...Claudio H December 3rd, 2013 Professor Patten ENGS013 – Intro to Fiction Greasy Trenches Who, what, when, where, and why? We find ourselves asking these questions, constantly pondering life, piecing together the puzzle of our experiences, which in part allows us to remember the answers. Our association with “where” an experience happened or took place is often the best wake-up call. If one is able to recall the setting, one can usually evoke the whole experience. In “Greasy Lake,” by T. C. Boyle and “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien, we learn just how monumental the setting of an experience can be, especially in a short story. Drawing comparisons between each story will allow the reader to delve even deeper into the importance of setting. Now it is obvious that a story that revolves around a lake that adolescents ravage and the jungles of Vietnam in the heat of the war are nowhere near similar, but they are. Boyle and O’Brien both create magnificent settings, but they differ in the techniques they use to tell their remarkable stories. Both stories rely heavily on setting and we look to the development of characters in those settings and the influence of setting on plot, to illustrate the differences and similarities between the two, which in the end exemplify brilliant short stories. In “Greasy Lake,” the reader is immediately immersed into the story of three foolish kids up to no good, heading to a secret spot in town. Boyle presents us with this spot without...
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...Det halve Grønland ramt af afsmeltning Efter et rekordvarmt 2010 med rekordafsmeltning af Grønlands indlandsis frygter forskerne, at selvforstærkende processer er begyndt at destabilisere de enorme ismasser Smeltevand på overfladen af indlandsisen vælter i sommermånederne ned i smeltevandsfloder under isen. Vandet er med til yderligere at underminere det frosne ismassiv, der visse steder er tre km tykt. Grønlands indlandsis tøede sidste år kraftigere end nogensinde før og afgav 510 mia. ton vand, der løb ud i havene omkring den store ø. Af: Jørgen Steen Nielsen, Information ,2. februar 2011 .Forårets tøvejr på den grønlandske indlandsis kommer nu 40 dage tidligere end for 40 år siden og varer 30 dage længere om efteråret. Det forklarer, at hele 52 pct. af indlandsisens areal sidste sommer blev ramt af afsmeltning - i alt 950.000 kvadratkilometer, hvilket er mere end nogensinde før i målingernes historie og mere end dobbelt så stort et område som tilbage i 1972. Det fremgår af nye forskningsresultater fra Grønland, som i dag præsenteres af den danske arktisk klimaforsker Sebastian H. Mernild fra Los Alamos National Laboratories på et videnskabeligt møde i Colorado under International Arctic Science Committee. »2010 var et usædvanlig varmt og tørt år i Grønland,« fortæller den danske forsker. Som andre forskere er han stærkt foruroliget over den accelererende afsmeltning af indlandsisen, ikke mindst fordi selvforstærkende mekanismer synes at være på spil. »I 2007 havde...
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...LIFE IN THE TRENCHES For soldiers, life in the trenches was not a fun or easy task. Men from the age of 13 signed up to join the army, for various reasons. Britain’s were very patriotic and wanted to proudly represent their country! Others were simply afraid of receiving a white feather from the women. After 3 weeks of training they were sent up the line towards the front. The soldiers slept in dugouts which were of shocking condition. Why were the German dugouts better? – Because they could keep the land they’d already won which meant they had more time to make their trenches more ‘luxurious’. Each soldier had morning duties including Stand-To, refilling sandbags, repairing duckboards, cleaning out the latrines etc. During the soldiers spare time they would write letters back to Britain to tell their relatives how they are. The Defence Realm Act made sure all letters written must be censored before being posted off. Soldiers could not complain about the trench life! Other than writing home, another activity to do in spare time was to read the Wiper’s Times with their comrades. This newspaper made funny jokes especially about leaders. This temporarily relieved the soldier’s worries and as well as bringing cheer to their hearts, helped them to see the funny side of things. A second Stand-To is held at sunset when the light is completely gone and just like at dawn, the soldiers stand on the fire-step with rifles and bayonets to prevent unexpected enemy attacks. After it is safe...
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...The trenches are horrific, disgusting, and extremely unhygienic, as always. Pests and rodents constantly roam around freely, especially giant rats. Oh, those disgusting excuses for living things; they are horrific! I have witnessed one with my own two eyes, it was the size of our cat, Mittens! And all these men…we do not wash ourselves because of the limited access to running water and we do not have the time to worry about hygiene. Toilets are these large buckets that are put in side trenches, but we don’t always use them because we are left vulnerable to enemy attack. So, many of us relieve ourselves right where we are, and it is gross, I know, but necessary. The trenches reek of the smell of unwashed humanity every day, and it makes me want...
