War&History

Turning Out with a Focus on Historicism and New Historicism

The idea of relating stories to history and real-life events to better understand a story is a method that is used whether one realizes it or not. We relate stories to something that is familiar to us to better understand and relate to the story. By using the historicism method, a reader must have knowledge or history or must have access to the information. While researching history may seem cumbersum, the extra knowledge greatly helps the reader dive further into the text. That there are inaccuracies in a historical text is interesting. While it does relate to history, a text is from a person's point of view. Their perception of a situation may be different from another person's. There must always be evidence to support the discussion of a historical text. However, one must be aware that there are many different types of text. Also, some documents found may be biased or false.

Concerning the Nazi slave labor camps claim, if the first claim and the second claim were found accurate and correct, would you continue onto a third claim? We must be aware that texts discussing the past may be different due to the era in which it is written. Therefore, this type of text will present an idea on the past, but also on the era in which it is written. It is interesting that an author may be telling a story about the past, while at the same time trying to say something about the current time period.

The Holocaust Party

I liked this story very much. Mrs. Isabel's story was powerful, but the narrator's interpretation of Mrs. Isabel is even more interesting. The woman obviously survived many hardships. I related to the narrator when he could not understand why she would make such a ridiculous comment. In a way, her comment made me feel bad for her. For a long time she was not living an ideal life, and it is easy to believe that the harsh soldiers may have warped her thoughts and ideas. It is true enough that this is not a typical Holocaust survivor story; many survivors' tales are much more horrifying and graphic. One cannot judge another's past and troubles. If a situation affected a person in a certain way, noone can stand there and tell that person otherwise.

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

This poem is again about war. What does he mean when he says he fell immediately into the State? Does he mean he went to war at a young age? The line about being six miles away from the dream of life is interesting. When one that far above ground, what is seen can seem unrealistic. When he snapped out of his daze and daydreaming, he awoke again to the horrific scene. This poet is trying to discuss the reality of war, not the idea of nobility and pride that can be associated with it. This is evident when he describes how he was washed out of the turret with a hose. It is interesting that the poet chose for this poem to be in the first person point of view because nobody knows their own death as good as they do. The narrator sounds as if he has become trapped in a state of learned helplessness. He is fighting in the war, but he doesn't care to be there. If he was excited about fighting he wouldn't be daydreaming while in the air. He wouldn't have lost his sense of reality.