Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Character Analysis: Albert Kropp
Albert Kropp is a 19-year-old lance-corporeal in the Second Company. He is one of Paul's closest friends during the war and he has a great interest in analyzing the causes of the war. He is a very clear thinker and is very intelligent. He is the one who first notices how the nurses and orderlies are quick to attend to commanding officers, but take their time when it comes to enlisted men. Kropp believes that wars are caused by the leaders of the countries and that those leaders should be the ones to resolve the conflict. He is shot in the leg and decides that he would commit suicide if his leg has to be amputated. His leg does get amputated and while in the hospital, an infection sets in.
The Innocent Minds of Teenage Boys in "All Quiet on the Western Front"
“All Quiet on the
Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque is an informative book depicting the
horrors of WWI through the eyes of a 19-year-old boy. One scene that really stuck with me
throughout the whole book was how excited all of the character seemed to be
about going to war. Kantorek convinced
them it would be exciting and adventurous and they all went along with it. They didn’t question that war is never an
exciting thing and that many people don’t survive. The only one who hesitates is Joseph Behm and
he is persuaded to join up by his fellow classmates. Even parents were ready to call their sons
cowards if they didn’t enlist. It seems
like a completely different time compared to now. Everyone nowadays knows the dangers of war
and isn’t fooled into thinking it is glorious.
This scene stuck with me because you can tell that as the book progresses,
the boys realize that they had been fooled into thinking they would be considered
heroes and would make it home alive.
Their entire attitudes change once they see the destruction caused by
war and after they face the death of several of their friends. Paul loses sight of who the enemy is and even
regrets stabbing Frenchman Gerald Duval.
He gains insight into the minds of soldiers and discovers that whether
someone is French, Russian, English, or German, they are all human beings who
have families back home and are just doing what they need to in order to
survive, just like him. By the end of
the book he has lost all hope and is not afraid of death. When death comes to him, he accepts it and
has a peaceful look as if he realizes that this horror is finally over and he
is going home.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
AQOTWF Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Intro to Characters
Tjaden
Intro to Characters
Tjaden
- Locksmith, nineteen years old, very thin-but a big eater
- Carries school textbooks, talks about physics during bombardments, nineteen years old
- Leader of the group, shrewd, cunning, forty years old
- Clear thinker, lance-corporal, nineteen years old
- Wears a full beard and enjoys officer’s brothels, nineteen years old
- Main character, narrator of the story, nineteen years old
- Peat-digger, nineteen years old
- Peasant farmer, married
- Injured and dying at St. Joseph’s
- mean Corporal that no one likes
- Sergeant-cook, called a carrot or Ginger because of his red hair
What's Going On...
- Story is focused on the men of The Second Company
- Starts out the story five miles behind the front
- Relieved the day before, and discussing the double rations (food) they’ve received (150 men were supposed to return, but only 80 survived)Beef, haricot beans, sausage, bread, tobacco
- Receive mail and head to meadow after eating; sitting on individual portable toilets vs. the common latrine for two hours… Find this pleasurable
- Reflect on how Kantorek convinced them to enlist and glorified the war
- Believed he was helping guide them, but instead misled them
- Also play “skat” while sitting there (cards) on a margarine lid, then proceed to napping
- They go to see Kemmerich while he’s dying, Mueller wants his boots
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
Party Platform
From Wikipedia
The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) applies the principles of Christian democracy and emphasizes the “Christian understanding of humans and their responsibility toward God.” Members of the party are do not have to belong to a certain religion or be religious at all. Its policies are derived from Political Catholicism, Catholic school teachings, and political Protestantism. The CDU supports European integration and a strong relation with the US. They do not want to allow Turkey to enter the European Union but want a privileged partnership. They cited Turkey for numerous human rights violations and they believe that because Turkey is unwilling to recognize Cyprus as an independent, sovereign state, Turkey is contradicting the EU policy that its member must recognize the existence of one another. The CDU supports stronger punishments of crime and involvement on the part of the Bundeswehr (armed forces) in cases of domestic anti-terrorism offensives. The CDU believes that Germany should integrate immigrants through language courses and wants to further control of immigration. They also believe that dual citizenship should only be allowed in exceptional cases.
Opponents/Supporters
Opponents of the CDU include the SPD, The Left party, and The Greens. The CDU has governed two Grand Coalitions with the SPD and various coalitions with The Greens. A preferred partner of the CDU is the FDP, who has similar attitudes towards fiscal policy.
States that support the CDU are concentrated in rural and Catholic regions such as Eifel, Sauerland, Thuringia Eichsfeld as well as areas in Saxony, Vorpommern, and Nordfriesland. There is less support in Bremen, Brandenburg, and East Berlin.
Similar Parties
The party most similar to the CDU would be our Republican Party. Both parties advocate for fiscal conservatism and support the use of armed forces for anti-terrorism offensives. The Republican Party and the CDU have affiliations with the International Democratic Union. The IDU allows political parties with similar views to come together and exchange views on matters of policy and organizational interest.
Views
They are currently focussed on weathering the financial troubles of the last few years.It is among their goals to keep the economy competitive, and taxes low. They have been going by the slogan “Germany’s future: in good hands.” They also stand for protection and promotion of the family. Most recently, the party has put its efforts on phasing out nuclear power.
History
Following the collapse of the Third Reich and the end of WWII. Germany began restricting its government. This brought about the Christian Democratic Union. The CDU aimed to establish a union, and as such a party of German people, something the likes of the Weimar Republic failed to achieve. The CDU was founded in Berlin on the 26th of June 1945, 49 days after VE-Day. The party spread out to Westphalia and Rhineland after its formation. The first Chancellor of Germany since WW2 was Konrad Adenauer (serving 1949-1963) of the CDU. Adenauer was imprisoned twice during the Nazi years, under the accusation of ‘Opponent to the Regime.’ Adenauer and his colleagues were successful in taking power because of their views of; economic flexibility, and oppositional to the Nazis, two attributes favored by the United States and Britain. The CDU would lose their grasp when Adenauer was replaced. Moving forward, the next successful leader was Helmut Kohl (serving 1982-1998). Kohl was the longest running chancellor since Otto Von Bismarck. Kohl was seen a main architect for the reunification of Germany, and the creation of the EU in 1993. Today, the current Chancellor of Germany is Angela Merkel. She, a Research Chemist and Politician started as an opposition leader in 1998 versus the SPD. Merkel became chancellor in 2005 and remains chancellor today. She is currently ranked 5th on Forbes.com’s most important people list, the highest achieved position of a woman.
Members
The Christian Democratic Union has roughly 485,000 members, as of May 2012. Each German state had a series of members, and a chairperson. North Rhine-Westphalia had the most members of any state in Germany, with more than 165,000 members. The chairperson of North Rhine-Westphalia, representing the CDU, is Armin Laschet. Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, is the chairperson of the CDU party.
The average age of members in the party is 59. Less than 6% of members are under the age of 30. 75% of the party’s members are male, and the remaining 25% are female members. Therefore, this party has a strong population of middle aged adults and seniors.
Sources
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