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

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich.M.Remarque conveys the theme that war is costly on the human being and taxing far beyond the physical scars taken away from such event. This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.” It is interesting that Erich could embed such heavy theme in his text on WW1, when he quoted that it wasn't meant to go much further than an adventure novel. However, the contrast occurs in the main protagonist ,Paul Baumer, through contrasting ideas held by this most pivotal character,

Relating to contrast, Paul undergoes a change, physically and mentally and this is where the most contrast and change can be found, which progresses through the novel. This idea is centered around how Paul trades his homely life out and grows attached to his trench at the front, this being the greatest change in Paul. Pre-war his ankst to join the war changes rapidly into paul feeling home at the front and alienated at home. “I imagined leave would be different from this. Indeed, it was different a year ago. It is I of course that have changed in the interval. There lies a gulf between that time and to-day. At that time I still knew nothing about the war, we had only been in quiet sectors. But now I see that I have been crushed without knowing it. I find I do not belong here any more, it is a foreign world”.(Analysis). Overall this shows that all the time spent on the front turned that environment into the only place Paul has confidence in what he does and confidence in the meaning for being there. This contrasting to his loving memories of home about his childhood, his mum and the books he read and all of a sudden at his return on leave he doesn't remember how to engage or use any of those