Difference Between the Young and the Old

Authors Note:

In class we have been reading the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, and we have just finished reading the 4^th chapter. A motif that has occurred is the casualty of death. Most of them are newbies to the war, but they had to make it a custom that, the death of friends or even people around them was a casual thing and it just happens. Although, something we have noticed while discussing the novel, is that when a horse of the war, or one of the newest boys or children that has just joined dies, it is different. It is not something people just roll off their shoulders. People care so much more, and this is what I’m going to talk about.

It has happened in this book but it happens in reality all the time. Are we always saddened when a person you know dies? Yes. No matter what, a person will always have feelings in their heart. Knowing that someone is gone from this Earth forever is always going to hurt the heart, but the thing is that we look at things, sometimes we do not choose to look at them this way but we do—we look at the age they died. When elderly people die, we know they lived a long good life, but when infants or small children die, even teens. We have so much more sadness for them. They haven’t even gotten the opportunity to live outside of high school. No chance to grow up, go to college on their own, have a family and a good career! Nothing, we feel so much pain for the young ones that die. The same goes for animals. For some reason people cry for days when their pet has passed away. Why? For this reason, is because they are like a best friend to the family, someone who is always there for them. Sometimes even more than a friend than other people they call “friends”.

When we go to the war, we see this happen as well, we see everyone saddened by the thought of horses dying or the very new recruited ones on the front. But, when it comes to the older ones, or the men who have been there for a while already, it seems to be a casual thing, that people just roll off their shoulders. One the battle front, they simply let the men lay there until the bombardment is done and possibly take them back, after they have bled out their entire body. Man can no longer see what is this now bloody red landscape it comes; many seen, they are everywhere, splitting heaven and earths’ womb, land rolls on immeasurably.

People all over the place, some already dead, and some lying in the land, dying a long and horrible death. Simply just letting it go that friend have died, people walk away knowing that it will happen, but if it is a horse or a young one, sadness comes from within.

Mimic Line: One can no longer distinguish whence in this now quiet silvery landscape it comes; ghostly invisible, it is everywhere, between heaven and earth it rolls on immeasurably.

Immaturity and Power

Through out the chapters 1-3 in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, we see the effect of what power can do to people. It can--in all reality--make a person go mad. A re-accuring motif that has shown up was childhood to man hood and how they don't have the in-between stage, they were forced to go from innocence to experience already, talking in language terms.

We have already talked about how the men were told to be mature but when it comes to power, they are like little children who climb trees in the park they don't care what they do, they are careless. Like how people are when they are acting "immature", they don't care what they do because they don't act their age and don't know how to take the high road rather than the low road.

So when you put Power in someones arms, they turn immature and this topic really made me upset while I was reading through chapter 3. The whole situation with Himmelstoss, and hitting him with a bed cover and almost raping/abusing him until the fact that they could have killed him by putting a pillow over his air way, made me hate Tjaden, Paul, Haie, just everyone that was involved with this whole ordeal.

This was to the fact that the power from what they had from just being a little older than the poor kid, almost drove them to the state of insanity. Causing them do such harm to a poor kid of the army. This topic drove me insane reading it and I hope that when I am in power of something I do not go back to the immature state that I have grown out of.

Maturity in the Men- AWQF #2

Through-out the novel All Quiet on the Western Front , Remarque had brought up the theme of maturity many times. While the narrator is talking, he mentions that they are considered the "Iron Youth", because they are taught that they have to be the young, but strong ones, they have to grow out of their boyish childhood and become a man now, in the war.

Maturity is brought up in many scenarios, but when the death of friends around them becomes a natural thing, Remarque shows in the book that these young boys are no longer living at home in a nice house with their family, possibly working for the war, they are in the war and have to learn to become strong men and be able to take the sadness and disappointment of someone dying maturely. This is hard for them in the beginning, but as this action becomes more casual they learn to think of it as nothing happened. There are probably going to be a lot more actions and ideas in the novel that will cause them to become more mature than they would handle this at home, but as for now, death of friends is one of the largest things that they have to learn to be mature about right now.

Childhood Becoming Manhood- AQWF #1

The main motif of childhood comes up a lot through-out the first two chapters of All Quiet on the Western Front. While reading these two chapters I noticed that the "young kids" that have just volunteered to be in this war have learned quickly what is expected of them, what they have to learn to do and what they have to leave behind.

Everyone what happens when they fight, the people they talk to and the many young kids that have recently come into this war. Besides the fact that many of the youngsters are probably scared fro their lives, they are always talked about because of their age. They are told they need to mature, and leave their "young lives" behind. The boys themselves learn this when they realize that this is reality and they could be gone at any second. They have to fight solely for their country but they also need to to learn to be safe. The boys understand that other of the older men had careers, lives to live for, and wives and children--they don't. But, they want to when they get out of this war.

