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Western Front Power

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The Prime Minister, the Senate, the House of Commons—these are people who we Canadian citizens depend on to make educated and reasonable decisions for the future of Canada. Being in such positions of power, such politicians must think on behalf of all Canadians; we trust them not to abuse their authority for selfish personal desires. However, this has not always been the case throughout history. World War I required militaries to appoint many individuals to take power in order to face the sudden state of total war; since these decisions were made rashly, numerous officers proved to be egocentric individuals who abused power for their own desires. Through the use of irony, both Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front and Kubrick’s Paths of …show more content…

Kantorek is the sole cause for the boys’ enlistment in the army, giving the boys’ “long lectures until the whole of [Paul’s] class went, under his shepherding, to the District Commandant and volunteered.” According to Kantorek, the war was glorified while the harsh reality of it was kept hidden from the boys. With an ironic twist for the boys, the glorious war was not what they had in mind as their classmates fell one-by-one; it was not until “the first bombardment that showed [the boys’] mistake, and under it the world as they had taught it to [the boys] broke in pieces.” This evidently shows how Kantorek, has used manipulative propaganda and speeches to trick these innocent adolescents onto a one-way train to living hell; in turn, the originally respected image of Kantorek is shattered in the boys’ brain along with their hope in their future. As the boys entered the military, they encountered Himmelstoss, “the strictest disciplinarian in the camp.” Himmelstoss forced them to do cruel and near-impossible tasks, such as kneading a pair of boots for twenty hours, cleaning the Corporals’ Mess with a toothbrush, and clearing the barrack-square of snow with a hand-broom and a dust-pan. However, when Himmelstoss was called up to the front line later in the novel, he was found by Paul to be “with a small scratch lying in a corner pretending to be wounded” during battle. The formerly tough and strict Himmelstoss, the formerly known “Terror of Klosterberg,” is now cowering in the backlines of an assault. This incident finishes the character of Himmelstoss: a selfish and apathetic authority who abuses power and cares solely about his life as hovers in fear during battle. Using these two characters,

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414 Words | 2 Pages

In the novel titled All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque depicts Corporal Himmelstoss as a cruel man who abuses and demeans the men under his command. There is no stated reason for this but after analyzing the book, it can be inferred that Himmelstoss treated the men in such a harsh manner because he is insecure, cowardly, and sadistic. Himmelstoss is described as “a small undersized fellow… [who] was in civil life a postman” (Remarque 23). Thus, Himmelstoss’ job is not that well-paying and he has an average physical appearance, being short and possessing a big moustache, so he makes up for what he lacks in looks and station by abusing his power.

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403 Words | 2 Pages

War is a harsh reality that is inflicted upon the unwilling through the “need” of it’s predecessors and those whom wish it. All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is about 19 year old Paul and his friends in the “Second Company”. Even though they are just out of school age, they have already seen things that many could not bear to even think about. Eventually, all of his friends die, and even Paul too, dies. Remarque uses diction and syntax as literary devices to express his anti-war theme, or lesson.

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1500 Words | 6 Pages

A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo shows the hard work and difficult tasks the men had to go through to prove themselves and protect their country. The war will change the men’s attitudes and the way they do everything. Men made sacrifices in the Vietnam War most people would never make in a lifetime, they will not just sacrifice but push themselves physically harder than most any other men. The men will also emotionally change from constantly watching other men die, or killing other men. The mens first kill was always the hardest for them, mentally they had so many thoughts of the other mans close ones back home and what they would go through and how it would be all their fault.

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1421 Words | 6 Pages

Canada is now known to be a diverse, multicultural, bilingual and inclusive nation largely as a result of his work. Pierre Elliott Trudeau also believed in an equal Canada for all, he is primarily the one to introduce rights and freedoms to the citizens of Canada. While some view Pierre Trudeau as impulsive, for enforcing the War Measures Act, Trudeau enacted this for the protection of Canadian citizens against radical extremist and his actions were more rational than impulsive for the situation that had suddenly occurred. Pierre Trudeau was one of Canada’s greatest Prime Minister’s, who’s impact fundamentally changed the course of the nation by introducing multiculturalism, for introducing the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and for paradoxically upholding democracy by strong action during the October Crisis.

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1259 Words | 6 Pages

Today, Canada is seen as a multicultural and peaceful nation that has evolved over the course of history. This great nation would never have been possible without the impact that former Prime Minister, Lester B. Pearson left on this country. His achievements and insights profoundly affected and shaped Canada’s nation. First, peacekeeping is an important part of Canada’s heritage and a reflection of its fundamental beliefs that Pearson implemented after dealing with world changing situations and winning a Nobel Prize. Also, his contributions as a liberal leader as well as the flaws and controversy with Diefenbaker did in fact define this country.

