The scene I want to focus on is the
scene where they pass the coffins. The coffins fit very nicely with
the theme of the horror a soldier goes through in war. When the
soldiers first see the coffins, all of them know exactly who they
were meant for even though they joke about there meaning. The coffins
are such a deathly symbol already, and compounded with the fact that
the are going to the front of a war, they are the perfect symbol of
the fear of death. The coffins stare at the soldiers as if to say
“You go out there you're going to come back in one of us.” The
soldiers are forced to joke about there own deaths, saying things
like “You'll be lucky if even get a coffin,” just to avoid the
inevitable of them coming back in a coffin at some point. That shows
how much war has changed them, they are forced to joke about death
just to avoid the true reality. Paul even says “What else can a man
do?” That's true, if they don't do something to avoid the coffins
deathly meaning they may as well crawl in the now. Looking at the
scene you may just see men joking about on the way to the front, but
I believe it sums up the book quite well. Death is always lurking
behind the men, these coffins are simply a physical representation of
that.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
All Quiet on the Western Front Chapter 6 Summary
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1F0gLr922G2PH7mbvh-cy5e3GTEPnMH1KmGiLafUAMhY/edit?usp=sharing
Chapter six can be see as a somewhat gruesome chapter. It is the first chapter in the book to introduce actual fighting done by Paul and the others.
- The chapter starts with the men heading back to the front. On the way there they notice a large pile of freshly made coffins and know exactly who they were made for, them.Though, they make jokes to cover up their true purpose.
-Once they are at the front Kat tells them he doesn't like what he feels. Paul doesn't like this because Kat usually has a good sense when it comes to the front. It certainly doesn't help that they can hear the enemy transport running day and night, bringing troops to the front. They also hear the difference in the artillery which has become stronger.
-The men grow hungry as the now stronger artillery rains down on them. Many attempts are made to get food to them but fail due to the ongoing bombardment. Even a few of their own shells fall onto their own men because the guns barrels are so worn out.
-The men struggle with rats and come up with a few creative ways of killing them.
-They tell recruits to get rid of their "Sawbacks"
When the bombardment finally lets up, they know exactly whats happening. The attack has come. The men throw out many grenades before retreating back to the reserves.
-Once there, the french take heavy losses, more than expected. The french start to retreat and are chased back by Paul and all the other men.
-Paul recalls a few french trying to surrender but give mixed signals, one is cleaved with the sharpened end of a spade, another is stabbed in the back by a bayonet.
-They eventually pass their original dugout and reach the french where they take as many provisions as possible, notably corned beef.
-Once the fight has ceased Paul reflects on how dull and numb he has become, recalling his childhood and how different he is now.
- A few days later another attack happens, and Paul finds Himmelstoss hiding in a trench, he beats him and tries to get him out with no luck.
- During an attack Haie is killed. Finally when the men return they only bring 35 with them of the 150 they once had.
Chapter six can be see as a somewhat gruesome chapter. It is the first chapter in the book to introduce actual fighting done by Paul and the others.
- The chapter starts with the men heading back to the front. On the way there they notice a large pile of freshly made coffins and know exactly who they were made for, them.Though, they make jokes to cover up their true purpose.
-Once they are at the front Kat tells them he doesn't like what he feels. Paul doesn't like this because Kat usually has a good sense when it comes to the front. It certainly doesn't help that they can hear the enemy transport running day and night, bringing troops to the front. They also hear the difference in the artillery which has become stronger.
-The men grow hungry as the now stronger artillery rains down on them. Many attempts are made to get food to them but fail due to the ongoing bombardment. Even a few of their own shells fall onto their own men because the guns barrels are so worn out.
-The men struggle with rats and come up with a few creative ways of killing them.
-They tell recruits to get rid of their "Sawbacks"
When the bombardment finally lets up, they know exactly whats happening. The attack has come. The men throw out many grenades before retreating back to the reserves.
-Once there, the french take heavy losses, more than expected. The french start to retreat and are chased back by Paul and all the other men.
-Paul recalls a few french trying to surrender but give mixed signals, one is cleaved with the sharpened end of a spade, another is stabbed in the back by a bayonet.
-They eventually pass their original dugout and reach the french where they take as many provisions as possible, notably corned beef.