They still have the child in them that says what their hopes are after this ends but the other part of them knows that this is reality. If you don't do what your told, a person could be in as much danger of dying if something goes wrong. They have to understand that their best friends may die on them, but that this is something they just have to go through to get out of this horrible disaster. They have to mature out of the child they once were and that is why childhood came up so much in these two chapters. Showing how the "young Irons" would have to mature and become better men who were already there, and become stronger and wiser just to make it through.

Changing~

Authors note: The end of the novel Jekyll and Hyde has finally come to an end. Through-out the reading we have gotten an insight of what came out of the twisted mind of Hyde but in someway Dr. Jekyll. We now know that a potion has been used to transform but, this post is not simply about changing it is about what scares you in change.

Going to a new school—are you scared that you are not going to know anyone or be placed in seclusion? Dying you hair—are you scared that you may be talked about or it may not look good on you? Are you scared to go off to college and have no one at home to guide you? Fright is in many peoples’ mind almost all the time. A survey could be taken at any moment and probably more than have of the surveyors would say they worried or frightened by a change that is happening in their lives at that moment.

As we jump into Jekyll and Hyde, their scenario becomes a little different. This person does not balance everyday life activities that may soon enough go away, even if we are all scared to death of what might come. These two men actually balance two different lives and towards the end, we find out that they end up killing each other because of the horror they may find in the near future.

All in all Jekyll is Hyde and Hyde is Jekyll. They change by potion usually during the mist of the morning and the dawn of the night. Soon things start to get a little rough. When Jekyll finds his alter ego of Hyde, he enjoys it. Not like we enjoy a little sun in the summertime, receiving a nice tan. No. He disgustingly enjoys the horror and terror he can cause people. The things he can do when no one is watching him. The murders and the crimes call to him like babies call to their mothers—constantly. In the beginning Hyde was at night and Jekyll was in the daytime, but at the calls become louder, Hyde appears more often.

One day it hit him, this would have to stop suddenly changing was no good; the secret of his reality would be revealed.  So he does what any insane man does and puts Jekyll’s life to an end. He could not take it anymore and with Jekyll slowly dying as it was he was too. He gets the death done and over with so in the end there was no more Henry Jekyll to be had.

The Pathway of Our House

Authors note: through-out this entire novel the re-accruing motif of doors has been coming up. All each described a little differently in different scenarios. Some rough and tattered while other brand-new and yet to be opened. Normal people would read this, yes there is a door, but while we read, we come to the conclusion that when the novel talks about the doors and windows either dirty or clean it represents us. Or in this case Jekyll and Hyde; good or bad, we initially are a house. This is a poem describing what we actually are and in a way the describing of Jekyll to Hyde.

The beautiful front red door

Oh so peaceful waiting to be opened

Once inside many hallways divide.

The house full of many secrets

Walking through the first floor

A look out the windows in pleasant

Beautiful flowers growing in the garden

Some waiting to blossom even more

A flight of stairs happens to arrive.

Leaving the naturally lighted level

Entrance comes into a dimmer light

Much different than the other floor

Windows all dingy

While the floor is filthy

Animals could live here

Such a pigsty

Nothing beautiful lies here

Only ill fitting curtains

And half beaten furniture

The power and potion lies on the table.

Again stairs come about to an attic.

To an even darker place it leads

This is a full transformation

From Jekyll to Hyde we see.

Close Calling Between Heaven and Hell- JH#2

Authors note: Jekyll and Hyde are initially the same person, but Hyde lives the life of crime and committing horrible actions. He finds the evil inside of him and brings it out to the rest of the world. It is almost as if he finds the Satan from Hell inside of him and uses it to take his anger out on the world, although Jekyll is the one who loves the world and everyone around him. This is the story of his close calling from Heaven to Hell.

            He lurks around the city in the shadows of the night lights, pondering on what to do next. Thinking about what will occur within him that causes a terrible action to happen. Every step he takes brings him closer to the edge of insanity.  Sometimes it’s as if the man is unaware of the event—he is unknowing why it happens or even what causes it to happen. When he plays this part in his ongoing movie playing in his head, it is as if Satan is his role model. Something happens, and then is complete; this horrible man walks away as if he has simply picked a flower from a random garden, nothing that is a big deal. Step by step he gets closer and closer to the doors filled with fire—Hell.

            When he walks out of the gloomily dark night, a bright and sun-filled smiley man walks the street of the city. A person who could never think of hurting even a cat. Such a lovable man, friends with many and found in common places in the city they live in. The more he is wonderful, the more appreciated and well known, and liked he is just brings him steps closer to the place everyone wants to end up—Heaven.

            The two different world Jekyll and Hyde lives in is like a ying yang, black and white, evil and peaceful, two fully different worlds. One is much known and one hides in the shadows but yet the secret between these two will-or thought, would never be revealed until an incident with Mr. Utterson and Mr. Enfield.