The original book “Bambi, The Story of a Life in the Forest” was written by Felix Salten and published in 1922. Felix Salten was born in Pest, Hungary, on September 6, 1869. He was raised by his father who was an engineer and a mother who was an actress. Salten’s family was Jewish and his dad actually descended from many generations of Rabbis. Felix Salten was not a fan of being jewish and changed his name from Siegmund Salzmann to his current name Felix Salten. This was his attempt to stray from his Jewish heritage. The family lived in poverty, but this inspired Salten to climb the social hierarchy and live a lavish life. Salten wanted to be recognized and began publishing his writings in magazines and books, for example, in 1890, two of Saltens poems were published in the magazine “An der schoenen blauen Donau. It was not until World War I that Salten’s views on patriotism and society started to change. Originally, he was on Germany’s side because he wanted to prove he was 100% Austrian. Sadly, he quickly realized what the war had in store for Jewish people and moved to the left-wing and hated the war. This resulted in the birth of the book “Bambi.”He always loved nature and felt a special connection to animals. Bambi was Salten’s way of sharing how Jewish people were treated by the war and the antisemetic people in the war. The animals could not live in peace because of the hunters who disrupted their lives and killed for game ( which is something Salten did early on in his life). Bambi is probably my favorite book that we have read in class so far. The personalities of the creatures, description of the forest and meadow, and the way of life in the forest is so beautiful. I also really like how hunters in the book are referred to as “He” or “Him”. Although there are many tragedies towards the middle and end, it made the book feel real. Bambi definitely has helped me grab a glimpse of Salten’s life as a Jewish Austrian during World War I.