10 "What if" Questions

What if the Paul's old teacher did NOT temp them to join the war?

What if Paul did not meet the French soldier that he killed by his own hands?

What if someone saw Paul and his friend going to see the French women.

What if Paul did not meet Kat?

What if Paul was not dead at the end of the war.

What if the author did not write about the revenge of Paul and his friend to Himmelstoss?

What if Paul's father against to sent Paul to the war? (What if his father was not very patriotic?)

What if the author did not write about the really grotesque scenes?

What if Paul kept having a hope?

What if Paul was not interested in butterflies?






This is the one I chose.

What if the author did not write about the revenge of Paul and his friends to Himmelstoss?


If the author did not write about the revenge of Paul and his friends to Himmelstoss, this book shows less terror of the war. I guess, by telling us about the revenge, this story tells us that the war is terrible. The revenge was just a youth playing. That was just funny. For us, right now, if we revenge a teacher like that, it will be a big problem. But during WWI, there were more terrible things happening. On the front, Paul and his friends experienced real war. It is not easy, and they are at the risk of their life. And they lost their youth.
The difference between the revenge and the fighting on the front shows us how they changed from the fun youth to soldier without a human being.

Hospital

"We shan't see him again. They have put him in the Dead Room."

They could know that they will die when they are taken to the Dead Room. A lot of people are taken to the Dead Room everyday, and everyone knows it. They are living really close to death.

They fo not answer but wheel him out... "I will come back again! I will come back again!" he cries... "Many a man has said that. Once a man is in there, he never comes back.

He die in a terror in the Dead Room. None of his friends or family is with him when he dies. He dies in loneliest. They fight hard for nothing (I mean not for himself), and they die easily like bugs.




Paul's Friends' death


Kat my friend, Kat with the drooping shoulders and the poor, thin mustache, Kat, whom I know as I know no other man, Kat with whom I have shared there years.


Suddenly Kat gurgles and turns green and yellow, "Let's go on," he stammers.


He points to Kat. "He is a stone dead." I turn around. My eyes are still dulled, the sweat breaks out on me again, it runs over my still.


Then I know nothing more.


Kat was like a family to Paul as you can see in the first sentence. I guess Kat was one of the person that Paul likes the most. A man told him that he is dead. I can see that everyone got used to death. And they can see that the person is dead or not. Paul could not believe that Kat is dead, because he was talking to Kat only 10 minutes ago. But Kat is really dead. When Paul really realized that Kat is dead, he could not think normally. Even they got used to death, they can never get used to their friends death. They kind of seem to lost human beings, but they are still human beings.

Poem 'Sea Fever'

Sea Fever 

By John Masefield

I must go down to the seas again,

to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship

and a star to steer her by;

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song

and the white sail’s shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and

a grey dawn breaking,

I must down to the seas again,

for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call

that may not be denied; And all I ask is a windy day

with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume,

and the sea-gulls crying.

I must down to the seas again,

to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull’s way and the whale’s way

where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn

from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream

when the long trick’s over.

This poem is written by a sailor who is on the land now. He wants to go back to the sea where he likes to live.
I think he is a pirate.

My favorite three lines

I must go down to the seas again,

to the lonely sea and the sky,

I think he likes to be alone. He likes to look at the sea and sky. They are so grand and strong. The sea just stay there all the time. And it changes its shape depends on the whether. The sea is captive, but free. The sky is just so beautiful and helpful. The color changes, and at night, the stars are shining. It also helps sailors to see the way. 

To the gull’s way and the whale’s way

where the wind’s like a whetted knife;

He likes the nature and dangerousness of the sea. That makes him feel free and burn. The gull that stays in the sky, that is a place that we cannot stay. And the whale that stays in the water, that is also the place we cannot stay. But he is using the way of explaining that normal usually people cannot go, like middle of the sea. Also, "the wind's like a whetted knife" is saying that the wind is fast and strong. 

And all I ask is a merry yarn

from a laughing fellow-rover,

And he wants a  merry life. He just want to enjoy his easy, but burning life.

All Quiet Blog Post (III)

During he was back to his home town, he was not happy. He realized that no one understands about the real war.


His father is proud of him, because he is fighting in the army. And he took Paul to a dinner with his friends, and talked about him proudly. He was said that the army should go to Paris and beat them. But Paul thinks that the war should end as soon as they can. If they keep fighting, more and more people die and never come back.

His old school teacher who kind of made Paul and his classmates to join the war was still telling his students that going to the war is a credit. When the teacher saw Paul, he asked Paul to tell students how awesome to be in the army, but Paul never think being in the army is good. So he said to not go to the war. Then students started to call him a loser.




I understand his feeling a little. My situation is not as serious as his, but I still feel uncomfortable like him, sometimes. When I go back to Japan for a break, everyone says, "I want to come to America to study! I know it's awesome. I can make American friends and go somewhere that is not Japan!" Even my mother tells me something like this. But my life here is not as good as they think.
I like NBPS better than my old school in Japan. I like the system of studying in America that we can choose our classes. But beside it, I do not think that is good to stay here. I know that it is good to study English, but for me, it is hard to make friends beside Asian. So I always stay with the same people, and it's kind of boring.
Anyway, when I see my friends in Japan, they do not know what is my like like. And they tell me that I am having the better life than them. That annoys me a little.
I have one more problem to being away from home for a long time. I feel that my friends changes, and they are not they are that I know. It a bit scary, and I feel lonely.

All Quiet on the Western Front.

