Paths of Glory: Day ThreeNAME:
Answer each question in the spaces below the quotations:
Dax: They're not cowards, so if some of them didn't leave the trenches, it must have been because it was impossible.
Mireau: They were ordered to attack. It was their duty to obey that order. We can't leave it up to the men to decide when an order is possible or not. If it was impossible, the only proof of that would be their dead bodies lying in the bottom of the trenches.
- Comment on the conflict between these positions.
- Based on what you believe with whom do you agree?Why?
- Choose the point of view that you DISAGREE with and make an argument FOR it. That is, argue FOR the point of view that you do not agree with.
Broulard: Maybe the attack against the Ant Hill was impossible. Perhaps it was an error of judgment on our part. On the other hand, if your men had been a little more daring, you might have taken it. Who knows? Why should we have to bear more criticism and failure than we have to?...
- What seems to motivate Broulard most? Justice or Self-Protection? Explain.
- Who is worse, Broulard or Mireau. WHY?
The following quotations are comments about the execution both before and after it happens:
Broulard: These executions will be a perfect tonic for the entire division. There are few things more fundamentally encouraging and stimulating than seeing someone else die…..
Broulard: Colonel, troops are like children. Just as a child wants his father to be firm, troops crave discipline. And one way to maintain discipline is to shoot a man now and then….
Mireau: This sort of thing is always rather grim but this one had a kind of splendor to it, don't you think?
Mireau: The men died wonderfully! There's always that chance that one of them will do something that will leave everyone with a bad taste. This time, you couldn't ask for better.
- Taken as a whole, what is your opinion of these points of view? Explain.
The following is a translation of the song sung at the end of the movie.
"The Faithful Soldier" - (La Treue Hussar (Fr.) or Der treue Hussar (Ger.)
A faithful soldier, without fear,
He loved his girl for one whole year,
For one whole year and longer yet,
His love for her, he'd ne'er forget.
This youth to foreign land did roam,
While his true love, fell ill at home.
Sick unto death, she no one heard.
Three days and nights she spoke no word.
And when the youth received the news,
That his dear love, her life may lose,
He left his place and all he had,
To see his love, went this young lad...
He took her in his arms to hold,
She was not warm, forever cold.
Oh quick, oh quick, bring light to me,
Else my love dies, no one will see...
Pallbearers we need two times three,
Six farmhands they are so heavy.
It must be six of soldiers brave,
To carry my love to her grave.
A long black coat, I must now wear.
A sorrow great, is what I bear.
A sorrow great and so much more,
My grief it will end nevermore.
:
- What effect does the song have on the soldiers? Why?
- Is there any significance to the fact that she is German and the soldiers are French?
- What do the song and the soldier’s response have to say about humanity and the shared experience of war?
Broulard: Come, come, Colonel Dax. Don't overdo the surprise. You've been after the job from the start. We all know that, my boy…It would be a pity to lose your promotion before you get it - a promotion you have so very carefully planned for…Colonel Dax, you're a disappointment to me. You've spoiled the keenness of your mind by wallowing in sentimentality. You really did want to save those men, and you were not angling for Mireau's command. You are an idealist - and I pity you as I would the village idiot. We're fighting a war, Dax, a war that we've got to win. Those men didn't fight, so they were shot. You bring charges against General Mireau, so I insist that he answer them…Wherein have I done wrong?