Author: Ryan

IRJE #8 – Adrift

Adrift by Paul Griffin is a book about 5 teenagers; Matt, John, Drianna, Jojo and Stef. JoJo and Stef are a married couple from Portugal, and Drianna is Stef’s cousin. They meet both Matt and John on the beach where they are spending their summer vacation. Soon after they all get lost at sea after a search and rescue mission to find Stef, who recklessly went surfing in the middle of a storm after a beach party. This quotation is a conversation between JoJo and Matt after Stef got injured by a wild dolphin on her surfboard, where she broke her legs and arm, and was knocked unconscious.

“We’ll keep her as safe as we can until she gets to the hospital,” I said. I tried not to look out at the horizon. We were the only living things in view.

“you can’t promise me, can you? JoJo said.

The best I could come up with was, “It’ll all work out. You’ll see.” He wasn’t listening anyway. He kissed Stef’s forehead.

“If she hates me after this, I don’t know what I’ll do. Truly without her, I wouldn’t be the same person. I couldn’t possibly be. She defines me.” he said. (pp. 58-59)

I like this scene in the book because prior to this conversation I didn’t read any real emotion from JoJo. He was perceived to be a stereotypical masculine male and he never opened up about how much he loved Stef, but when he says “I wouldn’t be the same person. I couldn’t possibly be. She defines me.” this phrase alone created a whole new interpretation of his personality and made me sympathize for his situation.

Poems of Seperation – Sonnet 61

Sonnet 61 written by Michael Drayton (1562-1631) varied my emotions using many different factors. The tone of the woman speaking in the first 8 lines of this sonnet implies that she had some guilt and sadness about breaking up with the man but also sparked feelings of freedom and happiness, “Nay, I have done, you get no more of me, And I am glad, yea glad with all my heart, That thus so cleanly I myself can free” (ll. 2-4). This made me sad because of her situation but also made me feel happy that she was getting out of a relationship that doesn’t make her satisfied. But, as the sonnet continues, she starts to sympathize with the man because he was heartbroken, acting ill to get attention from her. This made me feel upset and frustrated because he is manipulating the woman to please himself, showing his selfishness. “When faith is kneeling by his bed of death, And innocence is closing up his eyes”(ll.11-12), I find this poem to be exaggerated, because he isn’t actually dying, instead he is just upset because the woman is leaving him. In conclusion, this sonnet did strike a few different emotions in me but specifically, sadness was very powerful in this piece of literature.

Personal Writing #7 – Tofino

From May 5th to 7th Brookes took the MYP 5, grade 10, class on a school trip to Tofino. Around 30 kids including myself went on this trip. We started by gathering at the school by 8:00 am so that we could get all of our baggage onto the bus in time to depart by 8:30 am. Once we got settled into the bus we made our way to our first stop, Coombs. Coombs is a small town off the highway near Parksville, with many gift shops, and a farmers market. They are a tourist attraction and are most famous for the goats on the roof. Once we had an hour or so to shop and buy food for the drive we got back on the bus and drove towards Port Alberni where we went on a small hike. Then, we had a long drive toward the place where we were staying, Oceanside Resort. We had a campfire the rest of the night and went swimming in the pool and hot tub. The next day was our most active day. We started the day off early by heading to the beach for our surfing lessons. After that, we went straight to downtown Tofino to watch the skateboarding competition part of the West Coast Triple Plank. We got back to the resort later that night and had a campfire and swan in the ocean. We stayed up later that night because it was our last night there together. The next morning we cleaned and packed our bags and got onto the bus. Our last stop was Ucuelet, a small town near Tofino. There we went on a walk around the Lighthouse loop and then stopped in town for lunch. We then started our long drive back to the school. This trip was very fun, I enjoyed surfing and having fun with my friends while roasting marshmallows and swimming. I made a lot of new connections and relationships with people that I wouldn’t have before and it was a learning experience.

