Wednesday Class Notes 2/15: WWI & Night and Fog
Our conversation about the World War I texts was meant to illuminate certain aspects of Chris Hedges' ideas from War is a force and to introduce some new situations and concepts to our discussion.
In "Volunteers," the description of the Welsh town by Bruce Chatwick seems an especially accurate rendering of nationalism in the first stages of war or conflict. The eagerness of the young men to volunteer for duty, the casting of the Germans as "devils", and the war's righteousness lauded by the local Church all remind us of the atmosphere and alliances created during the rousing first hours of 'the cause'. The Germans are made into the absolute embodiment of evil itself. A "collective amensia" takes hold of the community; the old Rhine wine from Germany is decided to be as terrible as the Germans themselves.
In a break from the Hedges' we've discussed and read so far, the story also added at least one new and important idea. In a scene at the end, a local leader says that the war is being fought for "king," "country," and "womenfolk." This notion that the war was fought to protect the local women is a new idea, but central to the way gender plays certain roles during wartime. In this case, the young men believe they are fighting literally, to protect the status of their women back home. These ideas are also contained in the images from the world war I posters from our visual aid packet.
We were able to discuss, briefly, the W.B. Yeats poem "An Irish Airmen Foresees His Death." One of the unique aspects of this poem is the way that speaker stands outside the fierce stereotyping so common during war.
In "Volunteers," the description of the Welsh town by Bruce Chatwick seems an especially accurate rendering of nationalism in the first stages of war or conflict. The eagerness of the young men to volunteer for duty, the casting of the Germans as "devils", and the war's righteousness lauded by the local Church all remind us of the atmosphere and alliances created during the rousing first hours of 'the cause'. The Germans are made into the absolute embodiment of evil itself. A "collective amensia" takes hold of the community; the old Rhine wine from Germany is decided to be as terrible as the Germans themselves.
In a break from the Hedges' we've discussed and read so far, the story also added at least one new and important idea. In a scene at the end, a local leader says that the war is being fought for "king," "country," and "womenfolk." This notion that the war was fought to protect the local women is a new idea, but central to the way gender plays certain roles during wartime. In this case, the young men believe they are fighting literally, to protect the status of their women back home. These ideas are also contained in the images from the world war I posters from our visual aid packet.
We were able to discuss, briefly, the W.B. Yeats poem "An Irish Airmen Foresees His Death." One of the unique aspects of this poem is the way that speaker stands outside the fierce stereotyping so common during war.
posted by Jrc at 2:45 PM
0 comments
