All Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque Analysis

Due to the fact that around thirty-thousand women had jobs during WW1, they were instrumental to the United States’ victory. Working as fighters, nurses, and cooks, women took their jobs very seriously. These women had to step up and take a stand when volunteering to contribute to the war. A common misconception in the beginning of the 1900’s was that women were less capable than men in the workforce and on the battlefield. They wrongly assumed that men were stronger and women were too weak to work or even witness the war. In reality, the women who fought had equal stamina, strength, and determination as the men. Bringing women into the context of WW1, All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque highlights the few incidents where

“Close above me are her bewildering eye, the soft brown of her skin and her red lips. Her mouth speaks words I do not understand. Nor do I fully understand her eyes; they seem to say more than we anticipated when we came” (111). This passage explores the idea that the French women are like foreign creatures. Paul remarks how dumbfounded he is by approaching the girl. He describes the features on her face as precious and tempting. Paul speaks a different language then the women, but it could also be depicted as him being lured in by exoctic females, he is not used too. In the war this is his first experience interacting with women. Paul is used to the normal everyday man who is tired and beaten up from war. This is like a breath of fresh air for the men, yet they do not know how to respond to all this. “I am lost in remoteness, in weakness, and in a passion to which I yield myself trustingly. My desires are strangely compounded of yearning and misery. I feel giddy, there is nothing here that a man can hold on too” (111). Paul feels lost and small when he is in this environment. He is not in his comfort zone which explains the way he feels. He almost gives into the her with an open mind but is nervous about it. He craves her attention but at the same time is distressed about the situation. At a time like this, he has no knowledge on how to react. There is nothing for him to grab onto so he can make the

We have quite forgotten that there are such things, and even now we hardly believe our eyes. We have seen nothing like it for years, nothing like it for happiness,beauty, and joy. That is peacetime, that is as it should be; we feel excited” (106). This passage discusses how little the men are introduced to women. They are marveled by the astonishing poster girl. The soldiers have forgotten the world of women and that there is another gender in the world. They are used to only seeing men since they are fighting in the war. They feel a calming sensation as they stare at the women and come alive. They realize what they have been missing. This gives them a push and a sliver of hope. They will want to fight harder, to end the war, to escape all the men. “ There’s not much to boast of here-- two ragged, stained, and dirty uniforms. It is hopeless to compete. So we proceed to tear the young man with the white trousers off the hoarding, taking care not to damage the girl.That is something toward it” (106-107). After seeing the poster man, the soldiers scan themselves and come to conclusions that they are not good enough. They realize how trashy they look and in this state they could never attract the poster girl. They compare themselves to the poster man and dislike him because of how much better he is. They tear off the man because he represents everything they are not. They are also not interested in him. He is clean, rich, and cultured.