...Erich Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front was revolutionary in how it spoke not about the glory and honor of war, but instead the cruel, dark reality of it. World War I was very different than any other war that had come before it through the combination of the number of large, powerful countries fighting in it and new, innovative fighting techniques that came about. In this novel, Remarque wrote about reality; the complete destruction that comes with war and how nationalism was used to trick men, but the themes and ideas of this novel still stand true today and it should not be forgotten. World War I was completely different than any other war the world had seen so far, it was gruesome and violent; the majority of this novel follows...
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...In Erich Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front numerous characters are introduced as the gruesome experiences of German frontline soldiers during World War I are exposed. The soldier Stanislaus Katczinsky stands as the leading figure of group who provides his cunning abilities and acquired wisdom to the younger men whom he creates close bonds with. Early on in the book, Kat’s cunning abilities appear when he obtains food for his extremely hungry friends. One of the friends, Paul, assures “that if [Kat] were planted down in the middle of a desert, in half an hour he would have gathered a supper of roast meat, dates, and wine” (Remarque 39). His resourcefulness in dire situations gives him great leadership skills that he uses multiple times...
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...Author Erich Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front is an anti-war novel that explores how the hostility and terror of war impacts the men on the Front line. Remarque does this by focusing on key stylistic conventions that transform the characters of the novel which eventually leads to a form of alienation. This approach is a somewhat reflection of Remarque’s war experiences and how he himself was changed by the elements of war. This realistic approach to the novel and its themes allowed Remarque to show how each experience and stylistic convention changed the individuals within the book. Throughout the novel Remarque uses his key experiences of war to develop themes that affect the characters of the novel. An existing theme is the theme...
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...The only thing more powerful than death is love. The sense of comradeship the soldiers have for each other is their only escape from the death and despair that is war. Paul and his friends share a deep connection throughout their short lives, from the schoolhouse where they are first encouraged to volunteer to the trenches and dug-outs where many of them lose their lives. All they have is each other; the war robs them of everything else. The most impressionable theme in Erich Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, is that of the comradeship shared amongst the soldiers n the midst of World War I. Even if the soldiers have not the slightest clue as to who their comrades are, they still show the utmost care and love for them. As Paul stands in a trench one day in the midst of a bombardment, he comforts a fresh recruit who cannot seem to get his bearings on the situation. The recruit “looks up, pushes [his] helmet off and like a child creeps under [Paul’s] arm, his head close to [Paul’s] breast” (Remarque 61). Paul proceeds to tell him that he will “get used to it soon” (61). Paul understands the situation the recruits are in because he was there himself. He understands that they just need a shoulder to cry on, for without it, they would lose their...
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...his patriotic duty. “....We prefer to celebrate ourselves and our nation by imbibing the myths of glory, honor, patriotism, and heroism...”; if one finds the same soldier questioning his devotion in the slightest, he is disgraceful, a shameful coward (Hedges).Absolutely supporting one’s country has become a social requirement-every person must love their country; if not, they obviously despise it. Erich Maria Remarque’s soldiers in All Quiet On The Western Front, the individuals expected to be the most devout to their country, bravely challenge patriotism by exposing the fallacies of the belief, an act the majority is unfortunately reluctant to do....
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...“The sound of the gunfire from the front penetrates into our refuge. The glow of the fire lights up our faces, shadows dance on the wall. Sometimes a heavy crash leans to shivers.” (Remarque 94) Winston Churchill may have been thinking about how life was a constant living hell for the soldiers that fought in World War I when he said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” That is exactly what the soldiers did in Erich Maria Remarque’s novel and Lewis Milestones selfsame named movie, All Quiet on the Western Front. The brutalities of war not only destroyed these men physically, but mentally. These soldiers lost their sense of humanity and could not experience reality like they did before they went to war. When the author says, “We reach the zone where the front begins and become instant human animals.” (Remarque 56) he wants the readers to realize that the second the soldiers were on the front they lost all sense of humanity. They lived in conditions that were mucky, fetid, and infested with disease. The English Oxford Dictionary defines an animal as “A person without human attributes or civilizing influences, especially someone who is very cruel, violent, or repulsive.” The author chose the word animal because an animal does...
