Vol4, Chap22, Ques1: I would consider the industrialization period a disaster for the Europeans in the 19th century. During the first decades of the industrial revolution period the little government control caused very harsh working conditions. Many children worked in factories due to the working conditions, which caused factories to be investigated because of child labor in factories. John Wright explained his testimony about working in a factory under harsh conditions. “The regular hours are from 6 in the morning to 6 in the evening, about 6 months in the year we are obliged to use either gas, candles or lamps for the longest portion of that time, nearly 6 hours a day, being obliged to work amid the smoke and soot of the same.” (Wright) Although there were horrible working conditions the industrialization middle class began to rise in status and wealth. But having all kinds of money was also painful for Goriot because he no longer is wealthy and is financially struggling and recalls how his daughters treat him now that he is no longer rich. “Ah! If I were rich still, if I had kept my money, if I had not given all to them, they would be with me now; they would fawn on me and cover my cheeks with their kisses! I should be living in a great mansion; I should have had all that; now I have nothing.” (Balzac) That is a little introduction on how industrialization was disastrous for the 19th century Europeans.
Vol4, Chap26, Ques1: World War I was an outgrowth of trends during the 19th century because of those who believed in the 19th century ideals. Europe was no longer characterized as optimism, progress, and glory because of the war. A poem written by Wilfred Owen talked about the horror and futility of the war. “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge. Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs and towards our distant rest began to trudge.” (Owen) Also some different trends were the use of different technology and tactics, which brought on more demands for retribution, which eventually affected the peace settlements. “This kind of detachment, which was true also of the wars in central Europe in the 1860’s was wholly impossible during World War I. This was, for one thing, the first war in which the distinction between soldier and civilian broke down, a development that was partly due to the expansion of warfare made possible by technology innovations.” (Craig) Another trend of World War I was that peacemaking was very difficult at the end of the war. “The European democracies during the war has set up obstacles that would embarrass the diplomats in the making of peace; under the necessity of survival the governments of the allied powers had made secret commitments to the satisfaction of national aspirations. The 1915 Treaty of London, concluded in order to bring Italy into the conflict on the side of the Allies, had promised the nation a frontier that would place hundreds of thousands of Austrians and Slavs under Italian rule.”