Monday, February 26, 2007
Socratic Seminar Reflection
I think in some ways the Socratic seminar was good, but there are many things that everyone needs to work on such as the interruptions that went on. I think that’s mostly the reason I didn’t say as much as I usually do in the seminars but I should have known to speak up. I though the topic was very understanding. It was easy to follow and put questions on everyone’s minds. One thing that I would have done differently would have been to make one specific question so that everyone could base there main idea off of it, because I noticed at times many people were going a little of topic, but over all I liked the topic and I would like to go over more things that some people never talked about.
Dialectic Journal Entry #2
I am very quiet. Let the months and years come,they can take nothing from me, they can take nothing more, I am so alone, and so without hope that I can confront them without fear.
(page 295 last paragraph)
1.Explain what the quotation means in the context of the text.
2.Why it is important/interesting to you.
It means that he is without fear,that they can take anything away from him.
One thing that makes this so important to me is that this text with only a few words could explain this mans(Paul) thoughts that he has no hope at all, that he has lost everything that he could just die,with everything that he has gone through,which I think is a stong message not just to people fighting in the war but people that have some hope and dont know which direstion to take so it think that this quote is powerful.
(page 295 last paragraph)
1.Explain what the quotation means in the context of the text.
2.Why it is important/interesting to you.
It means that he is without fear,that they can take anything away from him.
One thing that makes this so important to me is that this text with only a few words could explain this mans(Paul) thoughts that he has no hope at all, that he has lost everything that he could just die,with everything that he has gone through,which I think is a stong message not just to people fighting in the war but people that have some hope and dont know which direstion to take so it think that this quote is powerful.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Dialectic Journal Entry
And this I know: all these things that now, while we are still in war,sink down in us like a stone,after the war shall waken again, and then shall begin the disentanglement of life and death
(page 140 paragraph 3)
1.Explain what the quotation means in the context of the text.
2.Why it is important/interesting to you.
This quote means that even after the war is done and over with them,that it will not have other effects such as struggles of either living or dieing,but i think it means much more then that. I think it means that even though there already done with the war and gone through there experiences with life and death.That even when they return home that a lot of the things have sanken into them.They will not forget about it but the disentanglement of life and death have untangled and is not longer with them and they are no longer scared.
(page 140 paragraph 3)
1.Explain what the quotation means in the context of the text.
2.Why it is important/interesting to you.
This quote means that even after the war is done and over with them,that it will not have other effects such as struggles of either living or dieing,but i think it means much more then that. I think it means that even though there already done with the war and gone through there experiences with life and death.That even when they return home that a lot of the things have sanken into them.They will not forget about it but the disentanglement of life and death have untangled and is not longer with them and they are no longer scared.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Scene 1
It was raining ash, the sky was grey, and the sun was trying it’s hardest to peek through the smoke from the distant bombs. All the drafts were lined up along the dirt road, waiting for the sergeant to call out their names. The empty vehicles were parked, engines purring, waiting to be filled with the new drafts. The sergeant would shout the names of the young men waiting nearby and they would file silently onto the trucks.
[sergeant] “ Peacock! Livingston! Go fit yourselves into truck 7 over there” he nodded to the truck behind him.
The two young men walked silently over to truck 7, but were slightly confused, because the truck was already packed with soldiers.
[John mumbles to himself, not paying any attention to the young man next to him] “There’s no way both of us are gonna fit into that truck” He stands back at glances over at Truck 6, which appears to have enough room for the two of them. John walks over to the truck, still ignoring the other young man standing next to him. They both climb onto the truck and end up being squeezed together, shoulder-to-shoulder, without any room to sit down. The trucks begin to drive along the dirt road. Everything is quiet.
[five minutes into the drive, Eric begins to get jittery and decides to start a conversation] “Oh Boy, are there a lot of men in this truck! Too much testosterone for me, huh bud?” He laughs at his own joke and elbows John, who’s standing next to him. Eric looks up at John with a huge grin on his face and says “ How ‘bout you buddy?” John slightly turns his head to look down at Eric, shrugs his shoulders, and continues to stare at the splash of blood on the front of the truck behind them. Eric continues what he thinks is a conversation, and notices John staring at truck 7. The sight of the dried blood nauseates Eric and he turns to John.
“I already can’t wait until this all over. Who do you get to go back home to, bud?” John turns to Eric and says “ It’s not, Bud, kid, It’s John.”
Eric get’s excited that John takes notice of him and replies “ Nice to meet you John! My name’s
Eric.” He extends his hand for a shake. John half-heartily shakes Eric’s hand. “Whatever you say, Kid.”
Eric shakes out his hand and mumbles “Damn! That’s a strong handshake you got yourself, there John. What are you, a boxer or somethin’?”