I learned how people who are left feel. Especially dead soildiers' parents, like Kemmerich's mother. She has a hatred for Paul, who is living, when Kemmerich is dead. She asked Paul how her son died, and Paul told her that he died soon with not a lot of pain. But she couldn't believe(actually, Paul lied, because he felt that he should not tell his mom how terribly he died. She will be shocked badly.)



This is Paul and Kemmerich in the hospital. He is cut one of his leg by a doctor, because it was wounded. But for him, he couldn't thank for that, because he can never walk by him legs. When Kemmerich wanted to see a doctor, Paul asked the doctor to see him, but the doctor told him, "He is almost dead, we cannot do anything for him anymore." And he died soon with a painful in a terror.

WWI Posters

This poster tells lads to go to the war.

It is simple sentences, so it goes strait to audiences' hearts.

I think it makes lads go to the war.

This poster wants to tell audience to help with the war.

In this poster, there are people fighting, sawing military uniforms, 

making weapons, and doing nothing.

This poster is putting pressure on people who is doing nothing to help the country.

And people who didn't work for the war, they think about what they are doing, and start to help the war.

What I learned about WWⅠ.

I didn't know anything about the World War I, because I'm not interesting in wars. Wars are cruelty, and people die. I do not like to think about people dying.


Today, I learned that Japan was in it. 9,000,000 people died in the world. Gas effects people's death a little. And there ware a lot of causes to death except battle, for example, lice, rats, and so on.

Many countries joined the war, and it was the biggest war ever.

Gilgamesh。

Q. The nature of courage, friendship, and Humanity in the Gilgamesh story.

Courage

Gilgamesh did not have courage, but he was just strong. No one went against him, and he did not need to fight, so he did not need to have be brave.

↓

He changed. He started to like his Uruk people, and he tried to make a lasting name for himself and Enkidu. To make a lasting name, he decided to go to the Cedar Forest and kill Hambaba, the forest's guardian, with Enkidu. However, when he got there, he was so nervous and cried a little. He hesitate to kill Hambaba, but Enkidu helped Gilgamesh with his word, so Gilgamesh could kill Hambaba. In other words, Gilgamesh could be brave, because of Enkidu.

When You Are OldBy William Butler Yeats

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true,

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,

Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled

And paced upon the mountains overhead

And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

Comment

I chose this poem, because I'm always thinking that I don't want to be old. When I saw this title, I thought that this is about life of old people, and it makes me not afraid to be old. But this poem was different than what I thought. I still don't get clearly what is this poem wants to tell us. I think he has a little negative thinking, he seems sad. So I think that this poem wants to tell us to be happy. Do not care about what sad thing happened and find something new.

My Favorite Lines

And loved your beauty with love false or true,


Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled


I like these two lines, because I can see that he loved her so much.




And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.


I feel that he is relaxed, and the time goes slowly. I know that he lost his lover once, but I think he has a nice slow life now.

The Gods, Exceptional Human, and Ordinary Human

The Relationship of Mankind to the Gods:  Consider the creation and death of Enkidu and Utnapishtim’s story of the flood (and the aftermath).  What do these episodes tell us about the relationship between the gods and human beings? How, if at all, do Exceptional human beings differ from ordinary ones in this regard? 

Comment

These episodes tell us that the human is made by the gods. The gods are strong and can affect human's life. The Gods create world, and create human. The gods have eternal life, but the gods give us a birth and death, so human cannot live forever. Human can not do a big thing such as commit a flooding, but the Gods can.

Exceptional human is not completely human. For example Gilgamesh is one third human, two third god. He was born between a human and a goddess. Enkidu is one third human, two third animal. Enkidu was made by Anunu, the goddess. He was living in a jungle. The antelope and deer raised him. He was drinking water from waterholes. He could run faster than any animals. They are much stronger than ordinary human, because they have a muscles like rocks. Also, they are big and handsome.

Poem "Momma Said"

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Momma SaidBy Calvin Forbes

The slice I ate I want it back

Those crumbs I swept up

I’d like my share again

I can still taste it like it was

The memory by itself is delicious

Each bite was a small miracle

Both nourishing and sweet

I wish I had saved just a little bit

I know it wasn’t a literal cake

It’s the thought that counts

Like a gift that’s not store-bought

Making it even more special  

Like a dream that makes you

Want to go back to sleep

You can’t have your cake

And eat it too Momma said

I was defiant and hardheaded

And answered yes I can too

The look she gave me said boy

I hope you aren’t a fool all your life

comment

This poetry day is first time for me. I did not know what poem I should choose, so I was looking for something starts with "My". However I found this, "Momma Said". To be honest, I chose this, because it seems good to start posting poems. In this poem, there is a gluttonous boy who ate a snack. At first, I imagined a small cupcake put a lot of sugar. He loved the cupcake so much, and he wanted to eat it again. I can understand this feeling, when I was young, I wanted cotton candy all the time. I could not stop until I eat every cotton candy in my house. Even I ate everything in my house, it was not enough for me. And he was defiant and hardheaded. I can understand it, too. When someone said "don't", it made me want to do it, but of course not anymore. I had a lot of things that I can agree with this.

My Favorite Three Lines

The slice I ate I want it back

He ate a slice, but he want to eat it again, but he cannot. I think that it is  cute that he want to eat it again, because I feel young boy's pure heart.

Each bite was a small miracle

I think that he was still so young, such as 5 years old. He did not know so many things, so he felt the taste is miracle. He is so pure.

The look she gave me said boy

I hope you aren’t a fool all your life

I like this sentence the best, because it so funny that his mother hope that he isn't a fool all his life. He was still a child. I think most of children feel this way like him.