So, for me, this book starts off really slow. I was having a really difficult time getting into it and understanding what exactly was going on. The significance of Kemmerich's dying was sort of confusing to me at first, and I thought it was just thrown in there to be something emotional or interesting. When he died though, I started to think it was more of an image of all of the men who died like this. When Baumer says "The whole world ought to pass by this bed and say: "That is Franz Kemmerich, nineteen and a half years old, he doesn't want to die. Let him not die!", I thought of all the young people who didn't really want to die, but did so quickly in this war.
When it gets to the point where the men are on the front line of the battle, and there's the war scene, am I the only one who found this really depressing and scary? I was sitting there reading this, shaking because it was such a clear description of what war was really like. Remarque didn't hold back and pretend like the war was this thing that was bad, but the people around you dying were just random people. He started up the storyline with the young boy who was scared of the first battle, who Baumer sort of takes in, then the next thing you know that kid is dying. It was real. I liked that about the book, but in a way I didn't, because it was just a little much for me.
these images reminded me of what I imagined the battle scene to be
nice post! I also agree with you about how the book starts off slow. I compared it to just starting to watch a movie when its halfway through and you just have to figure it out as you go along. i to felt like kemmerich all of a sudden pop up one minute they are talking about one thing and the next minute they are talking a bout kemmerich being in the hospital. i just wish he was mentioned a different way.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I mean it started to make sense to me why they put Kemmerich in there after reading a little bit further on. It wasn't so much about him specifically, but to show how the war affected so many young people just like him.
ReplyDeleteI love the layout and pictures you've used on your blog. I agree with the fact that the book seems real and that's why I'm personally a fan of it. I can picture myself with these guys in the battles.
ReplyDeleteNice blog! I agree that the descriptions in this book are detailed enough to give a very vivid image of the horrors of war scene. I also agree that the descriptions given by the author were very depressing and scary. "The air becomes acrid with the smoke of the guns and the fog. The fumes of powder taste bitter on the tongue. The roar of the guns makes our lorry stagger, the reverberation rolls raging away to the rear, everything quakes." (pg.52-53). Based on this description and the many others I myself would never want to go war because of how terrible the author makes it which is scary because this is what really happens in the war.
ReplyDeleteTo Cody: for me, it was a little too real. Yes, we need to know exactly what war is like for the class, but eeeeh.. its not something I really wanted to know. But thanks!
ReplyDeleteTo Melody: Thanks! But yeah, the vividness of the story freaked me out a little...
I totally agree, it was so difficult for me to start of reading the blog. I know absolutley nothing about war and was so confused. But I really like the way you connected Kemmerich's death to the rest of the story because i didn't really understand it myself.
ReplyDeleteYeah Hannah i agree that the beginning of the book stared off really slow but after a couple of chapters it started to make more sense and started to get a lot less boring. The one part thaat had really started to confuse me the most was when Kemmerich's boots became a big deal to everyone. It had been totally heartless too when they were considering to kill the boy to put him out of his misery. Personally i thought that had been messed up. Good blog!
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