Memiors of War

He is fighting to keep his own humanity. Faced with utter hoplessness, eminent death, impending doom, and the bitter loss of life all around him Bloch is forced to desensitize himself somewhat in order to keep his sanity. Yet, he is not completely successful and we see glimpses of the war's grim effects on him as his story progresses.
             Also important when considering the war's impact on Bloch is an understanding of his background coming into the war. He was twenty-eight years old when the war began and had already formed many opinions. Born in 1886, Bloch childhood was influenced by a father that was extremely intellectually driven. His father's academic nature passed right down to his son and Bloch eventually went on to study at the University of Paris where he did his doctoral work on the eradification of serfdom in medieval France. Bloch went on to specialize in French medieval and economic history and started teaching in 1912 before he was drafted. An extremely intelligent individual, Bloch prided himself on using scientific standards for historical analysis. His lifetime creed was that "the writing of history in an ongoing process of constructing the reality of the past-(25). Ironically, it is his own memoirs "his own life "that help us construct the reality of the war. .
             Hopelessness, Death is emininent. Desentisizing What I might we expect? What is the reality? Man after getting hit with a splintered bullet still asks for permission to return to the front The look of fear I find very ugle-165.
             An illness contracted in 1915 gave Bloch the opportunity to record his experiences while they were still fresh in his mind. Bloch's story thus begins with the days after the initial declaration of war and gives us the opportunity to see Paris after the first days of mobilization. "The city was quiet and somewhat solemn. The drop in traffic, the absence of buses, and the shortage of taxis made the streets almost silent.