Essay On All Quiet On The Western Front

During the course of this class I have had the opportunity to read a very daunting list of books in regards to The Great War. While I did enjoy the extra insight given through each of these books, two come to mind when I think of as a way to introduce students to the time period; All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque; and Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway. While these fictional books about a defining point in human history are famous in their own right, between the two, I believe that Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front does exceedingly well to convey the thoughts, emotions, and physical hardships which was The Great War. “Kantorek would say that we stood on the threshold of life. And so it would seem. We had taken no root. The war swept us away.” (Remarque, pp 20) Remarque illustrated that the generation that fought this war lost out on their young and innocent life, for all they knew of their short adult life was warfare. In the early days of the war, these men were shepherded to enlist, not physically, but by speeches of grandeur and glory for the Fatherland. Even if an individual didn’t want to volunteer, they were obligated to enlist by their peers. Remarque

Despite the fact this tale isn’t very whimsical and is tragic in the end, it doesn’t paint the picture of The Great War. While Hemmingway’s protagonist was not a soldier, but an ambulance driver, he did not experience the full harshness of the war. The small band of soldiers of All Quiet on the Western front would consider a barn with some hay as a commodity; Hemmingway’s character would enjoy “a good room. It was very big and light and looked out on a lake.” (Hemmingway, pp 212) The reader would realize that not all experiences are the same, but for the majority of belligerents (especially on the western front) lived in a constant state of