Answer to Question #250139 in History for W1W2

Question

1. What ideas did the authors of the documents in the section "Exalting War" express to show that war would be a necessary and productive event for their country?

2. What does the excerpt from Henri Barbusse reveal about life in the trenches? Be sure to provide examples of elements of the text that impressed upon you.

Answer 1

1.The authors of the documents in the section "Exalting War" express that categories of war such as martyrdom and jihad are legally justified and religious to show that war would be a necessary and productive event for their country. Jihad is a holy war that signifies the struggle to defend Islam, with force, if necessary, meaning it would be a necessary and productive event for their country. Martyrdom relates to the supreme virtue of dedication to a goal beyond oneself to the point of readiness to give up one's life; that led to the vision of ideal community and found expression in violent death.

2.the excerpt from Henri Barbusse reveals that life in the trenches was an extremely difficult experience - terror, death, mud, shells, rain, barbed wire, lice, rats and trench foot among several other hurdles. A part of the text that impressed me was "The trench experience on the western front was one of the most sustained onslaughts on the human sensorium: it thrust man's fragile body between the ooze of primordial slime on one hand and the terrors of shellfire on the other." It shows the terror, imminent death and obstacles that were present in the war field.