they run away together. They go to the castle of Othman and guards find them and throw Kerbouchard in prison. He escapes and Eric wants to kill him. He meets a woman named Safia who is going to help him. Safia and Kerbouchard depart a couple times, but she is always there to help him. Kerbouchard finds Suzanne the Hansgraf who leads him on his journey around Europe. Suzanne departs at Constantinople when Kerbouchard has to go to Alamut. He finds his dad there and they stay together until he leaves to find his lover. Some of the most important characters in the book are Safia, Suzanne, and Jean Kerbouchard. The most important one of all is his dad, Jean, because they make enemies along the way and always keep going, Mathurin is searching for his father his whole journey, and his dad is his educator.
The “Ballad of Birmingham” is written by Dudley Randall. It was written in 1963, after the church bombing in Birmingham. The author wrote this poem as a tribute to the victims of the bombing. The theme of the poem is race and violence. This poem gives a hint about the socio-political environment during the segregation era. However, this poem was also used to make awareness about problems faced in society. The irony of the poem is that her mother thinks the political march is not a safe place for her daughter so, she sends her to church instead. What happens next is completely opposite, her mother hears an explosive sound in the church. The explosive was planted knowingly because it was an African-American church. This hate crime took four innocent lives.
“The Withered Arm” is a tragedy of fate and is a story of two women