PR Romeo and Juliet

I really liked watching Romeo and Juliet. The story is both romantic and cherishing but tragic and sad at the same time. My mood swung greatly as the film played depending on the scene. Most of the scenes made me either sad or happy, but there were some in particular that made my emotions turn into anger, confusion, fear, and admiration. When Tybalt and Mercutio started a brawl in the streets of Verona I feared what plausible bad things could happen. Sadness overcame this film in my personal opinion, the fate of the 2 young lovers, how they knew that they could never be together because of the family’s feuds. Every time they saw each other I knew that they were in love, but whenever they had to leave each other it struck sorrowful emotions in me. The bond that they grew over the short amount of time that they had with each other made me admire them, and when they died for each other it moved me and I would believe many other people as well. Overall, I think that this film is very powerful because it captured the strength of love and the agony of loss.

IRJE #7 Outer Banks

The book I am reading is Outer Banks; Lights out by Alyssa Sheinmel, based on the Netflix TV show Outer Banks. The book is said to take place before the events in the show. Main characters John B, JJ, Kiara, and Pope the Pogues (the people living on the poorer side of the island) and the Kooks (the wealthy living people on the island). The books starts after a tough night when John B is commemorating his mysteriously missing father and JJ who is in a constant abusive relationship with his dad, plan to go spear fishing together, where they run into local Kooks Savannah and her boyfriend. A storm suddenly appears and Savannahs boyfriend abandons her with John B and JJ. They run for cover from the storm in a nearby abandoned lighthouse, where they are met with smugglers who also camped out in the lighthouse for cover. The rest of the book is a combination of adventure and difficulty as they need to survive the night at the lighthouse. I enjoy reading about the constant rivalry that the Pogues and the Kooks have against each other. Even though they are all teenagers growing up on the same island depending on the type of living class you have determine the people you like and dislike. Around the end of the book John B opens up to Savannah and starts to build a connection with her despite the differences that they have.

Yeah I definitely don’t think the world is divided into good guys and bad guys. Just numbers from a perspective, there have got to be some good Kooks out there. Maybe I’ve already met some and I don’t know it yet. (p. 80)

I like this quote because It shows the growth of John B from the beginning of the book to now, the end of the book. At the start of this read you could tell the immense hatred that John B and the rest of the Pogues had against the people living on Figure 8 (the Kooks), just because of the social differences that they have. But as John B spent more time with the Kooks he learned that some, not all, are genuinely good people and that they can get along.

Personal Response – Brave New World

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a book based on an ideal society, where the social normality’s are based on the ideology of science instead of normal human relationships, creation, and behaviors. At first I didn’t understand nor like this book, I thought it was weird and a bit disturbing, but as I kept reading I realized that there are a lot of similarities between this Brave New World and the world we live in now. A similarity in the book that stood out profoundly was the usage of the drug soma. Soma presumably makes everyone in the society diminish the pain in their life, ultimately making them happy, this reminds me of present day where people take prescription drugs such as anti-depressants to get the same affects and result as soma.

And if ever, by some unlucky chance, anything unpleasant should somehow happen, why, there’s always soma to give you a holiday from the facts. And there’s always soma to calm your anger, to reconcile you to your enemies, to make you patient and long-suffering. In the past you could only accomplish these things by making a great effort and after years of hard moral training. Now, you swallow two or three half-gramme tablets, and there you are. Anybody can be virtuous now. You can carry at least half your morality about in a bottle. Christianity without tears – that’s what soma is.” (pp. 209-210)

I like this passage because it explains that once you take soma you go into some sort of a trance called a “soma-holiday” which means it takes you away from the real world and into a world without sadness, much like what common drugs can do to you in our society. In the end, I found this book to be very interesting although I still think some parts were confusing and gory, I believe that is what makes it such an intriguing book to read especially because there are specific aspects that we can relate to our world.