John smirks and says “Huh, I wish. I’ve been workin’ in my dad’s blacksmith shop since I was 14, kid.”
Eric smiles and exclaims “Wow, I bet you get some real good pay!”
John smiles as the thought of his girlfriend crosses his mind, he fully turns to Eric and says with a smile, “Yeah, I’ve been saving up the money to-“ John’s stopped short by the sudden sound of a nearby explosion.
A wave of silence fills the air and a whistle sounds before the truck behind them is hit with a grenade. The men in the truck are struck by the impact and everybody is thrown backwards. John takes hold of Eric’s arm, making sure that his fragile frame doesn’t fall out of the truck as they speed away. He pulls him further into the truck and they both lay there in silence, staring at the burning remains of truck 7.
At that moment, John and Eric knew this was only the beginning.
[sergeant] “ Peacock! Livingston! Go fit yourselves into truck 7 over there” he nodded to the truck behind him.
The two young men walked silently over to truck 7, but were slightly confused, because the truck was already packed with soldiers.
[John mumbles to himself, not paying any attention to the young man next to him] “There’s no way both of us are gonna fit into that truck” He stands back at glances over at Truck 6, which appears to have enough room for the two of them. John walks over to the truck, still ignoring the other young man standing next to him. They both climb onto the truck and end up being squeezed together, shoulder-to-shoulder, without any room to sit down. The trucks begin to drive along the dirt road. Everything is quiet.
[five minutes into the drive, Eric begins to get jittery and decides to start a conversation] “Oh Boy, are there a lot of men in this truck! Too much testosterone for me, huh bud?” He laughs at his own joke and elbows John, who’s standing next to him. Eric looks up at John with a huge grin on his face and says “ How ‘bout you buddy?” John slightly turns his head to look down at Eric, shrugs his shoulders, and continues to stare at the splash of blood on the front of the truck behind them. Eric continues what he thinks is a conversation, and notices John staring at truck 7. The sight of the dried blood nauseates Eric and he turns to John.
“I already can’t wait until this all over. Who do you get to go back home to, bud?” John turns to Eric and says “ It’s not, Bud, kid, It’s John.”
Eric get’s excited that John takes notice of him and replies “ Nice to meet you John! My name’s
Eric.” He extends his hand for a shake. John half-heartily shakes Eric’s hand. “Whatever you say, Kid.”
Eric shakes out his hand and mumbles “Damn! That’s a strong handshake you got yourself, there John. What are you, a boxer or somethin’?”
John smirks and says “Huh, I wish. I’ve been workin’ in my dad’s blacksmith shop since I was 14, kid.”
Eric smiles and exclaims “Wow, I bet you get some real good pay!”
John smiles as the thought of his girlfriend crosses his mind, he fully turns to Eric and says with a smile, “Yeah, I’ve been saving up the money to-“ John’s stopped short by the sudden sound of a nearby explosion.
A wave of silence fills the air and a whistle sounds before the truck behind them is hit with a grenade. The men in the truck are struck by the impact and everybody is thrown backwards. John takes hold of Eric’s arm, making sure that his fragile frame doesn’t fall out of the truck as they speed away. He pulls him further into the truck and they both lay there in silence, staring at the burning remains of truck 7.
At that moment, John and Eric knew this was only the beginning.
Scene Abstract
**Keep in mind that this is a story about brotherhood, not focusing on violence.
Setting- It’s lightly raining ash because of the distant bombs filling the sky with smoke. The day is very grey and cold. John and Eric are in an army truck which has been “loved” by bullets, dirt, mud, and a few splashes of blood along the inside of the truck’s walls. They’re riding along with all the other drafts, but have never met before. The truck is in a line of many others, driving at a moderate speed. Everything’s quiet.
The Plot- Eric and John know nothing about each other, and have never met before. They are put into the same truck and they end up squeezed together towards the end of the truck, with a view of the front of another truck behind theirs. Because Eric is the more emotional one, he’s jittery and decides to start up a conversation with John to get rid of tension. Because John is very stiff and doesn’t talk much, he ignores Eric, but Eric keeps talking anyway. John decides that Eric will never calm unless he says something. John is given a vibe from Eric that they both don’t want to be here, so John develops a slight interest in Eric because they share the same situation. Just as John and Eric really begin a conversation, the truck behind them gets bombed. They immediately get the sense that they’re going to become comrades, so they stick together. They’re put through training, drills, front line battles, field battles, the trenches, cold barracks, and rough sergeants. They develop a very close relationship (or a brotherhood, if you will) without even knowing that this would happen. John and Eric’s personality rub off on each other (Eric becomes less jittery and strong willed, but still smiles and gets attached easily. John smiles more and becomes open and attaches to Eric).
