The Great War Dbq Essay

Soldiers’ view of the Great War altered dramatically as it progressed. During the early years, there was a great sense of patriotic enthusiasm. Many believed in the romantic concept of an honorable death, which could be attained by dying for one’s country. Charles Peguy illustrates this idea in evidence source 2. He asserts that those who die in great battles for their country are blessed. Although Peguy does not directly state the word country, he implies it with “a plot of ground,” “carnal cities,” and “their hearth and their fire.” Such phrases can be associated with the notion of home and this home can then be further connected to the country. The idealized concept of an honorable death in war, however, faded away in the later years of World War I as a grim reality set in. Instead, Wilfred Owen demonstrates how the “Dulce et decorum est/Pro patria mori” (It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country) saying is actually a lie in source 8. He does so by describing a soldier’s gruesome death from gas poisoning. The agony that the solider had gone through, such as “white eyes writhing in his
Source 3 depicts the German’s confidence during the beginning of the Great War. The line “French and Russian they matter not” shows that Germany felt assured of its victory over them to the point that these two countries do not pose a threat and thus, do not matter. The customary toast of “to the day” also illustrates the confidence that the Germans had for defeating Britain. Yet, later in the war, the German soldiers’ confidence changed to a sense of despair. In evidence source 7, Erich Maria Remarque writes “Every man here knows that we are losing the war. Not much is said about it, we are falling back…” and emphasizes on the helpless situation with how the Germans starved, had few weapons left, did not have adequate soldiers in the new