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...All quiet on the western front is a historical fiction novel, by Erich Remarque, that describes the life of German soldiers during World War I, and it illustrates themes including effects of war on soldiers. “This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by war” (epigraph of the novel). The book is about the story of a German soldier who joins the German army in world war I. The plot consists of daily routines of soldiers in the trenches. This soldier had to lay wire, guard supplies, fight in many battles, and watch...
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...Erich Maria Remarque's life reflects Paul Bäumer's in All Quiet On the Western Front. Erich Maria Remarque uses All Quiet On the Western Front to write about his life. Paul Baumer reflects Erich Maria Remarque throughout the novel. Erich Maria Remarque is influenced by his life when writing All Quiet On the Western Front. Paul Bäumer is influenced to fight for Germany in World War I when "Kantorek had been our school master... I can see him now, as he used to glare at us through his spectacles and say in a moving voice "wont you join up, comrades"'(Remarque 11). Paul is influenced to go to war when his teacher begged and yelled at Paul and his classmates to go and fight, so they did and most of the class went right after they graduated. Erich...
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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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...because of all the death that has happened but also the generation we lost in the process. World War I happened between the years 1914 through 1918; this involved all of the countries of the world even though some were neutral. Inside of the fight of the war the soldiers suffered greatly through the trenches. All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque gives us an account of the war from a soldier's perspective of World War I. The narrator of All Quiet on the Western Front is Paul Baumer. Paul Baumer is a young World War I German soldier who decided to join the army with some of classmates when Germany needed soldiers. His father is indeed proud of his son’s war efforts...
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...All Quiet on the Western Front: Removing of War From Nature “Here the trees show gay and golden, the berries of the rowan stand red among the leaves, country roads run white out to the sky line, and the canteens hum like beehives with rumours of peace” (295). All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, takes place in the late 1920’s, located in Berlin. The book was published in 1928, although many speculations were pointed towards the book. Once word got around of the anti-war book, a controversial storm started brewing. There was a prohibition of the book’s production, and many countries banned the book from entering its borders. Thus being an anti-war novel, the true horrors of war quickly spread like wildfire, giving people a...
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...No one was prepared for how horrific World War I turned out to be. The war killed thousand of lives. Those who survived the war were torn and scarred from the horrific things they had witnessed. There are many people that expressed their traumatic memories of the war through song, book, or poem. In the book All Quiet On The Western Front it shows the horrors soldiers had to go through from the perspective of a young soldier named Paul. Paul and his fellow soldiers walk on after a hard battle, “It begins to rain. An hour later we reach our lorries and climb in. There is more room now than there was.”(Remarque 25). They had to walk all the way to the front line. Then after fighting, they walked back through pain and mud. In comparison to the...
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...Incapacitated of viewing a future or remembering a past, soldiers soon only believed in war. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque depicts his gruesome experience of the war through the despairing narration...
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...During the time when Erich Maria Remarque wrote the war novel All Quiet on the Western Front the Great Depression had just began, World War I had ended and World War II was yet to begin. The novel greatly reflects the time period in which it is set. “World War I began in 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and lasted until 1918.” (history.com) The novel begins with Paul Bäumer, the narrator, on the front line, just as he has been for fourteen days. Bäumer and a group of young men from his school joined the German army after being pushed by school teacher. The author, just as Bäumer and many men of age, joined the army at the young age of eighteen. The historical decade is deeply imprinted in the novel in every way,...
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...‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, by Erich Remarque tells the story of life for a soldier on and off of the battlefield. This novel has left many people rethinking war and how it has impacted on people today. The close bonds with the dead comrades, the lost generation and the realisation of who they are fighting are all things impacting the soldiers emotionally and physically. The way Remarque writes this novel shows that it is a powerful anti-war novel filled with physical horrors, blood, sweat and tears. In this novel, Remarque describes the war as horrific as it affects many soldiers physically due to the constant fighting against the enemy. For Paul and his friends, it is extremely common to walk by dead soldiers and have the scent of blood fill...
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