All Quiet on the Western Front Personal Response Essay
100 points
Prompt: Write a personal response to All Quiet on the Western Front, in which you
reflect on how reading this novel affected your attitude towards or understanding of
the experiences of soldiers during war. To get started, think about how it made you
feel, what it helped you realize, how it changed your understanding, or what it made
you think about.
Organization
Introduction: include title, author, your main point
Body Paragraphs: give examples and support, reference the text (quote sandwiches)
Conclusion: summarize, what this means going forward, implications, etc.
Requirements
Style: Because this is personal response, you may use first person pronouns.
Format: Typed, double spaced, 12 pt font, times new roman, 1-inch margins
Length: Minimum of two pages
Quotes: include at least two quotations, properly sandwiched
Works Cited: include a correctly formatted, MLA style works-cited entry
All Quiet on the Western Front Personal Response Essay
100 points
Prompt: Write a personal response to All Quiet on the Western Front, in which you
reflect on how reading this novel affected your attitude towards or understanding of
the experiences of soldiers during war. To get started, think about how it made you
feel, what it helped you realize, how it changed your understanding, or what it made
you think about.
Organization
Introduction: include title, author, your main point
Body Paragraphs: give examples and support, reference the text (quote sandwiches)
Conclusion: summarize, what this means going forward, implications, etc.
Requirements
Style: Because this is personal response, you may use first person pronouns.
Format: Typed, double spaced, 12 pt font, times new roman, 1-inch margins
Length: Minimum of two pages
Quotes: include at least two quotations, properly sandwiched
Works Cited: include a correctly formatted, MLA style works-cited entry
Example from Things Fall Apart
Introduction
Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart depicts a well-functioning Ibo society in
19th century Nigeria that is torn apart by the intrusion of Christian missionaries and
British colonists. Before reading this novel, I knew colonialism was disruptive for the
indigenous populations, but I had never thought about how some people might like
the change. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe depicts village and family life
before, during, and after the arrival of the missionaries and colonists, giving the
historical event a more personal perspective. More specifically, by showing a father
who despises the missionaries and colonists and his son who welcomes them, Achebe
helped me understand that whether or not villagers embraced the new dispensation
depended upon how much power they wielded in the traditional society.
although colonialism was indeed culturally disruptive, some individuals who were
disenfranchised under the old system embraced the new dispensation.
People who resisted colonialism
Egwugwu
Elders
Men of titles
Priests
People like Okonkwo
People who welcomed colonialism
Outcasts
Osu
Efulefu
People like Nwoye
Conclusion
Although it is tempting to oversimplify historical change and see colonialism as
entirely negative (A vibrant culture was destroyed!) or entirely positive (Illiteracy and
infanticide were eradicated!), Achebe’s novel helped me realize that in any system,
those in power will try to preserve the traditions that help them maintain that power,
while those who are disenfranchised will welcome a new system that gives them a
chance to gain power. Okonkwo was only fighting to preserve his traditional culture
because that was the society where he held power and dominated; Nwoye was so
eager to join the Christians because it was a system where brains were valued more
than brawn and he could wield a certain level of power in the new culture by being a
teacher. Essentially, Things Fall Apart confirms my cynical outlook on life.