The Effect Of War In All Quiet On The Western Front

Herbert Hoover once said, “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” This aphorism corresponds with the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front and the movie, “War Horse”. World War I, also known as the Great War or the War to End All Wars, however, despite its glorious names was neither great nor the last war. Two powerful and influential alliances fought on the battlefield until November 11, 1918, “a day that was so quiet and still on the whole front” (296). Many aspects of World War I are seen in Steven Spielberg's film, “War Horse” and Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front. “War Horse” exhibits the struggles of those affected by the war through the eyes of a horse conscripted into World War

In “War Horse”, Captain Nicholls and fellow cavalry officers prepared to ride into enemy territory and soon enough, most are shot down German machine guns. With all the new technology that was being used, the British and their horses were impotent. Paul and his friends line up to get breakfast, however the chef refuses saying he originally, “cooked for one hundred and fifty men”, but only eighty men were present to eat breakfast (4). These one hundred and fifty men fought for only a few days at the Front, yet half the company either died or are injured. This shows the readers how life can be taken away at any moment. Men as young as eighteen entered the war with hopes of winning for their country, but a staggering number of fifteen million men lost their lives. Notably, a year after Joey is in the war, Albert enlists along with a friend in hopes to reunite with Joey. In a deadly attempt Albert surprisingly succeeds in reaching the enemy trenches however, is met with poisonous gas. Though Albert succeeded, many soldiers lost in the race between life and death This bloody scene goes hand in hand with the killing of the new and inexperienced recruits in All Quiet on the Western Front. Paul explains how "[the] young recruits of course know none of these things. They get killed… [and] they are mown down” (130). Many did see to the end of the war, contributing to the increasing number casualties. Both the film and the novel correlated in depicting reality as well as the glorification of