spells: your turn » Blog Archive » Close Reading Exercise 2 (G and B)

As story goes on, this peaceful and beautiful landscape and surroudings such as “blue sky… the horizon float the bright yellow, sunlit observation balloons…and the many little white clouds… flower meadow.. white butterflies..” (9) completely disappear and the soldiers only have to face the horrible reality such as death of their beloved friends, and their family.

“We hear the muffled rumble of the front only as very distant thunder” imagine this you sitting down listening to bombs, gun fire, peoples screams, etc.

Nature itself is beautiful. Skies are pretty when they are blue. The time when the sun sets and the whole world is yellow with orange and red, it is wonderful. “Over us is the blue sky. On the horizon float the bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons, and the many little white clouds of the anti-aircraft shells.” (9)

Everything sounds clear, and clear is good, when it is described closely, realistically. “We hear the muffled rumble of the front only as very distant thunder, bumble-bees droning by quite drown it.” (9) It is clear in a way that the character hears this sound this way. “…muffled rumble of the front…as very distant and thunder” and “bumble-bees…quite drown it.” In this place where everything must sound peaceful, the idea of war is not forgotten.

The beautiful, peaceful background of the scene “Over us is the blue sky…the wind plays with our hair; it plays with our words and thoughts” (9) seems to relax the readers’ minds, because both the rhythm and word choices are comforting and happy.

In addition, the subtle, but “glowing, red field-poppies” (9) are also there. (field-poppies represent the soldiers who lost their lives during WWI)

What is truly interesting in this scene is that despite the danger that lies ahead, they are “read[ing] letters [sent by their families] and newspapers and smok[ing]” (9). They even “take off [their] caps and lay them down” (9), instead of panicking about the fact that they may die.

This quote, I believe, portrays a rather tragical irony, as it implies the fact that the soldiers are “read[ing] letters and smok[ing]” (9) and letting “the wind [play] with [their] hair” (9) to not think about their horrible situation at the front.

What is your vision of war? A massive bloodshed, dead corpses lying everywhere, smokes covering the view of the other side. Simply, not an enjoyable vision. But when Paul and his units started to think outside the box, they realized what their enviornment had truly contained. Hidden behind acts of violence and murders, Paul realized beauty. Beaty of “…bumble-bees droning…”(9), “…the grasses sway[ing] their tall spears [and] the white butterflies flutter[ing] around…on the soft watn wind…”(9). Even though, they were in a cruel battle, this quote has let us realize what nature can provide us, and how we cannot appreciate it. Instead, nations decide to ruin that beauty. They send aircrafts, which makes the sky fade its true beauty. They set bombs, which disturbs the living creatures in their busy work.

However, this quote had showed how Paul and his units decided to ignore all those wars tragedy for awhile. When aircraft passed by, they don’t visioned it as a threat, but realized how “…[clouds] rise in a sheaf as they follow[ed] after an airman.”(9) When bomb was set at the front, they didn’t panic, but only interpreted it as “…muffled rumble… [like a] very distant thunder”(9). They were able to forget about everything they had in front of them, and just enjoy the nature’s beauty.

The sit on three boxes inside the field-poppies, reading “letters and newspapers and smoke(9)”.

As narrator described the blue sky on “the horizon float the bright yellow, sunlit observation- balloons, and the many little white clouds of the anti-aircraft shells”, it gave me a weird feeling (9).

The narrator and his friends start to “read letters and newspapers and smoke. [The narrator and his friends] take off . . . [their] caps and lay them beside . . . [].

Additionally, the author writes again that the “muffled rumble of the front [is] very distant thunder,” (9).

In a similar way, these passages tell the reader that war from a distance can fool a mind into believing it is something completely different. The observation balloons are “bright,yellow, [and] sunlit…” (9), while anti-aircraft shells are “many little white clouds…[that] rise in a sheaf…” (9), all of which are clearly opposed to descriptions of terror and horror of what we think of war. By shoving war aside by giving it desciptions of nature and making it distant, it sort of blends in with the rest of the environment or true nature in which Paul and his comrades are surrounded by.

Just picture it: “grasses sway[ing], their tall spears… butterflies flutter[ing] around…The wind play[ing]…” (9), while at the same time, war gives some of its “distant beauty” with quiet thunders and a yellow balloon in the horizon.