Personal Writing #6 – 16th Birthday

March 13th, the day I turn 16! I haven’t really planned anything out for my 16th birthday because I’ve been busy studying for my Learners License, school assignments and work, but I do have a few ideas in mind. This weekend I have hockey playoffs in Nanaimo on Saturday and Sunday which is great because I get to spend time with my teammates and as much as playoffs is a big stressful time for us it is still very fun! Then, I am going to El Terrazzo with my mom and my dad on Sunday night to celebrate my birthday dinner. I haven’t scheduled a party or anything for my friends and I because there hasn’t been a specific date that all of us are free, so we will probably celebrate it after spring break. I really wanted to go to Winnipeg for my 16th to celebrate it with my bestfriend Cami that I’ve known for almost my whole life. I’m pretty upset that I won’t be able to see her but I will go in the summer! I asked for a hamster for my birthday gift this year because they are really cute, but my mom said that I wouldn’t have enough time to take care of it, so I don’t think I am going to get one. Nonetheless I am very excited for this weekend and to finally turn 16!

Personal writing – Why? #5

I believe there is a lot of pain to suffer

But I also believe there is a lot of happiness to discover

But why experience both?

Can’t I just be happy all the time?

If I make someone happy,

Why don’t I get the same in return?

Why am I constantly worrying,

panicking.

Why cant I take time

catch my breath,

take a break.

I am actively moving

the stress speeds up,

but I slow down.

Why?

IRJE #6 – Reminders of Him

The book I am currently reading is Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover. This book start with the main character Kenna Rowan who had recently been released from prison after serving 5 years. Kenna returns to the town in which her 4 year old daughter lives in hopes of reuniting. A lot of the people in Kenna’s life do not want to be associated with her and decide to ignore her, except for a bar owner named Ledger Ward. Kenna and Ledger both meet when Kenna first arrives in the town, she was a mess. She stood out to Ledger because she seemed mysteriously beautiful. Soon there friendship turns into a romantic relationship and they become a very important part in each of their lives, but they have a lot of issues to resolve.

People say you fall in love, but fall is such a sad word when you think about it. Falls are never good. You fall on the ground, you fall behind, you fall to your death. Whoever was the first person to say they fell in love must have already fallen out of it. Otherwise, they’d have called it something much better. (p. 29)

I like this quote because it shows a lot of emotion. Kenna is a really strong woman, who has a lot of battles to overcome. Her character is very broken and sorrow and I think she puts a lot of things into perspective and I like how she interprets phrases that everyone uses as “happy” sayings.

 

Willingham, Ch. 5

In “Outsmart Your Brain” by Daniel T. Willingham, I learned the easy 3 step overview to a essay Read, Recite, Review. As I read the passage given I should keep in mind the rough idea of what the article is about, and then look for information that answers the questions I have made. Then I recite, for this I need to repeat what I had just learnt like I was explaining it to somebody else. Then summarize it into my own words so I can understand more clearly and decide if it answers any of my questions that I had in my reading. I then should review my work, I learned that the reviewing stage should be an ongoing process in which I can revisit my content, where I focus on the questions made and the answers I have. (p. 96) I have also learned that a lot of the study strategies that I have been using should be avoided and aren’t as useful. I have used highlighting my notes and reading over my notes a lot to study for tests or just doing an assignment but now reading what actually helps is organization and thinking about meaning is what really helps memory. (p. 108)

¶ – A Brave New World

In “A Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley they think that monogamy romance is terrible and socially unacceptable. They believe that having multiple relationships without feeling of love and having a family is a better way to live life.

Family, monogamy, romance. Everywhere exclusiveness. Everywhere a focusing of interest, a narrow channeling of impulse and energy. ‘but everyone belongs to everyone else,’ he concluded citing the hypnopaedic proverb. The student nodded, emphatically agreeing with a statement  which upwards of sixty-two thousand repetitions in the dark had made them accept, not merely as true, but as axiomatic self-evident, utterly disputable. (p. 34)

In this passage it shows that monogamy, the feeling of love and being loved, romance is wrong and that “everyone belongs to everyone else”. He says this to a group of students which are easily influenced with this high figure of a man. He is building a social norm for the next generations to basically dimmish all feelings of romance.

 

Write an “IRJE”-style paragraph based on a passage from Brave New World.

