Svetlana Palmer & Sarah Wallis A War in Words, the First World War in diaries and letters Chose a novel, play or an extended piece of non-fiction writing about the First World War. Write a personal response to this text. You should consider how, in both treatment of subject matter and style, the writer presents the experience of war. Choice of extended piece: Svetlana Palmer & Sarah Wallis ‘A War in Words, the First World War in diaries and letters’. Published in 2003. When reading Svetlana Palmer and Sarah Wallis’ ‘A War in Words’ I was initially overwhelmed at how the First World War and the experiences from 1914-1918 are portrayed throughout the book. From the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28th June 1914 to children of 10 and 12 years old whose lives are threatened by the rampage of war, the book gives a moving interpretation of life in war; not only of the soldiers fighting for their country, but their families, their friends and their children. Telling the story of World War One from the ‘first shots’ in Sarajevo to the victory and defeat in 1918, ‘A War in Words’ uses diaries and letters to present a primary account of what happened during the war. Palmer and Wallis follow a number of soldiers-British, French, German and Russian-and children during the Great War through their many diary entries and letters home. Through the 15 chapters of the book we see many soldiers including Paul Taffrau; a 27-year old French patriot from a rich family, a teacher sent to fight in Alsace-Lorraine in the ‘first wave of mobilisation’. Taffrau accounts the Battle of the Marne on 6th September 1914 as German shells ‘rain’ down. He shows the terror of soldiers who are ‘hiding in the beetroot’ claiming to be woun... ... middle of paper ... ... used primary sources from all aspects of World War One-not just trench warfare on the Western Front-to portray every characteristic of the Great War, through an unbiased opinion. By using letters from Russian, German, British and French men, women and children, the writers present a very fair view and understandable acceptance of World War One from every angle. In a modern society such as ours, we are very much taught what the Government wishes us to be taught and in response to this text, Palmer and Wallis create an unbiased outlook of World War One showing every angle possible. Not at any one point do they blame any country or dictator for the Great War because throughout the numerous letters, diaries and lives of soldiers, their story is told for them. The book is very deep, very moving and an extremely detailed and accurate interpretation of the First World War.
In An American Soldier in World War I, David Snead examines account of George Browne, a civil engineer who fought as part of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World War I. Snead shares Browne’s account of the war through the letters he wrote to his fiancé Martha Ingersoll Johnson. Through Browne’s letters and research conducted of the AEF, Snead gives a concise, informative, and harrowing narrative of life as a soldier serving in the camps and front lines of the Great War. Snead attempts to give the reader an understanding of Browne’s service by focusing on his division, the 42nd Division, their training and preparation, combat on the front lines, and the effects of war on George and Martha’s relationship. As Snead describes, “Brownie’s letters offer a view of the experiences of an American soldier. He described the difficulties of training, transit to and from France, the dangers and excitement of combat, and the war’s impact on relationships.” (Browne 2006, 2) Furthermore, he describes that despite the war’s effect on their relationship, “their
Everyone knows what war is. It's a nation taking all of its men, resources, weapons and most of its money and bearing all malignantly towards another nation. War is about death, destruction, disease, loss, pain, suffering and hate. I often think to myself why grown and intelligent individuals cannot resolve matters any better than to take up arms and crawl around, wrestle and fight like animals. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque puts all of these aspects of war into a vivid story which tells the horrors of World War 1 through a soldier's eyes. The idea that he conveys most throughout this book is the idea of destruction, the destruction of bodies, minds and innocence.
In “The Lonely, Good Company of Books,” by Richard Rodriguez, you learn that Rodriguez had read hundreds of books before he was a teenager, but never truly understood what he was reading. His parents never encouraged him to read and thought the only time you needed to read, was for work. Since his parents never encouraged Rodriguez to read it effected how he perceived books.
are not free in service, you do what you are told and this is the same
All Quiet on the Western Front is the story of Paul Baumer’s service as a soldier in the German army during World War I. Paul and his classmates enlist together, share experiences together, grow together, share disillusionment over the loss of their youth, and the friends even experience the horrors of death-- together. Though the book is a novel, it gives the reader insights into the realities of war. In this genre, the author is free to develop the characters in a way that brings the reader into the life of Paul Baumer and his comrades. The novel frees the author from recounting only cold, sterile facts. This approach allows the reader to experience what might have been only irrelevant facts if presented in a textbook.