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...Men were recruited from all over the United States to come to the West to fight the Big Blowup of 1910, but this hardly put a damper on the blazing fire. By the middle of July alone, there were over three thousand laborers employed to fight fires in Northwestern Montana and Northern Idaho alone (Silcox 1910, p. 635). These men worked hours trying to put the fire out, using any method imaginable in order to extinguish the flame; dirt, water, etcetera. However, what finally stopped the fire was trenches from 2 to 4 feet wide were dug down to mineral soil and all the inflammable brush and debris was thrown away from the fire in order to stop feeding the fire and put it out (Silcox 1910, p. 638). Digging trenches alone is a difficult task, but...
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...Trenches were long narrow ditches that were dug into the ground where some soldiers lived day and night. Only a small proportion of the army would serve there. The trenches were the domain of the infantry, with the supporting arms of the mortars and machine guns. The trenches were built in the front line or in any sort of dangerous places. But behind them was a mass of supply lines, training establishments, stores, workshops, headquarters and all the other elements of the 1914-1918 system of war, in which the majority of troops were employed. Frontline trenches were usually seven feet deep and six feet wide. The conditions for the soldiers in the war were very risky. Death was a constant companion to those who were serving in the front line...
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...The living conditions in the trenches were absolutely awful and inhumane. Most of the time, it was raining in the trenches, causing constant dampness. Completely covering the ground and walls of the trenches was thick, deep, gluey mud. The trenches were infested with rats and lice which fed off of the dead bodies of soldiers. Due to the mass amounts of deaths that occurred in the trenches, a putrid stench of blood and rotting bodies is all that could be smelt. The rats were oversized and spread diseases throughout the trenches and the lice resulted in many soldiers getting trench fever. The damp, freezing cold environment of these trenches also led to trench-foot which is a condition similar to frostbite that sometimes caused the soldiers to get gangrene or to amputate their foot/feet. While in the trenches, all the soldiers could hear was the frightening sound of crashing explosions and shells flying through the air. Because of this, it was very hard to sleep. The trenches were also extremely crowded, as well. Sometimes, men in the trenches would be buried alive - as high explosive shells would fall upon the dugouts. In the trenches, soldiers spent all of their time doing nothing but eating, sleeping (despite all the noise), and crouching behind their rifles. Trench warfare involved a lot of random shelling and sniping...
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...Life in the trenches wasn’t as pleasant or safe as it may seem.The trenches were the front lines. the most dangerous places.They were holes dug by soldiers to protect themselves from the enemy. With many weapons and mass of supply. Trenches mostly took place in Europe during Wworld Wwar 1 1914-1918. However, trenches changed the way the war was fought.The most interesting part of World War 1 was the trenches because it supplied poor protection when it was supposed to supply protection. Mostly the trenches were the most interesting part of World War 1 because they had poor protection. Trenches held mass of supply lines, training establishments, stores, workshops, and headquarters. However, “Rats were by no means the only source of infection...
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...Each year on April 25th, Australia commemorates the day when the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the beaches of Gallipoli. These soldiers known as the ANZACs were slaughtered but even though there was no hope they stood their ground and helped shape Australia into what it is today. Soldiers in the Australian and New Zealand armies had to endure life in trenches which to some children might seem fun but the reality of their situation was terrible. Soldiers were in danger constantly whether it be to enemy soldiers or to sicknesses that came from trenches. Shifts had to be taken to keep order and dogs were also brought which were good for keeping the spirits of the men up. As such life in these trenches was much harder than it would seem. The trenches lived in were long and narrow leaving not much space to manoeuvre, these trenches were dug out and lined with sand bags for the protection of the soldiers. Sand bags were good because they were able to endure hits from bullets without taking much knockback which proved quite helpful in enemy attacks. Though these trenches were well protected from enemy soldiers, sicknesses were a whole other...
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...America and World War I World War I was a world conflict lasting from 1914 to 1919 (2006). Soon after the war began Britain, France, and their allies set up a naval blockade of Germany and Austria. The Wilson Administration complained bitterly that the blockade violated international law (2010). It was not the conventional surface vessels used by Britain and France to enforce its blockade that enraged Americans, but the German submarines used. When American ships were intercepted by the British, the crew treated well. German submarines attacked without warning, and passengers had little to no chance of surviving (2010). While Wilson weighed his options regarding the submarine issue, he had to also evaluate Germany’s attempt at a secret alliance with Mexico. On January 19, 1917, British naval intelligence intercepted a telegram sent by Arthur Zimmerman, a German Foreign Minister, to the German Ambassador in Mexico City (2010). The “Zimmerman Telegram” promised the Mexican Government that Germany would help Mexico recover the territory it had lost to the United States following the Mexican-American War. In return for this assistance, the Germans asked for Mexican support in the war (2010). Initially, the British had not shared the news of the “Zimmerman Telegram” with U.S. officials. However, on February 24th, the British shared the note in hopes of persuading American officials to join the war. The British finally forwarded the intercept to Wilson. Even with this news, Wilson...