    • Choose any passage from Chapters 1, 2, and 3 that is at least 40 words long.
    • Use the SQCE method: Set up the quotation by explaining the situation that precedes it; then Quote the passage, setting it off as a block quotation; be sure to Cite the page number(s); and then finish your paragraph by Explaining why the passage is significant.
    • Check your first sentence: does it make a clear, specific assertion that is supported by the quoted passage?
    • Publish your paragraph on the class blog. Category: Utopias & Dystopias.

page 35

IRJE #5 “It Ends With Us”

I have read “It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover. Hoovers use in language was very impactful in this book. She uses a lot of imagery in her writing which I find very emotional. The book follows the 2 characters Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid. Ryle and Lily begin a romance together but soon after the relationship turns violent and abusive. This goes back to the start of Lily’s life as she grew up in a domestic violent household with her mother and father. The first sign of abusive behavior Ryle portrayed was his lash out of rage after Lily had rekindled a relationship with her ex boyfriend Atlas. Ryle had assaulted Lily. Atlas soon found out about Lily’s situation which ultimately lead the violence to worsen. Later in the book Ryle finds out that Lily is pregnant after he abused and raped her. Lily let Ryle become the father during the pregnancy, but once the baby girl was born she did not want an abusive figure to grow up in her life so Lily left Ryle for good.

Cycle exists because they are excruciating to break. It takes an astronomical amount of pain and courage to disrupt a familiar pattern. Sometimes it seems easier to just keep running in the same familiar circles, rather than facing the fear of jumping and possibly not landing on your feet. My mother went through it. I went through it. I’ll be damned if I allow my daughter to go through it. I kiss her on the forehead and make her a promise

It stops here. With me and you. It ends with us.

(pp. 360-361)

This quote is very impactful in my opinion. It just shows the emotional damage that Lily has been through, yet she is still pushing forward and is still going to try her hardest to make sure that her baby is safe, to make sure she’s loved, and to make sure she doesn’t grow up the way she did.

Unit 1 Final Reflection

In my unit final “War in Literature” I had good comparing and contrasting points from the 2 passages that were given but I definitely had room for improvement. The feedback I received from Mr. McMaster on my essay gave me a good overview of what I can do differently in the future. I examined tone and some imagery but I often followed it with quotations and generalization about their significance. The assertions I chose were overall general and easily seen, which I could have went more into more detail. My writing missed the irony in tone of the first passage. I would have benefitted in this essay by using simpler and more specific language, I get lost in my own words and it is sometimes hard to follow. To prevent a lot of the mistakes I have made in my writing I see that I should examine the texts in more detail and use language that is familiar to me. With this being said I think that I should learn more complex language so I can use it to make my writing sound and look overall better. Looking back at how I prepared for this assignment I was ready and confident in my writing although in my planning process of my essay I could have spent more time preparing my paragraphs. I learned many things about my writing in this examination and I think that these critics will make me a better writer and make me more aware of the possibilities of my writing.

Ideal Society

I believe that an ideal society is based on equality, if we all treated each other with both respect and kindness the worlds biggest issues wouldn’t be as immense. We live in a world today with wars, racism, homophobia, bullying etc. where all of these things can be avoided simply by respecting the people in our everyday lives. We also have global problems with climate change that is causing global warming and killing our ecosystem. This is caused by our everyday usage and consumption of greenhouse gas emissions; its leading contributions are coal and oil burning. We also have a massive plastic pollution problem that has gathered in our ecosystem which is killing our wildlife and planet. Another problem that we have today that if fixed could contribute to an ideal society is poverty. Poverty contributes to many diverse social, political and economical problems. Many people on social media have helped a lot by giving materials and nutrients to second and third world countries who aren’t as fortunate to have clean water, fresh food, and even a stable home. With changing our ways of how we live, the production process of things we need, how we act on others by treating them how we want to be treated, we could have what is considered to be an ideal society.

IRJE #4 – It Ends with Us

I am reading “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover. This book is about Lily Bloom and Ryle Kincaid, who meet each other on the roof top of an apartment building, as they were both up there for some peace and quiet because they were struggling with a few traumatic events occurring in their life. At first glance they were both fairly attracted to each other, and their personalities meshed well together, yet Ryle didn’t want a long-lasting relationship whereas Lily is a hopeless romantic. As their conversation flowed, Ryle got called in from the hospital where he works as a Neurosurgeon. Ryle leaves Lily on the rooftop where again she lays alone.

