All Quiet 16 - The Dying Room - Group Work Chapter 10 pt. 2
"How senseless is everything that can ever be written, done, or thought, when such things are possible."
All Quiet on the Western Front - Back from the Dead - Group Work (Chapter 10 - part 2) : And so having just had a discussion on the "idyll" and the consequence to the French Village that Paul and the men are "guarding" - now comes the consequences to Paul, himself. As with his earlier leave home (Chapters 7-8), the lark that the men have leaves them in a "No-Mans-Land" - which ultimately contributes to Paul & Albert getting wounded. While in the hospital - they learn there is another world, with its own set of rules - and that sometimes miracles do happen. This chapter - and hopefully the Group Work - set the students up for their reading of the last two chapters in the novel.
Lesson Overview
As always the class begins with a quiz. Reminder: Grade or glance through the quizzes right away - students that have not done the reading, should not be in a group. They can finish their reading in class and do the Group Work for homework (in addition to whatever reading is assigned). Please remind the students to bring one specific (with a page number if applicable) comment, quote, question or takeaway about the novel as a whole - for our next lesson - the closing discussion.
Please see the actual Group Work below for precisely what's in it and my page on Group Work for more of the "why" do it. Here are some of the points that the Group Work goes over.
Some main points of the Group Work
The mixture of the "profound" with "levity" - not only in All Quiet - but in the other works we've studied as well.
The horror of the doctor at the hospital and Martin's (from Candide) view of the world.
The nuns at the hospital and their ignorance of the mens' "world of the front".
The idea of a "shooting license" and being able to do what you want with impunity.
The dying room - how it is important here - its possible biblical allusions - and hints of the future.
The accommodations that the men in the ward make for Lewandowski with regard to the visit from his wife - and how there is another world here - the world of the "hospital"
What is the effect of this part of the book's optimism on the reader?
Of course there is much more in the actual Group Work.
Group Work & Quizzes
Most Recent Handouts & Quizzes
There is also information here about what's coming up: In Our Time & Persepolis as well as the mention of a "Completion Grade". I made certain lessons (the next one) mandatory - in other words if they missed they had to listen to a recording and take a quiz (because the lesson was so vital to the class as a whole).
Sometimes I would also quiz on Chapter 11 - but I cut that back and made the next quiz for 11 & 12 (finishing the book) - because if students know the ending - it kind of ruins the point of this Group Work - and if they finish Chapter 11 - they might just finish it all.
Remote Enhancements
Group Works are great for Remote Learning - but they do take a lot of logistical preparation.
All Quiet Chapter 11 & 12 - A Final Discussion: There is so much to go over today - I know of no other way than Ringmaster Teacher - and I want to leave some time at the end of class for two things - every student's comment, question, or takeaway from the novel - and time to show the very ending of the excellent movie version of All Quiet on the Western Front from 1930. We will talk about the ending - how the Hospital Chapter gets the readers hopes up - only to have them dashed by the end of Kat - and then Paul. And we will get back to that guy on the bus
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
All Quiet on the Western Front 15 - Chapter 9 & 10 part 1 - Discussion
Thoughts on the Lesson
There are a lot of reasons to do this lesson as a Group Work - but one of the biggest is - this close to the ending of the book, you don't want to give away any spoilers (and a Group Work is much more controlled that way). Not only are spoilers horrible - but in the case of today's lesson - they would destroy the point being made... (or give it away anyway).