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¶ … Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque. Specifically, it will contain a historical analysis of the book, and look at the question: "how and why does World War I have an impact on this novel as it does? "All Quiet on the Western Front" is a war novel that brings the true horrors of war home to the reader in an effort to show the futility of war.
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
All Quiet on the Western Front" may be one of the most classic and enduring novels about war, as it relates the story of young, innocent men caught up in the violence and bloody battles of trench warfare at its worst. Many of the young men enlisted so they would not be thought of as cowards, which was a prevalent feeling at the time. The main character, Baumer, is one of these men caught up in the patriotism and fervor that caused so many young men to enlist. "But for all that, we were no mutineers, no deserters, no cowards -- they were very free with these expressions. We loved our country as much as they; we went courageously into every action; but also we distinguished the false from true, we had suddenly learned to...
They "learned to see" the horror of war very quickly, and realized that those who stayed behind were the cowards. They were the ones who urged others to go, and they stayed home where they were safe, warm, and dry.
World War I was the first war to make use of modern weapons, such as the machine gun and the airplane. It was the first war to introduce mass killing on a scale that no one thought possible, and the young men who fought in the war were often permanently wounded - not only physically, but often mentally as well. The doctors called it "shell shock." Today they call it the "Gulf War Syndrome," or the "Vietnam War Syndrome." Men in war see horrific things on and off the battlefield, and they cannot forget them. The first World War began a long line of horrific battles, and the veterans who returned brought the horrors home with them, and often kept them buried deep inside. Baumer's mother asks him, "Was it very bad out there, Paul?'"(Remarque 143). How can he possibly answer her? That he has seen most of his friends die in terrible ways? That it is wet, cold, and miserable, and he just wants…
Bibliography
Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. Boston: Little Brown, 1958.
It alls seems useless to them now. Education, wealth, or any other civilian factor has no significance at the front. They have no reference point to imagine a future outside the military or how to assimilate back into society. The younger soldiers have different experiences from the older ones. The older men usually had prewar families and jobs. They thought of the war as an interruption in the normal cycle
Somewhere about half of the 70 million men and women serving in the war are killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. The brutality and horrors of the war are only one of the major themes in the book. It also addresses the alienation of the soldiers. Although remaining alive to the end of the war, many men return either physically or mentally maimed or both. Spiritually, they are empty shells who
There is no time for unnecessary or frivolous actions, no play time, or joke time, there is only survival time. But it is not only physically that a soldier must be prepared and act solely for survival, but also mentally as well. A soldier cannot daydream, long for home, reflect on the past, or even lose his concentration for even a split second. When a soldier loses his focus on
This type of heroism also frequently meant severed limbs and other horrifying injuries that "normal" people shy away from. His function in the novel is one of recruitment, but also as demonstration of the concept dichotomy of the war. Kantorek believes in his vision of the war. However, it is only a vision in the minds of the rich and powerful, who have no idea what the reality of
Corporal Himmelstoss is also an interesting figure in describing the relationship between authority and subordinates, and the author goes to greater length to create this character rather than the case of the schoolmaster, who has a brief appearance in the beginning of the book. As a noncommissioned training officer, Himmelstoss is the best example of an individual who grows from a subordinate position before the war (he had been a
Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front This novel takes place during World War I, and focuses on the changes inflicted by the war on one young German soldier. This character, Paul Baumer, transforms from something of an innocent youthful figure to more of a hardened and traumatized veteran. As the story progresses, Baumer becomes more isolated and loses ties with his parents, elders, school, and his religion. The