...Fueled by nationalism, ran by machines and hidden in trenches, the first modern war unfolds: World War I. Existing as some idealized sense of promoting one’s country for the better good, a false reality evolved in regards to life on the fore front. Erich Remarque, a german veteran, displays the actuality of war through images of mass violence, descriptions of new weapons and machinery, and the individual lives of soldiers on the forefront. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque conveys physical wartime experiences to highlight the assault on soldiers’ understandings of themselves in regards to a loss of identity and loss of humane behavior as a result of the physical and psychological toll World War I brought upon young soldiers. The brutalities of the physical wartime experience left...
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...He discussed how the war dehumanized the men by stating, “We have lost all feeling for one another…We are insensible, dead men, who through some trick, some dreadful magic, are still able to run and to kill.” This describes the hardships the soldiers were tasked with as they fought in the war. Unprepared for how harsh the war turned out to be the soldiers were overwhelmed with the amount of deaths that were occurring. Soldiers were unsure how to react because they were not expecting such a brutal war. They were witnessing one another die at a rapid rate and had to deal with the long lasting effects that came with this. Remarque also described how difficult it was for the soldiers to go on with their lives by stating, “We lie for an hour panting and resting before anyone speaks. We are so completely played out that in spite of our great hunger we do not think of the provisions.” This illustrates just how difficult the life of a soldier was during this war. The war was breaking down the soldiers and even in their times of rest, they were unable to function as they typically would if they were not in war conditions. All in all, Remarque stated that this war was leaving the soldiers...
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...German author Erich Maria Remarque based All Quiet on the Western Front on his own experiences as a Germany Army soldier in WWI. The imagery Remarque uses is very vivid and realistic, and it helps bring to life the intense action and emotion of the novel. One time that imagery shows is when, in the middle of the daily destruction of war, however, there exists beauty. One day, Paul sees beautiful and fragile butterflies and he says. ''The grasses sway their tall spears, the white butterflies flutter around and float on the soft warm wind of the late summer.''This is contrasted with the ominous, or evil looking, observation balloons overhead. The author uses these images as a way to demonstrate that even in war, a soldier seeks a sense of order...
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...Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front captures the suffering caused by war. The novel is well written and articulate, truly showing the horrors of war. Reading the book, I was amazed by the detail and portrayal of Paul’s experience. The book was surprising at times, inciting emotion and realization. Remarque succeeds in exposing war for what it is: a violent and unnecessary event. The chapter in which Albert and Paul are in the hospital is the most memorable part of the book. Remarque’s writing reflects the pain felt throughout the chapter. Once in the hospital, Albert and Paul become friends with some of the other patients. The companionship between the injured soldiers is portrayed through the scenes in the hospital....
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