T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" and individual conscience

World War I

Journal Exercise 6.1A: Impressions of War

My most vivid image of war comes, most likely, from a movie I watched when I was only a few years of age. It was a black and white movie and there are just a few scenes that still persist in my mind. The action was sometime in 1944 and it accounted the Normandy Campaign of the Second World War. The Germans were entrenched in a small, but charming French village (I still have the vivid image of the Gothic church in the village), and they were fighting to the last of their resources in order to stop the Allied advance into France and towards the German border. Despite their heroic defence, some of their actions were indeed barbarous: upon retreat, they blow up the remaining buildings in the village in an attempt to stop the Allies. There is also something else that rests in my mind: although the almost neutral portrayal of the German army, you cannot but feel them as "the bad guys."

My first image went back several hundred years ago to the medieval wars, when principles such as chivalry and loyalty took over the more pragmatic present vision of war. I had several images of cavalries clashing together, only to be later transformed into modern clashes between tanks and infantry or between tanks and tanks. Modern armies = more destruction, more pain inflicted on the enemy, but also on the innocent civilians.

Lesson 6 Journal Entry # 2 of 13

Journal Exercise 6.2A: Rites of Passage Activity

My grandfather told me about a fountain pen that he received on the day he went of to college from his father and that he still used nowadays - it is remarkable how a 100 years old fountain pen can still be functional. As for my part, I would like to always have with me the watch that I received 10 years ago from my parents. Every time I look at the watch, I see my parents encouraging me in my enterprises.

Lesson 6 Journal Entry # 4 of 13

Journal Exercise 6.2B: Responding to Literature

The most important technique used is the repetition: he repeats the word 'victory' three times, only to emphasize that 'without victory, there is no survival'.

W. Churchill also uses interrogation to make the address more personal. He perpetually asks "what is our aim?...what is our policy?" In order to make the King understand that this is a joint effort from the entire country and all its representatives.

He uses metaphors in several parts of his speech, including his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" reference. His intention is to emphasize the fact that he will offer all for the final victory and that this is what he expects from all others involved.

The poems are a lyrical approach towards the war, while Churchill, despite his use of metaphors or others figures of speech, provides a very realistic approach in his speech. From these pieces, World War II seems both an absurd engagement and a mixture of energies and individualities.

Lesson 6 Journal Entry # 5 of 13

Journal Exercise 6.2C: Writing a Persuasive Essay

I am going to write a persuasive essay on racism. Despite significant progress in the last decades, including the abolition of Apartheid, racism is still something that influences many societies.

In the European Union, for example, the Roma population is persecuted and their freedom of movement in the EU is sometimes limited. For sure, some of the individuals from this community tend to commit crimes when they travel abroad. However, this is not representative to the level of the entire community.

There are many Roma who work in the EU and do it very well. Each individual should be judged against their own performances and this is something that should be valid for the members of any community. The fight against racism needs to continue until its full eradication.

The Holocaust

Lesson 6 Journal Entry # 6 of 13

Journal Exercise 6.3A: Your Reflections on the Holocaust

Some of the documentaries on Discovery provide the worst and most terrible images of the Holocaust. Whether these are dead bodies or living humans, all emaciated, the individuals presented in these documentaries showed the horrors of the Holocaust. One can only feel excruciated by the fact that humans were able to do this to other humans. I think it is essential to remember the Holocaust so that this will never happen again in history.

Lesson 6 Journal Entry # 7 of 13

Journal Exercise 6.3B: Responding to Literature

All pieces present the Holocaust from the perspective of the individuals themselves. They are all realistic approaches, but approaches that have a strong subjective background and, from this point-of-view, they also have a very personal touch to it. All the pieces present the Holocaust as a horror and as something that has to be avoided at all costs in the future.

The overarching purpose is informational: the authors need to present and show what has happened. In order to do this, they employ all instruments at their disposal and emphasize what was, so that what is going to be will not be the same. Indirectly, they also show where hate between humans leads.

Defending Human Rights Lesson 6 Journal Entry # 8 of 13

Journal Exercise 6.4A: Freedom can list the freedom of speech, the freedom to associate with whomever I want and to meet with whomever I want, the freedom to print whatever ideas I want, the freedom to vote for whomever I want etc. I also have the freedom not to exercise some of my rights, such as the right not to go and vote. Some of the countries where this is not true are Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, Libya, Syria or China.

Lesson 6 Journal Entry # 9 of 13

Journal Exercise 6.4B: Responding to Literature

Modern British Poetry

Lesson 6 Journal Entry # 10 of 13

Journal Exercise 6.5A: Responding to Literature

The poem was written in 1919, which is immediately after the First World War. I think that Yeats is, on one hand, enthusiastic about the end of the world and the coming of a new era. On the other hand, I think he is also a bit circumspect about what this new era is likely to bring about: more anarchy? The fact that the world has escaped the tragedy does not mean that it is over the hurdle yet: it can still spiral out of control, just like the hawk in the poem.

The second poem refers to the death of one's father, while the first has an ever presence of nostalgia throughout the writing. In both cases, many of the words used incline to suggest suffering and sadness, such as 'tears', 'crying' and 'grieved'. Some of the metaphors and epithets are used in the same manner.

A the dying light," "go gentle into the night" and "close of the day." I think that these metaphors provide a very lyrical approach to death, not like my own. I am agnostic and believe that death is simply the end, as well as just another phase of life to which we should not pay too much attention to.

I think so: if we look at the painting, the farmer does not look towards the sea, where Icarus is falling, but simply continues to plough straight ahead, as if nothing has happened and as if nothing can deter him from his own activities. This is also emphasized in the poem itself: "But for him it was not an important failure."

The Modern Short Story Lesson 6 Journal Entry # 11 of 13

Journal Exercise 6.6A: What Makes a Good Story?

I think there are several important things. First of all, a good short story needs to have a good plot, probably the most important of all elements. The reason for this is that a good plot will coagulate the rest of the story together and will retain the reader's interest throughout the story. On the other hand, you might also want to have at least an interesting character, because he or she can carry some of the load in the story. Finally, a certain twist in the plot will make the story live on in the reader's memory even after he is finished reading it.

Lesson 6 Journal Entry # 12 of 13

Journal Exercise 6.6B: Effective Transitions and Revising Passive Voice

Lesson 6 Journal Entry # 13 of 13

Journal Exercise 6.6C: Responding to Literature think all three can apply to the narrator. The first meaning applies because he is being ignored by the woman selling at the stall and this produces his state of being valueless. Secondly, he is also loving himself too much, which is why he is affected by this experience and why all his idealized visions are destroyed. Finally, he is also hungry for praise ad admiration, as a child.

a. There are several cracks in the structure of the building and the letter is signed with the letter K. There are several hints of panic, including the refracting light on the table that shows the letter.

b. I think it is more likely that Mrs. Drover has been traumatized by her wartime experiences, which have made her have these hallucinations. An argument in support of this is that her hallucinations seem to appear only during the war and are directly related.

I think that "The Demon Lover" does not necessarily meet the requirements mentioned in 6.6A. First of all, it is almost entirely coagulated around the main character and has no secondary characters on which the story can also be built. Second, the plot is not too interesting either and the entire story is more psychological than something that can carry the reader's interest throughout.

I would not recommend it to other readers.