Meditation 17 & All Quiet on the Western Front by R. Evasius

Meditations 17

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 15:42:47 UTC

"...as that he knows not it tolls for him..."

Meditations 17-

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 15:45:36 UTC

"The church is Catholic, universal, so are all her actions... [a child] is thereby connected to that body which is my head too, and ingrafted into that body whereof I am a member."

18evasiusr — 2015-10-21 15:49:05 UTC

Meditations 17-

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 15:49:27 UTC

"...all mankind is of one author and is one volume..."

18evasiusr — 2015-10-21 15:49:27 UTC

18evasiusr — 2015-10-21 15:49:46 UTC

Meditations 17-

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 15:50:34 UTC

"...God's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library..."

18evasiusr — 2015-10-21 15:51:15 UTC

18evasiusr — 2015-10-21 15:52:41 UTC

Meditations 17-

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 15:52:49 UTC

"As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon calls not upon the preacher only, but the upon the congregation to come."

All Quiet on the Western Front

18evasiusr — 2015-10-21 15:55:28 UTC

This quote from Meditations 17 can be connected to the deaths during World War 1. Often times, soldiers were shot during trench warfare very quickly, and may have died instantly, without time to acknowledge what had happened.

Meditations 17-

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 15:55:50 UTC

"...it was determined, that they should ring the bell that rose earliest."

All Quiet on the Western Front

18evasiusr — 2015-10-21 16:27:36 UTC

This idea of closeness between members of a religion can be connected to the 'closeness' between the soldiers. Many of the younger soldiers, including Paul, Muller, Tjaden, and the others, have formed a close bond because of their circumstances.

Meditations 17-

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 16:30:08 UTC

"The bell doth toll for him that thinks it doth."

Meditations 17-

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 16:32:40 UTC

"...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind..."

Meditations 17-

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 16:34:50 UTC

"...for affliction is a treasure, and scarce any man hath enough of it. No man hath affliction enough that is not matured or ripened by it..."

18evasiusr — 2015-10-21 16:36:01 UTC

Meditations 17-

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 16:37:19 UTC

"Tribulation is treasure in the nature of it, but it is not current money in the use of it..."

All Quiet on the Western Front

18evasiusr — 2015-10-21 16:38:37 UTC

There is a definite absence of religion in the novel. While the men are dying, they do not call out for God to save them, as they question how God can allow such horrible events.

All Quiet on the Western Front

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 16:41:33 UTC

All of the soldiers in AQOTWF feel connected, like one man, one body of soldiers pushing and surging against the other side. Paul describes this mindless unity countless times in the novel.

18evasiusr — 2015-10-21 16:44:16 UTC

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 16:46:04 UTC

All Quiet on the Western Front

18evasiusr — 2015-10-21 16:46:45 UTC

Like the previous quote, it is shown in the novel that there is a definite lack of a strength of religion in the novel. With the connection between "leaves," and "translations," both of which are metaphors for the passing of time, can be connected to the thought of the mass deaths that occurred during WWI. By saying that God will "bind up all our scattered leaves," John Donne believes that God will overlook the massive waves of death during the war, and time will continue as it has before.

All Quiet on the Western Front

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 16:46:52 UTC

In Quiet on the Western Front, death is felt, no matter which side the soldier belongs to. Paul himself feels a mournful connection with a French soldier. When stranded in a trench empty except for a dying Frenchmen, Paul is forced to fully experience the man's drawn out death. He feels this blow as strongly as if it were his own comrade, not a rival.

All Quiet on the Western Front

18kranerl — 2015-10-21 16:47:51 UTC

The men of All Quiet on the Western Front, though maybe not Paul and his friends, believed they were doing the right thing in fighting. It was the ultimate sacrifice to give up your life in battle. Though in reality, killing is a bloody thing, not a holy thing, to get men into battle, people touted the message that soldiers were doing the right thing. The men that died in battle and served their country the most were morally better, and would get into Heaven quickly.

18evasiusr — 2015-10-21 16:51:20 UTC

18evasiusr — 2015-10-22 15:08:58 UTC

All Quiet on the Western Front

18evasiusr — 2015-10-22 15:21:41 UTC

In All Quiet on the Western Front, the men feel that they are all the same. Paul frequently discusses the "mindless unity" that they feel quite often throughout the novel. As well, Paul is extremely upset when his comrades are injured or killed.

All Quiet on the Western Front

18evasiusr — 2015-10-26 15:14:35 UTC

The soldiers in All Quiet on the Western Front face many afflictions, or tribulations, throughout their story. Their struggles have certainly changed them, and even killed off characters.

All Quiet on the Western Front

18kranerl — 2015-10-26 15:26:19 UTC

The troubles that the soldiers endured in All Quiet on the Western Front would definitely not be considered good to them. They did awful things, experienced awful things, and watched awful things. As a soldier, you could only hope that these struggles and scarring events may help you in your later life, or at least in Heaven, eventually.

All Quiet on the Western Front

18kranerl — 2015-10-27 15:08:23 UTC

Surrounded by so much death, soldiers grew a skin, a way to keep out all of the pain and death around them. Soldiers didn't have to feel the pain when a friend or comrade died- if they chose to let it in, however, if they chose to hear the bell tolling of sadness, to feel the effects of their friends death, it could cripple them.

18kranerl — 2015-10-27 15:15:28 UTC