Dear Diary…

Diarist Jacob writes as the German Artilleryman "Freidrich"

In Social Studies this week, students got into the character of “Freidrich,” an artillery soldier in the German Army during World War I. His job in the book War Horse is to lead horses who pull heavy cannons and artillery shells to the front lines.

The assignment was to write three journal entries using events, locations and the appropriate language of the time to convey the mood of the story. Below is an excerpt from Jacob’s “Friedrich Diary.”

March 20, 1916

The winter is finally over and we all survived, however, the war is still going on. Now that the black horse has recovered, I can see just how beautiful this majestic creature is. His mane is thick and he has a sleek muscular body, truly beautiful. Of course the other horse is just as amazing but I feel I can understand this one more.  I pray to God that he survives this war and of course that we all do as well. I don’t think I would be able to handle it if he didn’t. I think I might really go mad like the other soldiers already think I am. And of course if the other horse dies, it would be just as much of a tragedy. But no matter which dies, the souls of both the remaining horse and I would be crushed and we might as well all die. Tonight I will ask the Lord to let us survive long enough to figure out a way to escape this unholy, desolate wasteland that the war has made.

May 19, 1916

I swear that if I do one more supply mission with these horses, I’m going to end up shooting someone. I have asked a million times, maybe even more than that, for them to stop giving us such a heavy load to carry. But they never care. They just laugh and keep adding more and more each time! The mud my two horses must pull the supplies through is deep enough to hold a young child in place until they grow to the age of 19 at least! How do they expect me to willingly force my horses through such a horrible thing time after time? But that is not the only problem. The war is getting worse and I fear we may soon have to enter the battlefield soon. I fear that if we do, we will not make it. I hope that if we do and I am shot that at least one of my beautiful horses will be able to escape and live on. This may be my last entry and if it is, to whoever finds this: Find the horses that match the drawings later in this book and let them know that Freidrich always thought of helping them as his greatest accomplishment ever.

posted by Judy Leslie in Students and have Comments (5)

5 Responses to “Dear Diary…”

  1. Elizabeth Jones says:

    Great descriptive writing, Jacob!

  2. Vicky Ziluck says:

    Wow, I felt like I was there – very expressive!
    I love reading your writing 🙂

  3. Vicky Ziluck says:

    I enjoyed reading and experiencing it. What a great story!
    I love you – Ivey

  4. Grandma Shelly says:

    JZ’s love and respect for animals, loyalty to team and task, and ability to empathize shine through.
    In addition to the WWI setting, JZ’s flowing sentences and slow progression of vowels reminded me of the poem Dover Beach where the author chooses a solid base of friendship, compassion and hope which prevails over ignorance and conflict.

  5. Aunt Joan says:

    Dear Jacob,
    Your writing is realistic and moving. You conveyed the character’s love for the horses, his fear and frustration with the war, as well as the difficult physical conditions. Still, a bit of hope lives on.
    Terrific!