In a world dominated by technology, reading novels has become dull. Instead of immersing into books, we choose to listen to Justin Bieber’s new songs and to scroll through Instagram posts. We have come to completely neglect the simple pleasures of flipping through pages and getting to finally finish a story. Sherman Alexie and Stephan King’s essays attempt to revive this interest in books that has long been lost. They remind us of the important role that reading plays in our daily lives. “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” for instance, demonstrates how being literate saved the narrator from the oppressive nature of society. The author explains that even though he was capable of reading complex books at an astonishingly young
My grandmother introduced me to reading before I’d even entered school. She babysat me while my parents were at work, and spent hours reading to me from picture books as my wide eyes drank in the colorful illustrations. As a result, I entered my first year of school with an early passion for reading. Throughout elementary and middle school, I was captivated by tales of fire-breathing dragons, mystical wizards, and spirited foreign gods. A book accompanied me nearly everywhere I went, smuggled into my backpack or tucked safely under my arm. I was often the child who sat alone at lunch, not because she didn’t have friends, but because she was more interested in a wizards’ duel than the petty dramas of middle school girls. I was the child who passed every history test because she was the only kid who didn’t mind reading the textbook in her spare time, and the child who the school librarian knew by name. Reading provided a
Afterward we find something to cover the hole up with a piece of rusty metal . “I say I can here the dust hitting the barn.” “My brother say’s good thing we're safe.” The storm is over after this guy walks in and “says what are you squatters doing in here.”
... to assimilate the concept, argue and this widens our horizons and we try to broom rationalistic and humanistic in nature. When we go on reading books like that we come to know various situations which we may not be experiencing now, but later we can utilize this to handle the situation in a matured way when we actually face it. In today’s fast- paced world, reading has taken aback as modern gadgets and gizmos have made their grand foray in our life. The importance of literature has been overshadowed by media influence. Books are replaced by digital gadgets. But the importance of reading should not be abandoned. Reading novels, magazines and literary work give us a broader prospective of viewing things, improves skills, instills knowledge and makes us aware of various different facets of life. It lays a foundation of an enriched life and adds ‘life’ to the living.
In the “age of electronic entertainment”, Harry Potter novels sharply contrast by luring children away from the internet, and away from video games and the television. Children across the globe are rapidly becoming interested in reading the novels. Katherine Thompson, owner of Frugal Frigate Bookstore, declared the series a “literary phenomena.” She noted that children as young as eight-years-old will devour...
World War 1 had a massive effect on women in society. Their lives drastically changed in a short amount of time. In fact with this change came plenty of responsibility, and a great deal of both physically and psychologically demanding work. This responsibility is what made women more confident and self-satisfied, which later on led them to fight harder for their rights.
Ever since I was a child, I've never liked reading. Every time I was told to read, I would just sleep or do something else instead. In "A Love Affair with Books" by Bernadete Piassa tells a story about her passion for reading books. Piassa demonstrates how reading books has influenced her life. Reading her story has given me a different perspective on books. It has showed me that not only are they words written on paper, they are also feelings and expressions.
The first and second World Wars are often group with each other, because on the surface they seem very similar. The wars contained the same countries and almost the same alliances thought both of the wars. Really, the two wars are vastly different in some ways such as technology readily available during the wars and the strategies used to utilize them. These wars were very similar in some ways such as the millions who died as the result of them and the total war system that all citizens should help in the war effort. Knowing the differences and similarities between the two can allow you better understand the history surrounding the wars and allow you to avert another disastrous.
Reading has been a part of my life from the second I was born. All throughout my childhood, my parents read to me, and I loved it. I grew up going to the library and being read to constantly. Especially in the years before Kindergarten, reading was my favorite thing to do. I grew up loving fairy tales and thriving on the knowledge that I could have any book I wanted, to be read to me that night. Having no siblings, my only examples were my parents, and they read constantly. Without a family that supported my love of reading throughout my childhood, I wouldn’t appreciate it nearly as much as I have and do now.
George R.R. Martin once said, “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies… The man who never reads lives only one.” For centuries, books have transformed readers into someone else and transported them to different worlds. In my fourteen years, I have fought dragons, saved the world, and survived World War II. I have become others who were anywhere from a toddler to an adult. I have gone to wizarding school and a summer camp for demigods all because of books. Something magical happens when I open bound pages of words and begin to read. Books inspire me because they each open up a new world of experiences and feelings that will last with me forever.