“On the horizon float the bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons, and the many little white clouds of the anti-aircraft shells. Often they rise in a sheaf as they follow after an airman. We hear the muffled rumble of the front only as very distant thunder,” (9). It’s not like other stories that would go with the picture of horror. With the “grasses sway[ing] their tall spears; the white butterflies flutter[ing] around and float on the soft war wind…” (9) Can you feel the pleasantness? This is a scene that is normally pictured in a nice picnic or something not for a war story. They even “…read letters and newspapers and smoke. We [the soldiers] take off our caps and lay them down besides us. The wind plays with our hair; it plays with our words and thoughts.” (9) It’s as if nothing is going around them, no war, no killing, no dying, just the wind and them.

I think that this scene is so special because it is so ironic. The first phrase that comes into my mind when I read this phrase is “heaven.” Everytime i imagine heaven i imagine the bright sun with a blue sky and flowers all around me. Whats so ironic about the authors word choice for this scene is that these men are in a war. And they are obviously nowhere near heaven. It’s obvious that on battlegrounds there will not be a single place that would match this description. It would be hazy, smoky, gloomy, and dead. Certainly nothing like the description the author gives. It is so ironic that there is this kind of description of heaven during a war that it is touching and marvalous to us. Im sure that if this scene came out in one of those “happy ending fairy tale books” it would seem so cliche and not as hard-hitting. But when we imagine these soldiers possibly laying in that scene it makes us think about what they might be feeling. I think that theres a possibility that the author put that scene in there to show that the soldiers were thinking of heaven at that time, like a peaceful death. And even that small part of just laying down during a war to them was such a big deal and the closest thing to heaven that they were able to have, while us on the other hand, take laying down in the sunny blue sky in the flowers as granted. I think that the author had many deep thoughts into putting this scene and exact word choice in which makes it so special.

“The white butterflies flutter around and float on the soft warm wind of the late summer” (9).

I pictured the white butterflies fluttering around in a warm summer afternoon with cool breeze. In this picture, grass sways in a peaceful flowery meadow and bumble-bees quietly buzz around. This scene is a direct opposite from a bloody war where everyone suffers in dramatic pains. By looking at the imagery of white butterflies, silence, peace, light wings, I think the narrator is trying to look for some kind of hope out of his absurd life.

“Over us is the blue sky. On the horizon float the . . . observation-balloons [and] shells. Around us stretches the flowery meadow”

Sky, horizon, and meadow are all open nature that we could have some break and rest. They don’t have an end. The narrator wants to be free from the miserable war and find his own way in his young life.

The narrator goes back to the primitive nature and feels meaning there. Mankind had broken the silence and destroyed the peace and started to defame each other. When the life seems hopeless and miserable, people start to notice little details of beauty from their everyday lives. The narrator, serving in a military at a young age, goes through a harsh warfare in his youth. His life is not guaranteed and the surroundings are merciless. Even in these brutal environments, he recognizes the peace in little things he sees in the original nature.

This quote is very strong because it explains how the narrator is feeling in his inner most soul. He wants to find meaning hope in his life and seek for the freedom by feeling the primitive nature. His instinct wants to find his meaning of life in and find his identity. This quote is also very touching while artistically show how the character is psychologically feeling.

According to the narrator, Paul and his friends are enjoying their day, because “around [them] stretches the flowery meadow… grasses sway[ing] their tall spears…”(9).

But there is one thing that destroys this beautiful nature. War.

All the violent tools, such as, guns; bombs; poison gas;…etc–erases all the beautiful drawings.

Despite of having gray and black skies–they see “… the blue sky.”(9). Instead of seeing dead animals crawling and laying dead on the ground–they see “… white butterflies flutter around and float on the soft watn wind of the late summer.”(9). Instead of panicking or being afraid of the current situation–they “… read letters and newspapers and smoke”(9), “[and] the wind plays with [their] hair…”(9). The nature allowed them to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings. They were able to look at things more to the bright side, instead of looking at it in a dark side.

This quote was very touching because as I read it, I barely felt the story being in a war–at least for just that moment. When the descriptions of “the blue sky”, “the bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons”, “the flowery meadow”, and “the white butterflies flutter[ing] around” (9) were read, I felt so much peace in the scene. Much of the quote seemed ironic in a way: describing a scene during a war with beautiful flowers and warmth of the day. When the wind “plays with [their] words and thoughts”(9), I imagined them being free and peaceful inbetween the shellings and explosions; they seemed to not have any problems in their minds.
 Using irony, the author used certain words to show readers a different point of war than what usually comes up to a person’s mind: blood, death, loudness, fear, or bombs. However, this quote uses none of these expressions, but rather calm words. Instead of being strained for the next attack, they “[took] off their caps and [laid] them down besides [them]” (9). I think the author’s intension of writing this quote was to portray the soldiers’ minds during the time of war with irony.

