Anachronism

An anachronism is something you see in a book, TV show or movie that belongs to a different time. It doesn't belong. It doesn't fit the time.
  • If you watch a movie that takes place in medieval times, someone has a cell phone, that's an anachronism.
  • If you read a book about the First World War and someone flies in a jet, that's an anachronism. 
  • If you find someone putting on contacts in a TV show from the '50s, that's an anachronism.

Step 1

How Vimy Ridge looked then:
  1. Quebec Chronicle images
  2. Canada.com
  3. Global News (The colored photos are not from WWI.)
  4. The Sun (The Colored photos are not from WWI.)
Take a look at the articles above and give yourself a mental image of area.

Step 2

The Memorial at Vimy Ridge is the largest memorial outside of Canada to remember those soldiers who died fighting on behalf of our country. This memorial not only remembers those who died (especially those who were never found), but it also tries to recreate some of the battlefield.

Google Maps lets us explore the terrain a little bit. Take a look around.
  1. The trenches above ground
  2. The underground trenches
  3. The memorial and the grounds around it
Give yourself a mental image of what it looks like today.

Step 3

If the area around the memorial is meant to recreate the battle site, what doesn't fit?  What is there that doesn't belong? What is there that is historically inaccurate?

  1. Try to find 5 things about the modern Vimy site that don't fit the historical site. (What are anachronisms?)
  2. What are the reasons for these anachronisms?
Comments