All Quiet on the Western Front: Ch 1-3

Authors Note:
I wrote about how the adults used propaganda for the young people to go to war and they convinced them all would be good. Although when battling on the front line, they experienced their lives flashing before their eyes and what war was truly like.

Inspiring Quote: “We loved our country as much as they; we went courageously into every action; but also we distinguished the false from true, we had suddenly learned to see. And we saw that there was nothing of their world left. We were all at once terribly alone; and alone we must see it through.“


Dying to Go to War


I’m so proud to go to war,
It’s like nothing I’ve ever done before.

They said there would be food to eat,
As they smiled with deceit.

Now that I am here,
I wish that I could disappear.

Oh the words they spun to sell,
If only I can live to tell.

Bullets fly by my head,
Please, don’t let another friend be dead.

I am no longer a young, and innocent recruit,
As I raise my gun to shoot.

Misery finds me every day and night,
As I see the murderous canons ignite.

I feel my time is coming near,
As I try not to shed a fearful tear.

I pray to God, to save my miserable soul,
So another flag will not be lowered on the pole.

All Quiet on the Western Front: Ch 2

Feelings of sorrow and grief of your fellow men that have passed is astray for the men. You can only mourn for so long. The dwelling only causes harm to oneself. They must stay strong and ignore the inner feelings of sadness. In order to do this you need strength and this kind of strength comes from a pure adult.

War affects oneself physically, emotionally, and mentally, but how one cope’s with all of this, is all in the power of one’s own hands. There was repetition of fighting to the end. One quotes, “We did not break down, but adapted ourselves.” Adapting to the repetitive pain you are enduring is crucial survival key in war, as well as an important valuable lesson to never give up. Paul stays strong while slowly observing Kemmerich fade away;  Kemmerich quickly passes. In remembrance for the lost souls, their boots are given to the men still fighting. The boots are very symbolic in this story because it is their way with dealing with the lost men.

All Quiet on the Western Front: Emerging Motifs

A reoccurring theme/motif in the story was that the young people around eighteen realized that they are starting to develop their independency and have to be a role model for others. In order to show their patriotism, they begin to realize that they must take responsibility and voluntarily join the war. The quote, “And we saw that there was nothing of their world left. We were at once terribly alone; and alone we must see it through”. This embodies their feelings of isolation in the war and how much their perspective on life has changed from this experience. Also Paul feels that Kantorek has sent them to war to die and he felt betrayed; therefore, he has lost trust. It was stated by the younger men, “We had to recognize that our generation was more to be trusted than theirs”. Not only do the younger men have to fend for themselves they have to go against who they thought appeared to be “role models” in their life and become independent.

Final Post for Jekyll & Hyde

Authors Note: This poem talks about how Hyde is taking over Jekyll and Hyde represents evil.

Inspiring Lines: Evil finally destroyed the balance of my soul, My evil kept awake by ambition, brute that slept within me, Evil left an imprint on the body

The bright light has faded

My soul has been raided

Darkness has crept around

As he loomed in the background

Closing the faint distance

I fade from existence

A faint breath is released

As Hyde overtakes the deceased

Hyde came to ascend

With no need to defend

The duality to unchain

He will feel no more pain

With expiring fear

Hyde swept in with a sneer

Evil displays itself through Hyde

Since Jekyll was pushed aside

Chapter 8 & 9 Jekyll & Hyde

Authors Note: What I did was took my text coding and made a big list of all the words and then I put them together in a poem. I saw this idea on Ms. Woods page and I thought it would be an interesting technique and new style for me try. Anyways this poem is basically capturing the moment of the murder scene and the transformation of Jekyll disintegrating and turning into Hyde.

Eyes direct to a corner

Looking with involuntary horror

Lashing themselves with strangling anguish

Blank silence                            

Nerves intensifying

Somewhat uncertain hand

His deceived voice cried out to God

Cries falling short of Heaven

Exorbitant cold alarms felt in the depths of marrow

Spine melting like ice

Shoulders bear the blame

Chill of horror reveals a lost soul

A semblance of life drifting from existence

Impure and quite useless for his present purpose

Jekyll morphs his naïve soul behind

Revealing the evil to come

Hyde whispers in with unleashed power

Jekyll’s departure is mourned

  

Vocab Words for Jeckyll & Hyde

Austere: Severe or strict in manner

Sullenness: Moroseness, a gloomy ill-tempered feeling

Balderdash: senseless talk or writing; nonsense

Disquieted: Make (someone) worried or anxious

Brandishing: Wave or flourish (a weapon) as a threat or in anger or excitement

Ch 4-7 Jeckyll & Hyde

Authors Note: In this poem, it demonstrates deliberate and saturated diction. I use the symbols of twilight, fog, moon and many others. Since chapters 4 through 7 were  mysterious and it was unsure of who did what; that is the emotion that I was trying to portray. In addition, I also portrayed a small amount of illusive confusion in the poem regarding Jekyll and Hyde as the same people.

Fog disperses a pale moon

While it appears in the twilight

Creating a distant moon to shine

Faintly uncovering the hidden night

Onlookers contain mysterious curiosity

Eyes traveling with the heavy fog

Trying to escape it’s deathly animosity

Unsuspectingly  it seeps into the minds of the unknown

Changing the spirit from night to day

Reaping what was previously sown

A shield of blanketing fog erupts

As the chained soul unleashes

Hyde’s prevailing darkness corrupts

As the frail window creeps to a close

Evil diffuses throughout the night

Leaving only a shadow of fear only Jekyll knows.