Author’s Note: Throughout chapter four, I noticed how earth symbolizes the role of femininity in the soldiers’ lives. In the midst of brutal war, all emotions are basically shunned. But beneath all the so-called “men” are boys yearning for comfort. Remarque uses earth as a symbol of a womb or safe haven. He writes, “…he stifles his terror and his cries in her silence and her security; she shelters him and releases him for ten seconds to live, to run, ten seconds of life; receives him again and often for ever” (55). I connected the death in the battlefield (earth) to birth from their mothers.
No matter the in-between, they start and end in the same place
In the comfort of her womb
Shielded, sheltered, secured
Behind their masks of masculinity
Lays children
Full of fear and loneliness
She offers support
She offers comfort
She offers refuge
Stifling their terror
Their cries are heard by her silence
Her security
In the midst of revulsion
Her tender grace grants serenity
Forgiveness
Her touch of femininity radiates warmth
She not only becomes a safe haven
But a home for their death
No matter the in-between, they start and end in the same place
Born from the womb of their mothers’
They die in womb of mother earth
Monday, March 12, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Take a Stand.
Dear generation,
Orders, commands, rules; we live in a world full of them. Created by adults to better our future, we’re stuck listening to their advice. Well here’s what I have to say about that: screw it. We may be young. We may be hostile, but one thing’s for sure, we’re not stupid. Sure, they’re more experienced, but would they really follow their own advice in our position? Would they really go along with what they’re asking of us? It doesn’t seem right for them to expect us to kill and bring death on others while witnessing our own friends’ deaths when they’ve never been put in that situation before. Our only role models are the very one’s guilty for such a persuasion. Yearning to make them proud, we put forth our trust in them, and we are left in betrayal. We’ve been misled, and now there’s no source of guidance. As the younger generation, we must look to each other to determine what is true and right because the older generation has proved itself incapable of teaching us. We call the shots now. We are the leaders of our own lives now. We will set the path for the future.
Sincerely,
A fed up soldier
Orders, commands, rules; we live in a world full of them. Created by adults to better our future, we’re stuck listening to their advice. Well here’s what I have to say about that: screw it. We may be young. We may be hostile, but one thing’s for sure, we’re not stupid. Sure, they’re more experienced, but would they really follow their own advice in our position? Would they really go along with what they’re asking of us? It doesn’t seem right for them to expect us to kill and bring death on others while witnessing our own friends’ deaths when they’ve never been put in that situation before. Our only role models are the very one’s guilty for such a persuasion. Yearning to make them proud, we put forth our trust in them, and we are left in betrayal. We’ve been misled, and now there’s no source of guidance. As the younger generation, we must look to each other to determine what is true and right because the older generation has proved itself incapable of teaching us. We call the shots now. We are the leaders of our own lives now. We will set the path for the future.
Sincerely,
A fed up soldier
Monday, March 5, 2012
The Loss of Sentimentality
Engraved somewhere deep in our emotions there’s a guard; a shield that prevents too much reality to be accepted. Going from school to warfare and being completely encircled in death changes not only a person’s perspective, but creates a dent beyond repair in sanity. With war being simply too much to handle, the soldiers in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, block out feelings by focusing on insignificant objects, which is displayed through the author’s symbolism.
Life for the soldiers is dangerous, dirty, and depressing; with little food and clothing, the soldiers’ day-to-day simple survival instincts take priority over any strong emotion. The soldiers decide that, "We have lost all sense of other considerations, because they are artificial. Only the facts are real and important to us. And good boots are hard to come by." In this way, the boots become one of the novel’s most important symbols of the cheapness of life. In the war, a soldier’s boots live longer than its owner, and each time the man wearing them dies, the question of who will inherit the boots overshadows the death. Dwelling on each friend’s death would lead to madness, so in order to cope, they simply neglect all feelings. The soldiers’ feelings become as dangerous an enemy as the opposing army.
Life for the soldiers is dangerous, dirty, and depressing; with little food and clothing, the soldiers’ day-to-day simple survival instincts take priority over any strong emotion. The soldiers decide that, "We have lost all sense of other considerations, because they are artificial. Only the facts are real and important to us. And good boots are hard to come by." In this way, the boots become one of the novel’s most important symbols of the cheapness of life. In the war, a soldier’s boots live longer than its owner, and each time the man wearing them dies, the question of who will inherit the boots overshadows the death. Dwelling on each friend’s death would lead to madness, so in order to cope, they simply neglect all feelings. The soldiers’ feelings become as dangerous an enemy as the opposing army.
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