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795 Words | 4 Pages

To begin with, Kantorek’s leadership style is hypocritical. Kantorek was the men’s schoolmaster. Throughout the entire time Kantorek taught, he pushed the ideas of signing up to serve in the war to his students in order to play their part for their country. Paul mentioned “I can see him now, as he used to glare at us through his spectacle and say in a moving voice: “Won’t you join up, Comrades?” (Remarque 11).

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1667 Words | 7 Pages

Before World War I, all of Europe in 1914, was tense and like a bomb or a fire was waiting to erupt. Europe had not seen a major war in years, but due to Militarism, Imperialism, Alliances, and Nationalism tensions grew high. Each country was competing to be the best by gaining more territory and growing in their military size and successful economies. World War 1 was waiting to happen and the assassination of the Archduke was the spark that lit Europe up. In All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque we see the effects of the assassination.

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665 Words | 3 Pages

Present throughout the book is the theme of disillusionment. In the school, they’ve been told by their schoolmasters and parents that unless they join the war, they would remain cowards. They see propaganda after propaganda, all alluding towards the glory of battle and warfare. Out on the front, they realize that nothing was further from the truth. Their dreams of being heroes shattered, like when they compare themselves to the soldier on a poster in chapter 7.

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999 Words | 4 Pages

Toronto — On June 28th 1919 WW1 officially concluded after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, however as a result of the war, Canada has suffered great losses, many that will change the fate of the nation. World War 1, a war that started in 1914 after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, ended on November 11, 1918, and all the nations involved had agreed to terms of peace and formally stopped fighting. On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Forces (Britain, France, Italy, and Russia) came together to sign the Treaty of Versailles and formally concluded the Great War.

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1203 Words | 5 Pages

By the time we meet them though the effects of Kantorek’s persuasion has been replaced by the true horror of the modern trench warfare that they now found themselves amidst. By the time the reader meets Paul and his friends, they are so desensitized by the war that they seem detached from their emotions. Paul mentions the fact that over half of his company was killed the same way someone would note the weather. The soldiers themselves don’t understand why they must fight and die to defend empty and useless ideals. If you weren’t aware of why the war was being fought outside of the

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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.

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481 Words | 2 Pages

The war was everything. After an inspiring patriotic speech by Kantorek, their teacher, Paul and his classmates joined the German army to help fight in the war that would later be named World War One. Like most eighteen-year-old, they thought it was their duty to join the war, yet now at nineteen years old, Paul and his classmates are not so sure. Fighting at the French front, they experience small rations of food, daily bombing, and watching their fellow comrades die. Twenty were in their class that enlisted, and from that twenty, seven are dead, four wounded, one in the mad house, but three became lieutenant.

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748 Words | 3 Pages

The First World War was a lengthy and brutal affair that claimed the lives of over 17 million individuals. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, its effects were equally as ferocious on the intellectual front, where it marked a turning point in the clash of European intellectual values. Philosophers such as Nietzsche had already challenged established institutions of Positivistic thinking toward knowledge and progress; however, his movement lacked widespread support. It was the disaster of WWI that accelerated their movement by inspiring culture-wide undermining of prior intellectual beliefs through newfound uncertainty: authors such as Erich Remarque and Vera Brittain drew upon sudden doubt underscored by the war to completely reverse prior thinking by breaking down pre-war notions of intellectual

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1361 Words | 6 Pages

In All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque exposes the reality of war by refuting the idea of the “Iron Youth,” revealing the mistreatment of soldiers, and showing the critical effects war imprints on them. When any war begins, young men are always the first ones to be sent into the war zones. To clarify, older generations believe young adults are the best options for fighting; these boys are strong, full of energy, and do not have anything to lose. “The chief source of this pro-war ideology were the older men of the nation: professors, publicists, politicians, and even pastors” (Literature and Its Times).

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1058 Words | 5 Pages

Young soldiers lose their innocence during the war, this is a negative effect of war. In this essay the following will be discussed, the theme of innocence in the novel All is Quiet on the Western Front, poetry that discusses the loss of innocence in war and art that shows the cruelty of war. One of the main themes in All is Quiet on the Western front is the loss of innocence. Most of the soldiers in the novel is twenty years old, but when they started this war they loss all of their innocence and they were not allowed to be young men anymore.

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