The “bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons” [and] “the white butterflies flutter[ing] around and float[ing] on the soft watn wind of the late summer” (9) makes us envision the soldiers lapsing into sentiments of nostalgia of a world at peace and beauty, thus seemingly putting a temporary cease to time.

And “around [them], stretches the flowery meadow” [and] “grasses sway[s] their tall spears,” (9) which mesmerized the homesick soldiers and give them mental stability and peace. It was as if a ray of light had entered proximity of pitch black darkness, giving a source of hope and happiness in the midst of a bleak, ruthless reality called war. The “muffled rumble of the front” (9) just reached them as a “very distant thunder.” (9)

When he speaks of the “bumble-bees droning by,” he may not necessarily see real insects flying around. The buzzing sound can be the running engine. In the second part, the narrator describes the the “flowery meadow,” “white butterflies,” and swaying grasses that signify the perfect environment that is undisturbed by war. Again the descriptions are so perfect that it makes readers wonder whether or not they are real.

They also seem to enjoy taking this relaxing break from the front as they “read letters and newspapers and smoke” (9). Although, he is inactive physically; however, the narrator’s imagination is very active when he says, “it [the wind] plays with our words and thoughts. By the end of the passage, the narrator speaks of “the three boxes stand in the midst of the glowing, red field-poppies” (9).

“three boxes” may actually be three coffins; meanwhile, the red field-poppies may be blood surrounding the corpses. Clearly, the reality of the scene may be too horrific for the narrator to handle.

This quote presents what is known as euphemism. Almost every people in the world view wars as,possibly, the most cruel and brutal thing that can ever happen. Wars involve sharpaned weapons, severe injuries, dead people, and blood. Euphemism is when a person describes something or someone in a positive way when its initial connotation is negative. This is what the author is exactly doing in this passage.
 When I just skimmed through this part, I actually thought it was something very peaceful and blissful. However, as I kept reading through the quote, I realized what the author was trying to say. The description was so realistic that I felt the scenery floating around me. I was in a war, but not the worst war. Since the description flowed well, I forgot the real side of the war for a few seconds, but I still could sense that the author is talking about one of the scense that happened during the war.
 This type of description is very effective, because it not only attracts the readers’ attention, but the author can send the message very clearly.

Erich, as a skillful writer,

Sometimes it happens to “us” (9) on a day of nice weather with “blue sky…[and] the horizon float[ing] bright yellow” (9).

Paul’s company to be out of battle and “read letters and news papers and smoke…[and] take off [their] caps and lay them down besides [them]” (9).

Even when Paul “hear[s] the muffled rumble of the front only as very distant thunder” (9), the sound of “bumble-bees droning” (9) doesn’t die. Sound of nature makes the soldiers to “drown [the horrors of wars]”. Erich constantly reminds us about undeniable existence of nature through Paul’s eyes looking at “flowery meadow”, “the grasses sway[ing]”, and “the white butterflies flutter[ing]” (9). Moreover, “the wind plays with [their] hair” (9). The word “play[ing]” strikes humans by showing silent yet apparent superiority of nature upon “us”.

It’s not soldiers that are doing something but it’s the mother earth and nature that is “over” (9) and “around” (9) us.

Paul describes that “The wind plays with our [soldiers] hair; it plays with out words and thoughts” (9) as if wind is aliving creature.

“Over us[soldiers in the trenches] is the blue sky…muffled rumble of the front only as very distant thunder, bumble-bees droning by quite drown it…grasses sway their tall spears; the white butterflies flutter around and float on the soft watn wind of the late summer.” (9).
 I find this quote beautiful and a great piece. As I stated before, reading this quote gives me the ’slow-motion’ feeling. A good, short feeling I get. I’m guessing that when you’re in a bad situation, you notice the smallest things that are pleasant and peaceful; and suddenly you return back to the horrible life we made.

This quote is very ironic compared to other quotes. This quote gives image of tranquility. Even though they are in the battle field (war) where air plane is flying above their head creating white clouds, it doesn’t bother or scare them. It is not quite understandable by the fact that soldiers are having peaceful time. Furthermore, it’s very funny that poor condition toilet became their heaven, where they can relax under the bright sunlight with little bit of wind, reading news paper, letter and smoking. This quote gives the opposite image of nor mal war image.

he author describes, “The wind plays with our hair; it plays with our words and thoughts” (9).

work time.;

In the passage, though war is going on, “around us stretches the flowery meadow. The grasses sway their tall spears; taw white butterflies flutter around and float on the soft want wind of the late summer” (9) shows that nature doesn’t die no matter what.

