1944: The Year I learned to love a german
Summary of: 1944 the Year I Learned to Love a German
Mordecai Richler is mostly known for his participation in Canadian literature. His use of humour and cultural as well as social themes also adds an aspect to his texts. In the article: 1944: The Year I learned to Love a German, cultural and social references, themes such as war and humour will all be emphasized.
In: 1944: The Year I Learned to Love a German, cultural and social events are very obvious. For example, Mordecai Richler was raised, and has always lived in a Jewish environment. Without a doubt, his “love” for Germans is not immense: “[…] I devoutly wished every German left on the face of the earth an excruciating death.” These words indicate the war reference between the Jewish culture and the Germans. During that time period, the German army had attempted to exterminate Jewish people which explains his hateful comments about them. Additionally, during the Second World War, smoking was not yet considered hazardous for your health. It was considered to be a symbol of manhood: “[…] I protested, waving my pipe at them.” Clearly, a thirteen year old boy should not be using a pipe for any means, but in that time period it was socially correct. Finally, Hitler and the Germans had a complete culture of their own: “[…] when Hitler came to power in 1933 he had burned all of Erich Maria Remaque’s books […] Hitler had grasped that novels could be dangerous […]” In fact, they were trying to change the entire world’s culture. They wanted no feelings or memories from the past that could make the population turn against them. Therefore, these are all examples of cultural and social references.
Secondly, there are a few themes in Richler’s article, war being one of them. He speaks about a book he read as a young boy titled: “All Quiet on the Western Front”. This novel tells the story of a German soldier by the name of Paul Baumer, who spent the last moments of his life, fighting for his country
Mordecai Richler is mostly known for his participation in Canadian literature. His use of humour and cultural as well as social themes also adds an aspect to his texts. In the article: 1944: The Year I learned to Love a German, cultural and social references, themes such as war and humour will all be emphasized.
In: 1944: The Year I Learned to Love a German, cultural and social events are very obvious. For example, Mordecai Richler was raised, and has always lived in a Jewish environment. Without a doubt, his “love” for Germans is not immense: “[…] I devoutly wished every German left on the face of the earth an excruciating death.” These words indicate the war reference between the Jewish culture and the Germans. During that time period, the German army had attempted to exterminate Jewish people which explains his hateful comments about them. Additionally, during the Second World War, smoking was not yet considered hazardous for your health. It was considered to be a symbol of manhood: “[…] I protested, waving my pipe at them.” Clearly, a thirteen year old boy should not be using a pipe for any means, but in that time period it was socially correct. Finally, Hitler and the Germans had a complete culture of their own: “[…] when Hitler came to power in 1933 he had burned all of Erich Maria Remaque’s books […] Hitler had grasped that novels could be dangerous […]” In fact, they were trying to change the entire world’s culture. They wanted no feelings or memories from the past that could make the population turn against them. Therefore, these are all examples of cultural and social references.
Secondly, there are a few themes in Richler’s article, war being one of them. He speaks about a book he read as a young boy titled: “All Quiet on the Western Front”. This novel tells the story of a German soldier by the name of Paul Baumer, who spent the last moments of his life, fighting for his country
References: Richler, Mordecai. “1944: The Year I Learned to Love a German.” The New York Times, n.p, 2 Feb. 1986. Web. 31 Aug. 2014.