ia_2010_degraaf_c

=Evaluation of Sources (250-400 words) Tips]=

**//__Section C: Evaluation of Sources__//**


 * //Source 1: Goodbye to All That//**

With regard to its origin, the source can be considered valuable as when the book was first published in 1929, only 10 years had passed since the end of the war; permitting Graves to take enough time to formulate substantial, detached objectivity towards the recounted events and obtain some boarder knowledge to give context to his memories, whilst simultaneously, not letting too much time pass by for his memories to became blurry.

However, the origin of the source can be considered limited as Graves became mentally ill after the war. He suffered from “shell-shock” [1]. He became rather disconnected from reality due to “a sequence of events so crazy, they seem more suitable to fiction than reality.” [2] To quote Graves, “I partly wrote… during a complicated domestic crisis”. Moreover, the book was republished in 1957, in that prologue; Graves says, “a good many changes have been made in the text” [3]. Graves evidently felt the book incorrectly represented reality, but what says the events described now don’t stray even further from reality? Additionally, Graves was not simply an author, but also a dramatist and a poet. Prior to writing ‘Goodbye to All That’, he wrote several “historical novels” [4], best known as the author of “I, Claudius and Claudius the God (1934), a two-volume fictional autobiography of the Roman emperor of the first century” [5]. It would be almost impossible to abandon this fictional writing style when producing his biography, making its factual reliability questionable.


 * //Source 2: Forgotten Voices of the Great War//**

In terms of purpose, the source is valuable because Max Arthur intented “to capture through the words of men and woman, what life was like in the First World War.” [6] Making it in the author’s interests to produce the most factual account possible. With regard to origin, these oral testaments were collected as a task set by The Imperial War Museum. They consist of “ordinary veterans and survivors of the…war” [7] describing their experiences. When judging the value of such oral testimony, “interviews are valuable as sources of new knowledge about the past and… perspectives on it… providing information about everyday life and insights into the mentalities of… ‘ordinary people’ unavailable from more traditional sources.” [8] For instance, soldiers having to eat “German turnips again and again” [9] due to food shortages. This drove some soldiers, including Gunner Philip Sylvester, to eat “biscuits that had been left by troops two years previously” [10].

However, the source also presents limitations. In reference to origin, the problem with oral testaments is that individuals usually lack the detached objectivity and broad knowledge, which helps them to make sense of the events they were involved in. Historians exercise critical judgement towards the values of the interview, as “just because someone says something is true… doesn't mean it is true. Just because someone ‘was there’ doesn't mean they fully understand ‘what happened’.” [11]

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[1] Graves claimed to be haunted by ghost and nightmares which were “to haunt him throughout his life” Penguin Classics (2000), “Goodbye to All That”, Penguin Classics (ISBN: 978-0-14-118459-3) [2] Including, Laura Riding leaping from a third floor window and breaking her pelvic bone in three places.” Dr Ian Firla (2009), “Robert Graves – A Critical Biography”, St John’s College Robert Graves Trust, [] (25/08/2009) [3] Graves states that in the second edition of his book a “good many changes have been made - omission of many dull or foolish patches, restoration of a few suppressed anecdotes; replacement of [a] chapter by a longer one written five years later [and] correction of factual misstatements” Robert Graves //Prologue// (1957)//,// “Goodbye to All That”, Penguin Classics (ISBN: 978-0-14-118459-3) [4] Graves historical novels “include: //I, Claudius; Claudius the God; Count Belisarius, Wife to Mr Milton, Sergeant Lamb of the Ninth; Proceed, Sergeant Lamb; The Golden Fleece”// and many more. Robert Graves //Prologue// (1957)//,// “Goodbye to All That”, Penguin Classics (ISBN: 978-0-14-118459-3) [5] Dr Ian Firla (2009), “Robert Graves – A Critical Biography”, St John’s College Robert Graves Trust, [] (25/08/2009) [6] Max Arthur (July 2002), “Forgotten Voices of the Great War”, Ebury Press (ISBN: 0-09188-8879) [7] Max Arthur (2002), “Forgotten Voices of the Great War”, Ebury Press (ISBN: 0-09188-8879) [8] Linda Shapes (Feb 2002), “Making sense of Oral History”, History Matters, ** []  ****, ** (03/11/2009) [9] Heinrich Beutow, “Forgotten Voices of the Great War”, Ebury Press (ISBN: 0-09188-8879) [10] Philip Sylvester, “Forgotten Voices of the Great War”, Ebury Press (ISBN: 0-09188-8879) [11] Linda Shapes (Feb 2002), “Making sense of Oral History”, History Matters, **  []  ****, ** (03/11/2009)