In an almost dream-like scene, Remarque shatters the misconception of war that there is no hope. By looking “around . . . the flowery meadow,” “over. . . the blue sky,” and at the “bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons,” we discover the beauty–or rather, the hopes–of war (9). We notice that even in the most devastating situations, soldiers have hope when they look around, not at themselves. Soldiers revitalize when they sit in the midst of the “flowery meadow,” listening to the “bumble-bees droning by,” and ignore the “muffled rumble of the front. . . [as] distant thunder” (9). They find themselves savoring this meadow in the state of art, while looking at “the white butterflies flutter around and float on the soft warm wind” (9). After the readers take in the beauty, it is then that Remarque moves on to portray the soldiers who are “[taking] off their caps and [laying] them down beside [them]” as they “read letters and newspapers and smoke” (9). As the “wind plays with [their] hair”, it also tingles their “words and thoughts” (9). The scene is heart-breakingly beautiful.

“Over us is the blue sky.”(9

then “On the horizon float the bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons…” going into the detail of the sky.

shells.” Tells about the war in a way through the nature, how against the nature is about the aircrafts. How it destroys the Mother Nature. “We hear the muffled rumble of the front only as very distant thunder…” (9) this sentence tells that they (Paul and his friends) are a bit far away from the front and even though the Paul is in the same place as the soldiers in the front the environment is already different. It’s more of a peace when the soldiers aren’t fighting. Then the sentence continues with “…bumble-bees droning by quite drown it. I found this part of the sentence very strong. Used the common insect that would be painful when you get sting by it and use it to emphasize the fact that there are people dying out there with pain. “Around us stretches flowery meadow.” (9) Explaining further about the surround they are in. How peaceful it looks. This paragraph shows how the nature is beautiful and war is part of the things that sur

Over us is the blue sky. On the horizon float the bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons, and the many little white clouds of the anti-aircraft shells. Often they rise in a sheaf as they follow after an airman. We hear the muffled rumble of the front only as very distant thunder, bumble-bees droning by quite drown it. Around us stretches the flowery meadow. the grasses sway their tall spears; thw white butterflies flutter around and float on the soft watn wind of the late summer. We read letters and newspapers and smoke. We take off our caps and lay them down besides us. The wind plays with our hair; it plays with our words and thoughts. The three boxes stand in the midst of the glowing, red field-poppies

I could imagine this scene very well because i have felt this feeling before, where you hear, feel, see the nature, and only nature. When I felt this feeling, it felt good. It was like, I was in the different part of the world, or I can say my soul was hovering above myself, unconcious what other things were happening. I think the soldiers were feeling this because they were at the war, feeling kind of empty or hopeless.
to be continued =(

The first thing that came to mind was–I am inside of this story. Sensory details draw the reader into the scene. This may sound elementary, but I can see, hear, and feel this scene. It invigorates three out of the five senses. No longer is it a scene; it is alive.

as he notes that, “Over us is the blue sky. On the horizon float the bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons, and the many little white clouds of the anti-aircraft shells. Often they rise in a sheaf as they follow after an airman.” (9).

when Paul says, “We hear the muffled rumble of the front only as very distant thunder, bumble-bees droning by quite drown it.” (9).

when Paul says, “the white butterflies flutter around and float on the soft warm wind of the late summer.” (9).

enjoyed when Paul says that”[t]he wind plays with our hair; it plays with our words and thoughts. The three boxes stand in the midst of the glowing, red field-poppies (9).

For example, “On the horizon float. . . the many little white clouds of the anti-aircraft shells” (9) [emphasis added], as you can see ‘anti-aircraft shells’ were mentioned in the quote.

gives the hatefulness of the soldiers in the war.

Although I admit author played with advanced imagery and sentence styles,

“Over us is the blue sky,” Duhh, what else would a sky be in a day? Yellow? “On the horizon float the bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons, and the many little white clouds of the anti-aircraft shells” Okay, I see there’s a war. But if enemy locates you enjoying the flowers, you guys are all dead!

