Synthesis assignment for World War I

 

Sources compiled by Eileen Bach, Concordia International School Shanghai, January 2013.

 

Much of the writing that arises from World War I uses animal imagery, reminding us that war is brutal and makes men brutes. How does each of the following four selections, including the caption for the painting, provide evidence to the contrary, showing us that soldiers may retain their humanity despite the grim conditions of their lives?  Note that each of these selections is or contains a direct reference to a primary source. 

 

SOURCE A:

“The Christmas Miracle,” published in The Guardian, Monday 10 November 2008

 

SOURCE B:

Excerpts from ‘An ode to human ingenuity,’ published in The Guardian, Monday 10 November 2008

 

SOURCE C:

One of Churchill’s earliest paintings, Plug Street, depicting his billet on the Western Front in 1916

 

 

SOURCE D:

From “Apologia Pro Poemate Meo” (translation:  “A defense of my poem”) by Wilfred Owen