He looks at me. Like really looks at me. His eyes meet mine and he just stares, hard, like all my secrets are right there on my face. I’ve never seen eyes as dark as him. Maybe I have, but they seem darker when they’re attached to such an intimidating presence.   (p. 9)

Lily describes Ryle as an “intimidating presence” and as the book proceeds, he doesn’t appear to be that intimidating and instead he listens to her, he is interested in what she has to say. They both have instant chemistry when they meet and their energy flows between each other which is why I find it so interesting to read, how complete opposites in the social view can be so alike when they are alone together.

Personal Writing #3 – Port Hardy trip

Last weekend on November 19th I had 2 hockey games scheduled up in Port Hardy against the Tri-Port Wild. Early on Saturday November 19th My parents and I packed up the car with my hockey gear and overnight bags. My friend Kalina who is on my team soon arrived at my house to carpool with us to Port Hardy. We left my house at around 9am and got to the hotel at 3:30pm. Once we arrived Kalina and I bought Subway and got driven to the arena to warm up for our first game. Once the whole team showed up, we got to our workout and then got dressed in our hockey gear. Our first game was challenging but exciting, we won 3-1. The next day we got up nice and early with a big breakfast. We checked out of the hotel and were on our way to the rink. Time flew by as we played against Tri-Port, we tied 2-2.  We were all thrilled with how we played this weekend and excited to come back.

IRJE#3 – It Ends with Us

I am reading “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hover. The book is about 2 people: Ryle Kincaid and Lily Bloom who meet at Andrew, Lilys dad’s funeral. Her dad was very abusive towards Lilys mom Jenny. He also put Lilys first love in the hospital and called Lily a “shame to the family” after he found out that she was dating a homeless man.

Ryle is a work driven person who is too focused on his career to have a relationship, whereas Lily wants to have a relationship and not just being “used” for his pleasure.

“You should try my method” he says

Which is?

“One-night stands” He raises an eyebrow, like it’s an invitation.

I’m glad it’s dark because my face is on fire “I could never sleep with someone if I didn’t see it going anywhere.” Pg. 23

This is a conversation Lily and Ryle had when they were together in an apartment. He admits that he is aware that all he focuses on is his career and doesn’t make time for himself which is why the thought of a committed relationship does not appeal to him.

Power Outage at Work

I work at the Westin on Bear Mountain, where on the weekend the power shut off due to the high windstorms that knocked the power lines down. I was scheduled to work as a food runner on Saturday at 8am which I was wondering if the restaurant would close for the day due to the loss of power that is needed to keep a restaurant running. To my surprise I got called into work that early morning. As I arrived, I saw that almost all the lights at the hotel were shut off except for the emergency lights. My keycard did not work to get into the employee entrance, so I used the regular hotel guest entrance. It was almost pitch black and freezing inside the restaurant. I walked into the kitchen to say my good mornings to the staff to see that it was pretty empty. Time went by very slowly just picking up random duties to fulfill during my shift, polish cutlery, clean glassware, rearrange the seating and folding napkins. Luckily, I was working with a great team that are passionate and funny which made this cold long day fun and exciting. Suddenly I come to an end to my day at 4pm, I walk to the office sign out and fill out some forms before I head home. As I get home I change into warm clothes and cuddle up into my blankets. I think back to all the fun moments during the day as I drift off into a deep sleep.