“Over us [,the soldiers] is the blue sky. On the horizon float[ed] the bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons, and the many little white clouds of the anti-aircraft shells. Often they r[o]se in a sheaf as they follow[ed] after an airman. We hear[d] the muffled rumble of the front only as very distant thunder, bumble-bees [were] droning by quite drown it. Around us stretche[d] the flowery meadow. The grasses sway[ed] their tall spears; thw white butterflies flutter around and float on the soft watn wind of the late summer. We read letters and newspapers and smoke. We take off our caps and lay[ed] them down besides us. The wind play[ed] with our hair; it play[ed] with our words and thoughts. The three boxes st[ood] in the midst of the glowing, red field-poppies “(9).

I think that this phrase was preferable because the wordings were amazing, and above that, it showed the calmness in the war. The blue sky, isn’t that just pleasing to “look” at? If I were to be in that situation, I would have loved it. The scene would make my jaws stuck and opened.

There is one thing that disturbs me a little. I am not perfectly sure, but I think poppies are flowers that feeds on blood. If I am right, the ending of the scene is pretty scary. The blood feeding flower on the battlefield. Poppies are also red, the color of ever leaking blood.

So I personally found this quote pretty ambigous. It had romantic momments and also bloody momments (Ithink). So I had two thoughts on it.

In the quote, everything seems so peaceful and the atmosphere seems like it is full of happiness just at that moment. “We hear the muffled rumble of the front only as very distant thunder, bumble-bees droning by quite drown it.”(9) On the other hand, when I read this quote, it somehow saddens me because it seems so different to the atmosphere or scenes that come after. Since this quote is at the beginning of the book, it seems to represent how the atmosphere will contrast when they are at the front. There will be no sunshine, the sun will not be seen, and they will hear nothing but gunfire later on in the book. “The wind plays with our hair; it plays with our words and thoughts.” (9) This is my favorite part of the passage because I can almost feel like I am at the scene because it seems like something that happens in our everyday lives. This might also show a difference from what other people think war is like because they are peaceful and in this passage, it shows us that war is not just all hard-core and there are sometimes happy moments.

. I think what this makes great is that all the details like “Over us is the blue sky. Around us stretches the flowery meadow.” are exactly opposite from what I or people usually picture when they think of war.

what you see “the blue sky[,]… bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons[,]… “flowery meadow[s]” and at the same time, you’re at a war, it’s hard to believe that parts like this still exist.

Remarque described “the muffled rumble of the front…as very distant thunder” (9). I noticed that this passage takes place during the war. It is amazing how Remarque makes the should-be noisy scene seem quiet

The first bit to notice is the inversion of the subject/verb. Did you notice something different about the language at that at the beginning of the quote, “Over us is the blue sky. On the horizon float the bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons, and the many little white clouds of the anti-aircraft. (9)”? The subject is at the end of the sentence. And Remarque obviously did this on purpose as we see it in the syntax. Through this I see the author’s attempt to push the words into our minds with even more force this well-executed piece of writing.

But he paints it so that these clashing colours blend  into an uncannyily harmonious work. We have a beautiful blue sky and then we go onto the ‘bright yellow sun-lit’ observation balloon in the horizon. We see ‘many little white clouds’ with anti-aircraft shells.

Except a few words like “many little white clouds of the anti-aircraft shells” or “the muffled rumble of the front” (9)

Instead, readers can picture a very peaceful, idyllic and calm nature with blue sky, the flowery meadow and white butterflies. And we, soldiers, are resting on the grasses. The place that author is describing seems to contrast to the front but we can still hear the war, the muffled rumble of the war.

I can see the “the blue sky . . . white clouds of anti-aircraft shells . . . wind play[ing] with [the solders’] hair” (9).

. He and his friends are “[reading] letters and newspapers and [smoking]” (9).

I think this is a great quote, because it seems it’s really peaceful and it seems like there’s no war going on. “Over us is the blue sky. On the horizon float the bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons . . . .” It sounds so peaceful unlike war. I can actually imagine this scene. It shows an imagery and this scene is beautiful. I think the author is trying to say 2 things can co-exist. For instance war and peace. Even though there’s a war going on, still there’s a peace.

“Over us is the blue sky. On the horizon float the bright yellow, sunlit observation-balloons, and the many little white clouds of the anti-aircraft shells” (9). As this scenery has the description about war, like observation-balloons, and clouds of anit-aircraft shells, but the whole sentence it self creates peaceful thoughts to our minds. I thought the whole quote was just a author’s desire to make war seem that way for a certain time; maybe he wanted a peaceful moment for once over this never ending war.

From “Over us is the blue sky”(9) you can already feel peace.

“We read letters and newspapers and smoke. We take off our caps and lay them down besides us. The wind plays with our hair; it plays with our words and thoughts.(9)” was the part where
 it gave me an impression.

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