Erich Remarque, author of the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, presents a true story of a soldier throughout World War I. At the young age of 19, Paul Bäumer voluntarily enters the draft to fight for his home country, Germany. Throughout the war, Paul disconnects his mind from his feelings, keeping his emotions away from the bitter reality he is experiencing. This helps him survive mentally throughout the course of the war. The death of Paul 's friend Kemmerich forces him to cover his grief, “My limbs move supplely, I feel my joints strong, I breathe the air deeply. The night lives, I live.”
Disillusionment in All Quiet on the Western Front and Grand Illusion When World War I is featured in literature, at many times the theme of disillusionment appears. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque shows the illusion of war through the elderly and leaders of the war, whereas the soldiers portray the disillusionment of it. On the other hand, In the Grand Illusion, Jean Renoir assumes that the illusion is already understood; instead he focuses on depicting the disillusionment through the soldiers as well. Overall, the life of a soldier wasn't what it was depicted to be.
World War I was one of the most barbaric and horrendous events that impacted world history. In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich M. Remarque drives home this brutality through his main character. The theme brutality and carnage is displayed through the presence of death, violence, and the guilt the soldiers must carry within them. The soldiers were permanently scarred by the events they witnessed as death is always around them..
War and its affinities have various emotional effects on different individuals, whether facing adversity within the war or when experiencing the psychological aftermath. Some people cave under the pressure when put in a situation where there is minimal hope or optimism. Two characters that experience
All people are constantly changing based on their experiences, but there are few circumstances in life that can alter a person more than war whether it be physically, emotionally, or both. World War I was one of the bloodiest wars with over 31 million deaths, wounded, and missing people. Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, is a novel set in this bloodshed, and focuses around the changes brought by the war on one young German soldier. This text depicts the overwhelming effects and power war holds to weaken the human spirit and is able to scar the soldier not only physically but mentally. This is done through the authors ability to convey the unrelenting realism and agony of battle action.
Jamie Hobbs Ms. Birkhead 20th Century Literature A233 29 September 2015 Comparison/Contrast of The Harold Krebs and the Narrator In the early 20th century no one had any great understanding of a psychological illness and the outcome was the suffering of many ill patients. "Soldiers Home" takes place right after the war in 1919 and shows how the war can effect a man 's perception on life immensely. "
Erich Maria Remarque was a man who had lived through the terrors of war, serving since he was eighteen. His first-hand experience shines through the text in his famous war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, which tells the life of young Paul Bäumer as he serves during World War 1. The book was, and still is, praised to be universal. The blatant show of brutality, and the characters’ questioning of politics and their own self often reaches into the hearts of the readers, regardless of who or where they are. Brutality and images of war are abundant in this book, giving the story a feeling of reality.
In addition, “Vaguely he wanted a girl but he did not want to have to work to get her,” the reader is lead to believe that Krebs went out of his way to not attempt anything nor create any new relations or interactions with others (Hemingway 158). In comparison to the print version, the film version shows a deeper side of Krebs in relation to his actions in the community once returning from war. When watching the film, it is clear that Krebs is out and about in the town, speaking to others despite Keator ! 2 the idea that he has no interest in keeping the conversations active.
What they do not look at: “Psychological effect of the war” War is something that has much more than physical effects. It is a burden on those involved on and off the battlefield. Being part of a war can affect you emotionally, mentally and physically. Even though soldiers are fighting for “just causes” was is an all-around negative event.
The Fears of Coming Home An Analysis of “Soldiers Home” In the short film “Soldiers Home” written by Ernest Hemingway. A young many named Harold Krebs returns home from WW1 for find things to still be as he left them but still feels as if he does not fit in. His family and friends all try to make sure that he feels right at home and that everything is normal. When in fact Harold feel entirely different as if something is wrong with him.
However, ultimately this act of kindness led to his death. When Robert fires at the German soldier, the idea of killing someone who has done nothing wrong beings to haunt him. Thus, the idealistic truth of war deceives his purpose in life, due to overcoming the harsh reality. At this point of his journey, his only purpose in war is to survive and return safely back to “the ordinary world”. In comparison to the journey of the hero, Robert “exhibits characteristics germane to the hero's journey, a quest for knowledge integral to a process of healing” (Rowlandson, 17).
Hemingway begins Krebs’ story in a Methodist college in Kansas when the war starts off in 1917. When the war ends Krebs chose to stay in Germany for the next six months and when he comes back he realizes that the town moved on about the war and didn’t get the welcome he thought he deserved. This leads to the theme of not being able to find an outlet for pain. He wanted people to listen to his stories so they would be able to see the pain of what he went through throughout the war and the heroic actions he accomplished while fighting
This also informs of the internal conflict of loved ones such as Krebs mother and even returnee soldiers themselves. The use of the theme of conformity by Hemmingway paints a picture of stark differences that bring out conflicts to the central character Krebs. Readers are also informed by the difficulty of adapting to conflicting social norms such as religion and marriage that most people fit into. Krebs truly knows that he has been traumatized by the war, and even the conformity of family and religion cannot seem to understand that the best way for him to conform is taking no responsibilities and consequences such as those of
Krebs is different from other characters in the modernist period. Although he holds the similarity of being a veteran of World War One, he let these experiences seep into him, suffering from PTSD from war and letting the limits of when he was a teen control his mindset and actions. When Krebs is
(P.3, line 34-36). The lost generation refers to the generation of young men who served in the first world war and that can be related to Krebs because he did serve in the war. Wandering without direction or goal is something that happens a lot to the lost generation and this most definitely is also an issue Krebs is dealing with himself. The feeling of being lost and not a part of society also stems from the military teaching Krebs that he should not love anyone not even his mother. “ 'Yes, Don 't you love your mother, dear boy? '