Hockey provincials in Kelowna

Last year around June, my hockey team and I (U15 Reign Rep) went to Kelowna to participate in the BC provincials. We all took a bus together on the way to Kelowna, which was very fun, but very long. There is 18 of us, 2 goalies 9 forwards and 6 defense. We arrived at the hotel we were staying at in Kelowna and everyone’s energy was high. We all checked into our rooms, got ready and went to dinner all together. Once we finished dinner we went back to our hotel, and we all hung out for the rest of the night until we went to bed. In the morning we got up very early at 6am for an 8am game. We all met down in the lobby and left in the bus carrying our gear. It was about a 15-minute drive to the arena, so we listened to music and got mentally prepared for our game. We arrived at the rink, and all walked in together; wearing our matching black tracksuits and Nike runners we lay our bags of gear down on the floor of our change room. As we warm up outside the rink, we get a good look at all the other teams warming up for their games. Time goes by and we are all ready to go on the ice, our coaches come into our dressing room, and they give us a pep talk before going on. We won our first game against Castlegar. In between games we all went to Subway to eat before going on and playing again. Our second game was against Prince George. From what we have heard they weren’t a very strong team, so we went into the game thinking we were going to win. We lost. Everyone’s mindsets changed, and the mood was low. We spent the rest of the night upset with our actions of play, but we still made the most of Kelowna, and we went out for dinner and went to bed.

The next day was the final battle of our pool division. Against Surrey, we’ve played these girls before and have only beaten them twice in our regular league games. They are a tough team to compete against but that wasn’t going to stop us. Our game was a little later in the day, so we still had majority of our time to hang out with our team. Our coaches surprised us in the morning with rock climbing and a party bus to go and tour Kelowna. We spent the morning just spending time and having fun with each other, knowing that our next game could be the last game we play together. The day went by quick with fun activities. We arrived at the arena with our palms sweating and legs shaking. The whole warm up went by very smoothly and we were ready to play. Adrenaline flowed through our bodies as we waited for our coaches to be done talking. Suddenly we hear a buzzer outside our dressing room; it’s time to go on. The whole game we played great and right up until the timer it was a tie game. Everyone was on the edge of their seats. It was my line out next, for the last line of the game. WE SCORED! We beat the hardest team in the league! everyone was ecstatic and excited to be moving onto the next round of provincials.

A few hours later of celebrating we went back to the arena to see the results of our pool division. To our surprise they put Prince Georges name in front of ours; they beat us. We were done. We were all devastated and sad but at least we had a good season with the girls

Comparing “They Shall Not Grow Old” with “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “Soldiers Home”

“They Shall Not Grow Old” is a documentary film made to show the lives of the Soldiers fighting in WW1. The film is very interesting yet gruesome but teaches us the importance of the soldiers who fought for their country. The footage was colorized for our visuals and the interviews of men who served in the war played over the tapes. Much of what the men said in the documentary matches with what Baumer and Krebs explained through their stories. It seems like every man who spoke has a sense of sympathy for the war, and once the war was over even though they should be happy there was a sense of sadness. They knew that once they had to leave the battle they would go back home; out cased from society.

Although “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “Soldiers Home” are both pieces of literature and “They Shall Not Grow Old” is a Film, they all taught me very similar information. Before reading and watching these sources the war in a way was glamorized in my mind. I didn’t know the atrocities that these men had suffered and the life that was lived at battle. I found it particularly interesting that in “They Shall Not Grow Old”, even at the worst moments in these men’s lives, they kept smiling and having fun.

In conclusion, I enjoyed learning from all of these sources. I found “They Shall Not Grow Old” more fascinating because I could look at the visuals and hear the noises of the bombing and explosions, which impacted me a bit more than “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “Soldiers Home”.

IRJE#1 – November 9

The book I am reading is called November 9 by Colleen Hoover. The novels main characters are two 18-year-olds, a young girl named Fallon and a young man named Ben. Fallon is a daughter of a famous movie star, who recently got into a house fire that left scars all over her body which ultimately ended her acting career. Ben is an aspiring writer, who hasn’t published any books because he doesn’t allow people to read his work. This novels plotline is a love story between two teenagers who have just met and will soon live thousands of miles away from each other because Fallon is leaving to move to New York to pursue her acting career, whereas Ben is staying in LA.

“What if we meet up again next year on the same day? And the year after that? We’ll do it for 5 years. Same date, same time, same place. We’ll pick up where we left off tonight, but only for the day. I’ll make sure you’re following through with your auditions, and I can write a book about the days that we are together.” (Page. 72)

This book interests me because it is relatable for a younger audience. I think that the plotline is intriguing and interesting.

