All Quiet On The Western Front Essay

Why war should not be glorified due to its many negative effects that outweigh its few superficial benefits? Despite the economic, religious, or political reasons a country may have to go to war, it is not something to be glorified as it has many tragic consequences such as the emotional effects on both the soldiers and the citizens (PTSD), the physical damage it causes to the land, people and nature as a whole, and the effect it has on society as a whole. One thing to consider is the effect war has on the mental state of everyone involved. As seen in All Quiet on the Western Front, the psychological toll of war cannot be overstated. According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, PTSD is a common affliction among war veterans, which can

These effects further prove why war shouldn’t be praised, as it negatively affects almost everyone who is involved. As the war goes on in All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul remarks how they “have become wild beasts” (REMARQUE) and that they fight only to defend themselves from annihilation. Paul stating how he believes they aren’t even human in nature anymore and that they are now on the same level as wild beasts further proves that war has a devastating effect on the human mind. This is yet another reason why war shouldn’t be glorified, as it whittles both soldiers’ and citizens’ minds down to a hollow shell stuck in a mode of pure survival and instinct. Through both the effects war has on the human psyche and the overall effect it has on the families involved, we can see why the thoughtless glorification of war would be a reckless action that would lack the respect the people affected deserve. Another thing that is important to consider is how war destroys all things without discrimination and should not be simply brushed

Which is why war and its gory, traumatic circumstances should not be glorified as the destruction that is being caused does not only affect human lives, but also the lives of everyone around the war zone. The effect on human lives is made further evident in the poem "The War Works Hard" by Dunya Mikhail, which describes the brutal reality of war and its impact on human lives. The poem highlights the destructive effects of war, stating the war "swings corpses through the air" (MIKHAIL) and “invigorates the coffin makers” (MIKHAIL). As made apparent through the vivid imagery created by Mikhail, we can see a reality that war is not as they say it is on TV. This appalling reality that war is not some family board game and that it involves real people and their lives, further proves why it is important to not glorify war because it overlooks the sacrifices people have to make just to survive the brutal circumstances that war creates. As seen in both texts, we can see the destructive nature in which war has and why those destructive consequences don’t deserve to be glorified as it will enable the further destruction of