All Quiet On The Western Front Corruption Essay

Corruption’s Evil and The Prospect of Betrayal War is a cruel and dehumanizing prospect which causes the suffering and distress of millions, both civilians and soldiers, across the globe. Whether it be through famine or bombing, it seems as if everybody gets the shorthand of the stick; however, there are a few individuals who benefit from the horrors of war, such as ones in power, and they become corrupt men themselves. Men, and women, like these see themselves as more powerful than the soldiers underneath them, and revel in the power of their position. When people like this turn corrupt, however, there is a sense of betrayal to the soldiers, many whom already suffer due to the sights and acts of war. Corruption of power, and the

During that time period, war was displayed as a noble and honorable thing to do for ones motherland; dying for one’s country was seen as an admirable thing to do. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Kantorek, the teacher of many boys in the platoon, strongly created an impression that they had to go and fight for Germany. He “gave [them] long lectures until the whole class went... and volunteered” for the war (Remarque). This action alone caused the doom of many characters in this book, and undoubtedly there are many people in real life who were persuaded by their teachers and mentors to join the war. Similarly, in Sassoon’s poem, the civilians, rather than being frank, often cheered on the war in order to give the soldiers morale. However, in the end, civilians “pray [that they] never know / The hell [to] where youth and laughter” disappear (Sassoon). This poem, and moreover the book, display the betrayal of soldiers during that time period. Young men, often between the age of seventeen and twenty-one, went to WW1 upon the egging of the civilians around them. Most did not return, and the ones that did were often crippled and unable to immerse themselves into civilization once more, hence, the betrayal of a generation of men, some barely