-Once the fight has ceased Paul reflects on how dull and numb he has become, recalling his childhood and how different he is now.
- A few days later another attack happens, and Paul finds Himmelstoss hiding in a trench, he beats him and tries to get him out with no luck.
- During an attack Haie is killed. Finally when the men return they only bring 35 with them of the 150 they once had.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Christian Democratic Union
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11W1o3CQhiQKQG_s8SHYSs7lT2u9Q3Eh_G2eTxxfpH-A/edit?usp=sharing
Party Platform
From Wikipedia
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) applies the principles of Christian democracy and emphasizes the “Christian understanding of humans and their responsibility toward God.” Members of the party are do not have to belong to a certain religion or be religious at all. Its policies are derived from Political Catholicism, Catholic school teachings, and political Protestantism. The CDU supports European integration and a strong relation with the US. They do not want to allow Turkey to enter the European Union but want a privileged partnership. They cited Turkey for numerous human rights violations and they believe that because Turkey is unwilling to recognize Cyprus as an independent, sovereign state, Turkey is contradicting the EU policy that its member must recognize the existence of one another. The CDU supports stronger punishments of crime and involvement on the part of the Bundeswehr (armed forces) in cases of domestic anti-terrorism offensives. The CDU believes that Germany should integrate immigrants through language courses and wants to further control of immigration. They also believe that dual citizenship should only be allowed in exceptional cases.
Opponents/Supporters
Opponents of the CDU include the SPD, The Left party, and The Greens. The CDU has governed two Grand Coalitions with the SPD and various coalitions with The Greens. A preferred partner of the CDU is the FDP, who has similar attitudes towards fiscal policy.
States that support the CDU are concentrated in rural and Catholic regions such as Eifel, Sauerland, Thuringia Eichsfeld as well as areas in Saxony, Vorpommern, and Nordfriesland. There is less support in Bremen, Brandenburg, and East Berlin.
Similar Parties
The party most similar to the CDU would be our Republican Party. Both parties advocate for fiscal conservatism and support the use of armed forces for anti-terrorism offensives. The Republican Party and the CDU have affiliations with the International Democratic Union. The IDU allows political parties with similar views to come together and exchange views on matters of policy and organizational interest.
Views
They are currently focussed on weathering the financial troubles of the last few years.It is among their goals to keep the economy competitive, and taxes low. They have been going by the slogan “Germany’s future: in good hands.” They also stand for protection and promotion of the family. Most recently, the party has put its efforts on phasing out nuclear power.
History
Following the collapse of the Third Reich and the end of WWII. Germany began restricting its government. This brought about the Christian Democratic Union. The CDU aimed to establish a union, and as such a party of German people, something the likes of the Weimar Republic failed to achieve. The CDU was founded in Berlin on the 26th of June 1945, 49 days after VE-Day. The party spread out to Westphalia and Rhineland after its formation. The first Chancellor of Germany since WW2 was Konrad Adenauer (serving 1949-1963) of the CDU. Adenauer was imprisoned twice during the Nazi years, under the accusation of ‘Opponent to the Regime.’ Adenauer and his colleagues were successful in taking power because of their views of; economic flexibility, and oppositional to the Nazis, two attributes favored by the United States and Britain. The CDU would lose their grasp when Adenauer was replaced. Moving forward, the next successful leader was Helmut Kohl (serving 1982-1998). Kohl was the longest running chancellor since Otto Von Bismarck. Kohl was seen a main architect for the reunification of Germany, and the creation of the EU in 1993. Today, the current Chancellor of Germany is Angela Merkel. She, a Research Chemist and Politician started as an opposition leader in 1998 versus the SPD. Merkel became chancellor in 2005 and remains chancellor today. She is currently ranked 5th on Forbes.com’s most important people list, the highest achieved position of a woman.
Members
The Christian Democratic Union has roughly 485,000 members, as of May 2012. Each German state had a series of members, and a chairperson. North Rhine-Westphalia had the most members of any state in Germany, with more than 165,000 members. The chairperson of North Rhine-Westphalia, representing the CDU, is Armin Laschet. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, is the chairperson of the CDU party.
The average age of members in the party is 59. Less than 6% of members are under the age of 30. 75% of the party’s members are male, and the remaining 25% are female members. Therefore, this party has a strong population of middle aged adults and seniors.
Sources
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