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...American and World War I Alina Ibrahim HIS/125 January 25, 2013 Matt Brickley American and World War I World War I began as a domino effect of one thing leading to another. In June 1914 the Archduke Franz Ferdinand heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was assassinated by a Serbian Nationalist while visiting Sarajevo (Schultz, 2012). Austria-Hungary then issued an ultimatum to the Serbians to bring the assassins to justice. This was an ultimatum that the Austro-Hungarians knew the Serbians would not meet prompting Austria-Hungary to attack Serbia (The Causes of World War I, 2009). Compelled by a treaty with Serbia, Russia mobilized its army in defense of Serbia. While Russia was an ally of Serbia, also bound by a treaty Germany was an ally of Austria-Hungary. This obligated Germany to mobilize its army in defense of Austria-Hungary. Britain and France also entered the war bound by treaty as an ally of Russia (The Causes of World War I, 2009). Hence, the domino effect of one country leading the other to enter the war. Throughout the first three years of the war America remained a neutral country. They were not bound by any treaties to ally themselves to fight for either side in the war. The war in Europe was at an impasse and both sides realized that in order to win the war they needed to submit the other to starvation (Schultz, 2012). The economies of the countries at war in Europe were quickly in ruins and they looked to the United States for supplies...
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...The first world war began in the year 1914. There are several factors believed to have triggered the war. The assassination of the Austrian archduke and his wife immediately triggered the war. He was assassinated by the Bosnian Gavrilo Princip an irredentist serb on 28th June 1914. The world war began on august the same year. This event just triggered the war. The actual factors leading to the war are complicated. Some of this factors are: Mutual defence alliances. Throughout Europe countries made alliances. The alliance in countries was to give each other help if needed. Thus if, a country is attacked, the allied countries were supposed to protect them. The alliances that existed before the world war are like Russia and Serbia, germany and Austria-Hungary, Russia and France, Britain , France and Belgium finally Japan and Britain. Austria-Hungary first declared on the Serbians. Russia defended the Serbians. When the Germans saw the Russians getting ready for the war, they declared war on them. France then come in against Germans and Austria-Hungary. Britain was pulled into the war when Germany attacked France through Belgium. Japan then entered the war.later the united states and Italy joined their allied countries. Imperialism is believed to have also caused the war. The british empire by 1900 had taken over five continents. France also had a large control over Africa. Countries needed new markets with the rise of industrialization. The number of continents that...
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...soldiers. Soldiers began to bury the bodies and as Leonard Thompson describes it, “ We pushed them into the side of the trenches, but bits of them kept getting uncovered and sticking out… The bottom of the trench was springy like a mattress because of all the bodies underneath.”...
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...Life on the Western Front by early 1915 was influenced because of the physical conditions of the trenches, the prevalence of sickness and disease in the trenches and the psychological effects of trench warfare on soldiers. As shown in Source A, trenches frequently became waterlogged and muddy entailing that it was not uncommon for men to have to stand for days deep in cold water unable to remove wet boots and socks, the condition trench foot developed as a result. The mud on the Western Front also provided the conditions for gas gangrene to be contracted due to the soil being highly cultivated. There were many health problems of just simple disease that took many more men out of combat than direct fire (Source B). This was as it was not only...
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...to helping war meaning winning was crucial. - Economies geared for war - Belgium was flat with no hills to provide advantage so they dug trenches - Attacking trenches were impossible with the technology available so they defended them - With everyone defending, stalemate occurred - As the numbers of dead rose the need to win rose with it. 10,000,00 died in WW1. - Political power was geared to total war. - Propaganda was everywhere - Artillery had improved - The German defence was outstanding, digging deep with rifles and machine guns - Both German attack on Paris and the French and English attack on the Germans fail giving both sides confidence - People were conscripted into jobs for the war - 2.5million British volunteers and 1.25 million French against 4 million German meant huge scale war - Generals expected a short war. Battle of the Somme, A joint operation between British and French forces, the battle of the Somme intended to achieve victory over the Germans on the western front after 18 months of trench deadlock. Sir Douglas Haig was one of the main people involved in the daring and stupid plan. Many blame him for the disastrous event. The plan and the reality, - One week before, they bombed the German trenches non-stop for 7 days hoping this would destroy the barbed wire and trenches themselves. BUT German trenches were better built than those of the British as they were constantly defending; they were heavily fortified with machine guns. They were much...
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