Thursday, February 17, 2011

Option 1/ Literary Analysis of WWI

  1. My topic is about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne until he was assassinated on the 28th of June, 1914.http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/ferdinand.htm
  2. A Poem on the Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy

    BY NIKKI GIOVANNI
    Trees are never felled . . . in summer . . . Not when the fruit . . .   
    is yet to be borne . . . Never before the promise . . . is fulfilled . . .   
    Not when their cooling shade . . . has yet to comfort . . .

    Yet there are those . . . unheeding of nature . . . indifferent to   
    ecology . . . ignorant of need . . . who . . . with ax and sharpened   
    saw . . . would . . . in boots . . . step forth damaging . . .

    Not the tree . . . for it falls . . . But those who would . . . in
    summer’s heat . . . or winter’s cold . . . contemplate . . . the   
3. "Trees are never felled . . . in summer . . . Not when the fruit . . .  is yet to be borne. . . Never before the promise . . . is fulfilled . . . Not when their cooling shade . . . has yet to comfort . . ." is saying that you would never cut down a tree until it is determined whether or not it will produce any benefits. This is like the archduke's life because he was assassinated before becoming the ruler. He didn't get a chance to produce any fruit, whether it was good or bad. "He proposed to replace Austro-Hungarian dualism with 'Trialism,' a triple monarchy in which the empire's Slavs would have an equal voice in government with the Germans and Magyars (firstworldwar.com)." This could have been a good thing for the Slavs who included the assassin's people. 


"Yet there are those . . . unheeding of nature . . . indifferent to ecology . . . ignorant of need . . . who . . . with ax and sharpened saw . . . would . . . in boots . . . step forth damaging . . ." This is describing the assassin. In this case it was Gavrilo Princip. He believed that the Slavic territories should be separate from Austria-Hungary. He and his gang thought that the best approach would be to cut down all the leaders. This was ignorant because they didn't think ahead to what could happen. This led into the Great War, which resulted in many more deaths, including some of their own people.

"Not the tree . . . for it falls . . . But those who would . . . in summer’s heat . . . or winter’s cold . . . contemplate . . . the beauty . . ." A lot of people could have benefited from a more peaceful world. To solve their problem they could have turned to a peaceful protest. They could have united other countries and people to join their cause of freedom from Austria-Hungary instead of causing war. They made the choice that brought death and devastation by cutting down the beautiful tree of peace and harmony.

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