ipl-logo

Essay On All Quiet On The Western Front

462 Words2 Pages

During the course of this class I have had the opportunity to read a very daunting list of books in regards to The Great War. While I did enjoy the extra insight given through each of these books, two come to mind when I think of as a way to introduce students to the time period; All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque; and Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway. While these fictional books about a defining point in human history are famous in their own right, between the two, I believe that Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front does exceedingly well to convey the thoughts, emotions, and physical hardships which was The Great War. “Kantorek would say that we stood on the threshold of life. And so it would seem. We had taken no root. The war swept us away.” (Remarque, pp 20) Remarque illustrated that the generation that fought this war lost out on their young and innocent life, for all they knew of their short adult life was warfare. In the early days of the war, these men were shepherded to enlist, not physically, but by speeches of grandeur and glory for the Fatherland. Even if an individual didn’t want to volunteer, they were obligated to enlist by their peers. Remarque …show more content…

Despite the fact this tale isn’t very whimsical and is tragic in the end, it doesn’t paint the picture of The Great War. While Hemmingway’s protagonist was not a soldier, but an ambulance driver, he did not experience the full harshness of the war. The small band of soldiers of All Quiet on the Western front would consider a barn with some hay as a commodity; Hemmingway’s character would enjoy “a good room. It was very big and light and looked out on a lake.” (Hemmingway, pp 212) The reader would realize that not all experiences are the same, but for the majority of belligerents (especially on the western front) lived in a constant state of

Show More
Related

  • All Quiet On The Western Front: A Thematic Analysis

    1148 Words  | 5 Pages

    Today, there are 48% of people that are in between the age of 22 to 30 who are in the US active duty forces, which means that they are involved in warfare; the average age of these young soldiers is 29 ("Demographics of Active Duty"). Although today there are many films and books that expose the carnage of war, there are still many adolescents who enlist without knowing the negative experiences and outcomes of war itself. All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, provides a large amount of themes. These themes include the detrimental results of WWI, such as the savagery of the bloodbath, the psychological drain of fighting, automata, dehumanization, and estrangement. The text is able to reveal these topics and many more through

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Erich Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front

    843 Words  | 4 Pages

    All Quiet on the Western Front is a powerful anti-war novel written by Erich Remarque. Remarque was a young German solider that fought in World War One. Through his experiences, this novel embodies all the hard hitting, raw aspects of the war, from the physical and psychological horrors to who is the real enemy. Remarque has created a universal portrait of men at war. One of the aspects of war that Remarque highlighted was the physical horror’s that the soldiers had to go through.

    Read More

  • Summary Of All Quiet On The Western Front

    758 Words  | 4 Pages

    The author of All Quiet on the Western Front makes it very clear that he condemns war. The story is told through the eyes of an 18 year old student who enlisted in the army after his professor convinced the his class to serve for their country. From that point on, Remarque leads the reader through the battlefield with Paul and gives an unpleasant idea of the psychological impact the war has on the young soldiers. Paul begins to see his friends suffer from severe anxiety attacks with nightmares and uncontrollable shaking, while the “seasoned” soldiers in the company don’t seem to have any emotions toward the events going on around them. These are only a couple of the things that suggest that the author is against war and the stress it brings

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front

    797 Words  | 4 Pages

    It is in these conditions that Erich Maria Remarque’s, All Quiet on the Western Front‒ a novel about a young German soldier’s experience in World War I‒ takes place. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque accurately depicts the trench conditions of World War I and the psychological affects the war has on soldiers in order to call attention to how war cheats young soldiers of their adolescence and causes permanent physical and emotional damage. Firstly, Remarque truthfully portrays the trench conditions in World War I to bring awareness to the traumas soldiers experienced due to the dangers and discomforts of trench life and how this continues to affect them after the war. Trench warfare was a combat tactic used in World War I in which opposing troops fought from dug up ditches, or trenches, that faced each other with an empty expanse

    Read More

  • Effects Of Dehumanization In Generals Die In Bed And All Quiet On The Western Front

    649 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the First World war, soldiers all around the world were met with a plethora of long-lasting injuries and challenges. The novels, Generals Die In Bed by Charles Yale Harrison and All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque portray the similar wartime experiences of Canadian and German soldiers. The historical concept of causation is shown throughout these novels, particularly in how the soldiers experienced extreme violence, which led to the desensitization to such violence and the dehumanization of their allies and enemies. Both Canadian and German soldiers were psychologically affected which was caused by the horrors of the war, highlighting the mental effects the war had on soldiers. World War 1 was home to extreme violence, which soldiers had frequently met face to face during

    Read More

  • All Quiet On The Western Front Soldier And Soldiers Relationship

    807 Words  | 4 Pages

    If we come back late from the Soldiers’ Home we have to show passes” (Remarque,1985,1929,p.187).Although the soldiers were not under the same exact confinements as the prisoners some of their restrictions flowed over into the lives of soldiers. The soldiers were confined and watched under the guards along with the soldiers unknowingly. The separation from their families is something both men had to deal with unwillingly due to the circumstances they were placed in. In war, men are separated from their family for months at a time.