Ending scene-John and Eric are together on the battle field where they had already dug a trench for themselves. As they were crouched on the floor looking underneath the smoke from the bombs that had gone off ahead. A grenade was thrown into the trench next to them, and the dirt from the explosion filled half there trench, leaving room for only one man. John and Eric stick together and realized that a line of grenades were being thrown and everybody was running for their trenches. John, seeing that there was only room for one man in their trench, decides to shove Eric against his will into the trench. A grenade goes off behind John and he ducks, but the explosion caught most of his back and he falls over Eric who is crouched in horror in the trench space that John gave up for him. After the line of grenades has finished, the smoke rises and Eric sees John lying on his stomach, unconscious, with a horrible wound from the explosion on his back. Eric regains himself from shock but is still horrified that his “brother” is badly wounded. As he’ carries him to the nearest medical tent he realizes that John saved his life by pushing him into the trench while the grenades were firing off. As he comes to the medical tent the nurses inform him that they are extremely low on medical supplies because the plane that was supposed to ship them was shot down over a battle field. Eric lays him down on a bed and tries his hardest to make him as comfortable as possible. The nurse attends to John, but realizes that the bandages she has wont stop the bleeding or keep his infection from getting worse. She tells Eric that John will most likely not live because of the bleeding and the infection. John barely lives for two more days and Eric visits him on the day second day. Eric talks to him about the adventures he’s having at battle, meanwhile: John is breathing his last few breaths and has flash backs of the good times he had with Eric. He awakes to the voice of Eric telling him about how bad the beef stew tastes, and there’s a sudden silence between them.Eric and John stare at each for what seems hours but only last for a few breaths. They’re both tearing and neither has the strength to say anything, but are both saying everything. Eric takes John’s hand and smiles while tearing, John smiles too and opens his mouth to say something, but instead lets out his last breath.
Setting- It’s lightly raining ash because of the distant bombs filling the sky with smoke. The day is very grey and cold. John and Eric are in an army truck which has been “loved” by bullets, dirt, mud, and a few splashes of blood along the inside of the truck’s walls. They’re riding along with all the other drafts, but have never met before. The truck is in a line of many others, driving at a moderate speed. Everything’s quiet.
The Plot- Eric and John know nothing about each other, and have never met before. They are put into the same truck and they end up squeezed together towards the end of the truck, with a view of the front of another truck behind theirs. Because Eric is the more emotional one, he’s jittery and decides to start up a conversation with John to get rid of tension. Because John is very stiff and doesn’t talk much, he ignores Eric, but Eric keeps talking anyway. John decides that Eric will never calm unless he says something. John is given a vibe from Eric that they both don’t want to be here, so John develops a slight interest in Eric because they share the same situation. Just as John and Eric really begin a conversation, the truck behind them gets bombed. They immediately get the sense that they’re going to become comrades, so they stick together. They’re put through training, drills, front line battles, field battles, the trenches, cold barracks, and rough sergeants. They develop a very close relationship (or a brotherhood, if you will) without even knowing that this would happen. John and Eric’s personality rub off on each other (Eric becomes less jittery and strong willed, but still smiles and gets attached easily. John smiles more and becomes open and attaches to Eric).
Ending scene-John and Eric are together on the battle field where they had already dug a trench for themselves. As they were crouched on the floor looking underneath the smoke from the bombs that had gone off ahead. A grenade was thrown into the trench next to them, and the dirt from the explosion filled half there trench, leaving room for only one man. John and Eric stick together and realized that a line of grenades were being thrown and everybody was running for their trenches. John, seeing that there was only room for one man in their trench, decides to shove Eric against his will into the trench. A grenade goes off behind John and he ducks, but the explosion caught most of his back and he falls over Eric who is crouched in horror in the trench space that John gave up for him. After the line of grenades has finished, the smoke rises and Eric sees John lying on his stomach, unconscious, with a horrible wound from the explosion on his back. Eric regains himself from shock but is still horrified that his “brother” is badly wounded. As he’ carries him to the nearest medical tent he realizes that John saved his life by pushing him into the trench while the grenades were firing off. As he comes to the medical tent the nurses inform him that they are extremely low on medical supplies because the plane that was supposed to ship them was shot down over a battle field. Eric lays him down on a bed and tries his hardest to make him as comfortable as possible. The nurse attends to John, but realizes that the bandages she has wont stop the bleeding or keep his infection from getting worse. She tells Eric that John will most likely not live because of the bleeding and the infection. John barely lives for two more days and Eric visits him on the day second day. Eric talks to him about the adventures he’s having at battle, meanwhile: John is breathing his last few breaths and has flash backs of the good times he had with Eric. He awakes to the voice of Eric telling him about how bad the beef stew tastes, and there’s a sudden silence between them.Eric and John stare at each for what seems hours but only last for a few breaths. They’re both tearing and neither has the strength to say anything, but are both saying everything. Eric takes John’s hand and smiles while tearing, John smiles too and opens his mouth to say something, but instead lets out his last breath.
