Five talking points for "All Quiet on the Western Front"
1. When Paul kills the man in the trench it shows the most intimate brutality of war.
2. In the beginning of the film, the boys start dancing and parading out into the streets. This is an exaggeration, but it shows the bandwagon effect and the innocence of youth.
3. Card games are prevalent throughout the story. This seems to show a background against which the numbing spirits of the men can be seen. For example after Kat's death the doctor sits right back down to deal the hand while Paul is stricken with grief. Had it been any other soldier, Paul would likely carry on like the doctor.
4. The shelling seems to frighten the men the most right away, but as their time on the front lines extends, their fears are turned into a bond between them, using humor and sarcasm to forget about the chaos around them.
5. Paul probably wishes that someone would have given his speech while on leave to the class of young men when he was in their position. Would that have affected the outcome of Paul's class?
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Summary
In this chapter, the reader is presented with situations that beg for explanation. The cruel training of Himmielstoss that Paul remembers along with the patriotism that was instilled upon the men as they trained. There is a world of chaos around them at all times and they are stuck to make sense of it all for themselves. When Paul visits Kemmerich before his death, the novel shows Paul completely dumbfounded by the meaningless loss of his friend. The situation with the boots is a symbolic theme throughout the novel. In this chapter, the boots represent the hard truth to death or the inevitable. This also shows the humane nature of man even at his worst.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
FDP assignment reflection
My work on the FDP Party Research
The
research on the FDP that our group conducted was efficient and produced a
greater understanding of the German political system for my group and myself.
We began our process by using www.wikipedia.com as a starting point to gather
general information about the party. From the overview of information we
gathered, we were able to fact-check the information and elaborate on subtopics
of information using other primary sites to produce a clear understanding of
the FDP. After we had gathered all of our information, we began structuring it
into a clear presentation that flowed well.
Working
with the group was streamlined in that we coordinated, according to the
majority of our schedules, the times that we collaborated. During the group
work time, we clearly voiced our thoughts and opinions about the topic at hand
and our individual strengths and weaknesses. By understanding each other's
strong suits, we were able to effectively conduct the research required and
discuss topical information as necessary.
I am
still a bit confused by the FDP's stance on politics. I understand that they
are a minor party, but they have attained status as a kingmaker of the German
government (www.spiegel.de). This to me suggests that the FDP has the support
of a privileged few with access to resources of money and power. They
also seem like an advocate for human rights organizations based on our research
for the presentation, which seems out of place compared to the politics of the
United States. I am very curious to see the presentations tonight and gain
further insight into the political systems of Germany.
Personally,
the most interesting part of the research of the FDP was trying to compare such
a political party and its encompassing political system to those of ours here
in the United States. There are similarities in the dynamics of German and
American Politics as well as differences. An interesting similarity between the
two is the political popularity outreach that is apparent in the candidates
past of the FDP and other parties such as FDP member Guido Westerwelle's appearance
on the German version of the hit show, "Big Brother"
(www.wikipedia.org). A major difference between American and German
politics, though, would be the cooperation of smaller parties and larger
parties in the German political system; at least proportionately.
Overall, I felt that I contributed effectively to the group's research and presentation and I look forward to more projects like this.
Schleswig Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Ry Hammond,Sapphire Albright, Brendan Pucel
photo courtesy of wikipedia
population: ~2,837,641 as of 2011
- income per capita: 2.86%
It's about 15,799km, so it's a fairly large state.
It's located at the north tip of Germany.
The main industries of Schleswig- Holstein consists of Biomedical technology, micro and nano technology, food technology and ship making.
Partnerships:
-Denmark
-Estonia
-Latvia
-Lithuania
-Finland
-France
-Norway
-Poland
-Russia
-Sweden
-China
-Japan
-Maryland
Most of the population is of German and Danish heritage. The Kiel Declaration of 1949 and the Bonn-Copenhagen declarations of 1955 led to an improvement in German-Danish relations, especially since the German- Danish conflict was one year prior in 1948.
In 1918, events in Schleswig- Holstein had wide-reaching repercussions: the naval mutiny at Keil led to the November Revolution of that year, bringing with it an end to the First World War and to German monarchy.
Some Famous People you might know:
-Allison Mack
-David Kross
-Eric Braeden
-Dieter Laser
-Lukas Heller
Current governing body: SPD/ Greens
Interesting Places:
Lübeck is the headquarters for the Hanse and the city centre is a world heritage site.
whcards.blogspot.com
Jutland Peninsula isles are a popular tourist area.
photo courtesy of wikipedia
The Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival is a statewide classical music festival held every summer and began in 1986. Events are held at different venues throughout Schleswig Holstein and Northern Germany.
photo courtesy of shmf.de
http://www.shmf.de/inhalt.asp?DV=&Stich=Zeit=22:36:38&BesucherID=84432471
FDP assignment
FDP
by: Jon W, Ry, AJ, Saphire, John, Patrick, Maythem, Matt
Overview
History
Major events
Current Standing
References
1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FDP-Logo_2011.svg, 17 Sep 12
2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Democratic_Party_(Germany), 17 Sep 12
3.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Guido_Westerwelle_(Foreign_ministry_in_Stockholm,_2010).jpg, 19 Sep 12
4.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Roesler-klein.jpg, 19 Sep 12
5.http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/where-do-they-stand-a-quick-guide-to-germany-s-political-parties-a-651388.html, 19 Sep 12
 |
| (1) |
"As much government as necessary, as little government as possible," (2)
Overview
- Histroy
- major events
- current standing
History
- (S)Theodor Heuss first chairman 1948
- (S)Heuss was first president of federal republic of germany from 1949-1959
- (J)free democratic party is a centrist german party that advocate individualism, captialism and social reform.
- (J)It was established in December 1948 at a conference attended by delegates from liberal parties in American, British and French zone occupation.
- (P)Formed from nine regionally organized parties: BDV, DemP, DP, DVP (Northern Württemberg-Baden), DVP (Southern Württemberg-Hohenzollern), FDP from the Brtitish Zone of Occupation and The Free State of Bavaria and the LDP from the State of Hesse and Berlin West.
- (M)Formed with the intent to influence free market economics and human rights.
- (R)"kingmaker"
Major events
- (R)1970 to 1990s Hans-Dietrich Genscher led the fdp as the forgein minister of germany
- (R)During the 2002 elections, Juergen Moellemann published an anti-Semitic pamphlet and was forced to leave the FDP before commiting suicide in 2003.
- (J)2009 FDP best result in federal election and second-longest serving chairman
- (J)2009 Party support collapses (dropped to as low as 5%)
- (J)2011 Guido Westerwelle stepped down after party was wiped out in select states.
.jpg) |
| Guido Westerwelle(3) |
 |
| Phillipp Rosler(4) |
Current Standing
- (A)Guido had to step down from vice-chancelor in 2011 due to being unable to lower taxes as promised in 2009 election
- (A)Phillipp Rosler succeeded Guido as chairman of FDP and vice-chancelor in May 2011
Fun Facts
- (M)Guido on Big Brother germany in early 2000s
- (M)Guido first openly gay vice-chancelor and foreign minister
References
1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FDP-Logo_2011.svg, 17 Sep 12
2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Democratic_Party_(Germany), 17 Sep 12
3.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Guido_Westerwelle_(Foreign_ministry_in_Stockholm,_2010).jpg, 19 Sep 12
.jpg){kind=link}
4.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Roesler-klein.jpg, 19 Sep 12
5.http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/where-do-they-stand-a-quick-guide-to-germany-s-political-parties-a-651388.html, 19 Sep 12
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