    Read More

  • Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front

    444 Words  | 2 Pages

    After reading this great antiwar novel “All quiet on the western front” by Erich Maria Remarque I have felt such deep emotions towards the life of these soldiers who fought during WW1. The writer Erich Maria Remarque was ultimately trying to tell the story of how this young generation fought for their lives and for the fatherland. A generation that was lost because of the true horrors of the war. Paul and his friend were just teenagers at the time, the iron youth of Germany from what they called it. when the war broke out they immediately enlist and gave their lives to the fatherland.

    Read More

  • All Quiet On The Western Front Essay

    925 Words  | 4 Pages

    Through this method of ‘enrollment’ in the military,

    Read More

  • A Brief Review Of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front

    985 Words  | 4 Pages

    In a more combat situation 15% who served are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Most of us cannot imagine the horrors of war however, those who served in a war helps us realize or understand through their stories; the gruesome reality of war and its effects on those who served. In Erich Maria Remarque's landmark novel All Quiet on the Western Front illustrates how war is hell on the soldiers who served in WW1. In the novel, "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque, the author reveals the hopeful yet discouraging war experience between the main character of the story, Paul and his relationship to the first industrialized world war between Germany and others through a variety of literary elements including theme to emphasize the impact of war on young men, as well as employing characterization that appears to readers senses to illustrate how war changes the boys to men of the lost generation through irony. Erich Maria Remarque conceptualizes theme to teach readers how war is vile and putrid.

    Read More

  • All Quiet On The Western Front Essay

    972 Words  | 4 Pages

    All Quiet on The Western Front, written by Erich Maria Remarque, is a novel composed after World War One to convey the experiences of German soldiers during this horrific time of fighting. He brought to light many important issues that occur during wars. In this book, three horrors of war that had the largest impact were the lack of sanitation in the trenches, the loss of comrades, and the shock that came from unexpected and ongoing shelling. The lack of sanitation in the trenches caused many diseases, infections, and terrible memories to me made.

    Read More

  • All Quiet On The Western Front Effects Of War Essay

    1064 Words  | 5 Pages

    Throughout the ages, wars have wreaked havoc and caused great destruction that lead to the loss of millions of lives. However, wars also have an immensely destructive effect on the individual soldier. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, one is able to see exactly to what extent soldiers suffered during World War 1 as well as the effect that war had on them. In this essay I will explain the effect that war has on young soldiers by referring to the loss of innocence of young soldiers, the disillusionment of the soldiers and the debasement of soldiers to animalistic men. Many soldiers entered World War 1 as innocent young boys, but as they experienced the full effect of the war they consequently lost their innocence.

    Read More

  • Imagery In All Quiet On The Western Front

    671 Words  | 3 Pages

    While many soldiers thought that World War I was going to be exciting, they hadn’t yet realized the horrendous conditions they would have to live in. Remarque writes in the narrator and main character Paul Baumer's perspective: “Our food is bad and mixed up with do much substitute stuff that it makes us ill… The latrine poles are always densely crowded; the people at home ought to be shown these gray, yellow, miserable, wasted faces here, these bent figures”(280). Words like "miserable" and "wasted faces" let the reader clearly understand how the trenches' conditions affect the troops' morale. Furthermore, Remarque also employs nature and the earth as a comfort for the soldiers.

    Read More

  • Summary Of All Quiet On The Western Front

    1082 Words  | 5 Pages

    All Quiet on the Western Front is a historical fiction novel by Erich Maria Remarque. It was first published in 1929 and is based on Remarque’s experiences as a soldier in World War I. Throughout the novel, Remarque uses imagery and his characters to critique how war is often romanticized and viewed as patriotic and an honor, because he views war as inglorious and destructive. Remarque’s thoughts and critiques of war can still be applied today because war is still as glamorized and harmful as it was in World War I. Remarque critiques the romantic rhetoric of war and honor, while showing how he feels that war is inglorious by mentioning the horrors of the war, like death, and by demonstrating how the ordinary person cannot understand war.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of All Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque

    1361 Words  | 6 Pages

    Erich Maria Remarque, a World War I veteran, took his own personal war experience to paper, which resulted in one of the most critically acclaimed anti-war movement novels of all time, All Quiet on the Western Front. The voice of the novel, Paul Baumer, describes his daily life as a soldier during the First World War. Through the characters he creates in the novel, Remarque addresses his own issues with the war. Specifically, Remarque brings to light the idea of the “Iron Youth,” the living conditions in the trenches, and the sense of detachment soldiers feel, among other things. Therefore, All Quiet on the Western Front criticizes the sense of nationalism, which war tends to create among citizens by quickly diminishing any belief regarding it as a glorious and courageous act.

    Read More

  • All Quiet On The Western Front Poster Analysis

    401 Words  | 2 Pages

    The novel all quiet on the western front by Remarque is quite different in comparison to the propaganda poster from Great Britain, 1915, “There’s Room for you enlist today.” Although the true theme of this novel is of a lost generation of young adults. There is one similar them from the poster and the novel, comradery rings true for the soldiers that endured the front together. Instead of the portrayal of heroism and adventure in the poster. The novel portrays the sadness and love for the man that stands beside you.

    Read More

More about Essay On All Quiet On The Western Front

Open Document