Character Bios (John Peacock &Eric Livingston
Character Bios John Peacock and Eric Livingston are our characters from Britain.
John Peacock is tall (about 6'2") he has dark, thick hair with small curls. Fair skin with hard and chiseled face features. He's young, about 19 and a half, has a very good build because he was a blacksmith for a few years before he got drafted for the sudden war. He's a very calm and well-respected man, who plans to get married to his beautiful girlfriend (who is 18). He's relaxed at all times, barely shows what's actually on his mind. Reserved, doesn’t have the “open appeal” so people tend to shy away from introducing themselves.
Eric Livingston is very tall (about 6'6") he has dark fair hair. He's lanky but has a wiry build; he has crowfeet next to his eyes because he's always smiling. He's 18, very shy but attaches easily. People like him because he’s easy to get along with, and doesn’t mind dropping what he’s doing to help others. Very easily amused (the small things make him happiest). He lives with his father and little sister, his mother died giving birth to his little sister (3 years of age).
John Peacock is tall (about 6'2") he has dark, thick hair with small curls. Fair skin with hard and chiseled face features. He's young, about 19 and a half, has a very good build because he was a blacksmith for a few years before he got drafted for the sudden war. He's a very calm and well-respected man, who plans to get married to his beautiful girlfriend (who is 18). He's relaxed at all times, barely shows what's actually on his mind. Reserved, doesn’t have the “open appeal” so people tend to shy away from introducing themselves.
Eric Livingston is very tall (about 6'6") he has dark fair hair. He's lanky but has a wiry build; he has crowfeet next to his eyes because he's always smiling. He's 18, very shy but attaches easily. People like him because he’s easy to get along with, and doesn’t mind dropping what he’s doing to help others. Very easily amused (the small things make him happiest). He lives with his father and little sister, his mother died giving birth to his little sister (3 years of age).
Thursday, February 8, 2007
All Quiet on the Western Front "Human Animals"
"At the sound of the first droning of the shells we rush back, in one part of our being, a thousand years. By the animal instinct that is awakened in us we are led and protected. It is not conscious; it is far quicker, much more sure, less fallible, than consciousness. . . . It is this other, this second sight in us, that has thrown us to the ground and saved us, without our knowing how. . . . We march up, moody or good-tempered soldiers—we reach the zone where the front begins and become on the instant human animals.
"Why would Paul characterize himself and his comrades as "human animals"?
I think in this summery he describes the soldiers as being “Human Animals” because there not seeing what’s happing on the battle field, I don’t think they know what to expect, and in I way I think they feel scared not knowing, and because of that they fell as if their an animal with the instinct that their being threaten but they don’t know how to react.
In one of the paragraphs that I was reading it explained how a man was walking through the fields where they were and in a blink of a eye he was down on the floor but not because he had been shot but because their were flies over him. So he really didn’t know what was over him but out of pure instinct he stayed down.
"Why would Paul characterize himself and his comrades as "human animals"?
I think in this summery he describes the soldiers as being “Human Animals” because there not seeing what’s happing on the battle field, I don’t think they know what to expect, and in I way I think they feel scared not knowing, and because of that they fell as if their an animal with the instinct that their being threaten but they don’t know how to react.
In one of the paragraphs that I was reading it explained how a man was walking through the fields where they were and in a blink of a eye he was down on the floor but not because he had been shot but because their were flies over him. So he really didn’t know what was over him but out of pure instinct he stayed down.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
ramona
After Napoleon abdicates in 1814, the revolution is officially over, and Louis XVIII is crowned King of France. Can you believe it? The monarchy returns!!! In light of our investigation of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era, evaluate the legacy of the French Revolution. Do you believe it was a success or a failure? Your response should be atleast 150 words.
I do not believe that the French was a complete failure, I do believe that having Louis XVIII crowned after all of what happened during the French revolution was not completely understandable, and I do in some ways believe that it was a success such as when they went through the changes of the estates, successfully leading the third estate into having as much power as the second and first, under their own circumstances. Mostly the one thing that strikes me in this time period was that they fought so hard for what they believed in, for so long but yet almost thirteen years latter having Louis the XVIII crowned King of France was more like being ashamed because of all the hard work they did.
-ramona cervantes
I do not believe that the French was a complete failure, I do believe that having Louis XVIII crowned after all of what happened during the French revolution was not completely understandable, and I do in some ways believe that it was a success such as when they went through the changes of the estates, successfully leading the third estate into having as much power as the second and first, under their own circumstances. Mostly the one thing that strikes me in this time period was that they fought so hard for what they believed in, for so long but yet almost thirteen years latter having Louis the XVIII crowned King of France was more like being ashamed because of all the hard work they did.
-ramona cervantes
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
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