The Effect Of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front

This essay will consider the different effects created by Erich Maria Remarque in his novel All Quiet on the Western Front. As a writer, Remarque unknowingly left his novel open to readers with completely different perspectives, and to various forms of criticism. This undoubtedly meant that every single reader had been affected by the novel in many different ways which unfortunately for Remarque may have been an effect that he never intended. I personally think that a writer couldn’t possibly publish a novel that affects every reader in one particular way, therefore resulting in me agreeing with the above comment. This essay is divided into 5 main sections. Firstly it will address any of the intentions Remarque could have possibly wanted to

This achieved through a series of powerful verbs and adjectives used in the descriptions of the front line. For example, an extract on page 81 of the novel conveys a dark almost mysterious impression of the war which is delivered through the first person narrative of Paul Bäumer. In this extract, the use of the verb ‘wiped’ tells us the force in which the French were killed which suggests the harsh reality of the war. It also implies the German anger towards the French soldiers and their want to eliminate them in such a brutal manner – ‘the machine-gun’. Other weaponry includes ‘the knife-rest’, which one of the French soldiers runs into. Remarque writes ‘then the body falls…’ by saying ‘the body’ instead of a referral like “the French soldier” shows the detachment between the German and French soldiers. From Paul’s point of view it implies that he was so used to seeing soldiers being killed that to him, it was just another body. From this extract in particular, a very clear impression of the war has been made, alongside the effect it had on Bäumer as a soldier, whose experience of this may account for the rest of the young soldiers. Another effect created is a somewhat emotional one in regards to the reader’s “relationship” with the main character. Remarque’s use of intriguing and powerful lexis builds a strong bond between the reader and the character of Bäumer. The way Remarque recalls the experiences of Bäumer is done in such a way that the reader is instantly hooked and to some extent linked emotionally with Bäumer, especially when Bäumer talks about how he is affected individually, and when he recounts his personal experiences before, after, and during the war. At one point in the novel, it appears that Remarque was trying to show us that despite the horrors and brutalities of the war, these young soldiers were unable to completely forget