All Quiet on the Western Front and Soldiers Home Comparison

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and Soldiers Home by Ernest Hemingway are both war novels with many similarities but also differences. In All Quiet on the Western Front the main character is Paul Baumer, and in Soldiers Home it is Harold Krebs. Although these two men both served for different alliances, (Harold Krebs served for the USA and Paul Baumer served for the Germans) they both experienced the same tragedies and traumatic experiences.

A similarity that both Krebs and Baumer had in common is that they were both schoolboys, meaning that they were very young when they joined the war. A big difficulty that these boys faced was the high combat in which they were fighting in, and how they delt with the trauma that was brought into their lives. Once they got back home, they both had troubles fitting in, feeling isolated from the rest of the people they were surrounded by. Paul says ” but I am not myself there. There is a distance, a veil between us.”(pg. 160) He is talking about the changes he has been through while at war and serving at the front, he feels welcomed at home but not comfortable and not like himself. Many normal life things became sorrows towards these men. They fought many difficulties with, loosing close friends and experiencing the unimaginable where they would be mentally damaged and changed. Another similarity both the boys have are their family. When Paul goes home for his leave, he seems distraught and overwhelmed once he sees his parents.

” My mother is pleased to see me wearing civilian clothes; it makes me less strange to her. But my father would rather I keep my uniform on so that he could take me to visit his acquaintances.” (pg. 164)

Paul’s mother is ill and care very little about the war, and more about his health and how he is dealing with everything, whereas his dad likes talking about the war and what it is like serving on the front. Krebs family was alike Paul’s family except his mother was the one who was intrigued and asked Krebs about the war, whereas his dad was noncommittal.

“She often came in when he was in bed and asked him to tell her about the war, but her attention always wandered. His father was non-committal.” (Page. 2)

Overall, both of these novels were very interesting to read about. These men experienced many tragedies and losses during the war which resulted in the change at home and struggles to fit into society.

All Quiet on the Western Front

The book All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque opened my eyes to many horrifying experiences young men suffered during World War 1. The book is written from the perspective of a Soldier named Paul Baumer, a young 19-year-old boy, who joins the army with him and his school friends. It is to be said that these men joined the army from the ideals of patriotism and nationalism, but a very short time after serving at the front of the German trenches find that it is all lies.

This booked used lots of descriptive literature and imagery which kept readers, like me, very intrigued. The brutality of life on the front was major, and what I liked most about this book is that it did not glorify and make the war seem less cruel than what it was. At the beginning of the book one of Paul’s closest friends; Franz, has been injured in battle. Paul talks about his death in details that really capture the tragedies these men went through at such a young age. By the end of the chapter Franz is barely holding onto his life, and Paul says;

“He is entirely alone now with his little life of nineteen years, and cries because it leaves him.” (Pg. 31)

Saying goodbye to one of your closest friends must take a toll on your mental health tremendously, but for these men it was just a part of the job. Another part of the book that stood out for me was when Paul was talking about life at the front and how much the earth meant to soldiers like himself.

“When he presses himself down upon her long and powerfully, when he buries his face and his limbs deep in her from the fear of death by shell fire, then she is his only friend, his brother, his mother; he stifles his terror and his cries in her silence and her security” (Pg. 55)

This quote, and part of the book shows so much emotion. Soldiers have been through so much mentally and physically; they have left their families to serve for their country and to risk their lives for the earth they live on. They are all alone. They depend on themselves at battle and their only comfort is the earth they lie against while at battle.

In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I have never really read or learned much literature of the war, but as I read, I could tell myself getting more intrigued. It is important information for us to learn about the past and the lives that were taken for our safety and economy today.

 

 

 

About Me

My name is Ryan, I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba but moved to Victoria, BC about 4 years ago to be closer to my family. I like to play hockey, golf and to hangout with my friends.

My hopes for this upcoming year is to get more into reading and writing. My expectations would be to get all my work handed in on time and correctly done.