Likewise, the Nazis also employed state agents and encouraged citizens to inform on one another to the authorities for speaking out against the Nazi regime. Obviously, the author wrote the work as a caution about the intrusion of the state into the psychological autonomy of the individual. In the West, that type of state domination is not an issue in contemporary society. On the other hand, there are very recent reports of North Korean citizens being arrested and sent to re-education camps for failing to mourn the death of Kim Jong-Il "sincerely enough" suggests that Orwell's concerns are still legitimate in other parts of the world. Even in Western society, there are questions about the objectivity of news media and the degree of influence that business entities have on government.
The main issue in All Quiet on the Western Front is still a problem in contemporary society. Throughout the second half of the 20th century, the U.S. government exploited the young men sent to war for questionable reasons, most notably in Vietnam and, more recently, in Iraq, especially. Just as Paul Baumer and his companions died in wars in which they had no personal stake and in which their respective governments used them as pawns to achieve strategic goals, that appears to be substantially true about contemporary American conflicts, especially in Iraq and to a lesser extent, in Afghanistan as well. In Baumer's case, war resulted from unplanned escalation of international posturing. Today, unjust wars seem to be precipitated by the economic interests of major industries and of powerful corporate entities for profit.
4.
Winston Smith battles his desire to fulfill his assigned role in society because of his simultaneous growing awareness and appreciation of the truth and...
In his case, isolation is largely the result of his need for self-preservation since
disclosure of his true thoughts and feelings would expose him to persecution by the state. His growing appreciation of the truth and of the value of accuracy in historical documentation affects his
character in the way that it jeopardizes his
freedom by pitting him against the orders of the state authorities. His need to belong to a functional society is not fulfilled because he is eventually prosecuted by the state and seems to relinquish his newfound perspective about the truth when he is reintegrated into society.
Paul Baumer becomes psychologically isolated from his former life because of his experiences during the war. When he is home on leave, he experiences alienation and isolation from his society and no longer feels part of it even when he is home. He realizes that he and his companions have been
suffering and dying for nothing and that his main loyalty is to his comrades rather than to his national government. Baumer never has the chance to fulfill any desires to belong to anything more meaningful than his forced participation in a meaningless war because he is killed on the Western Front.
Grendel is perpetually isolated by his fear and inability to communicate with humans and with the mystical characters he fights. He suffers psychologically as an outsider and never achieves any
connection with others. Even his desires are conflicted because he simultaneously loathes human beings as he yearns for a connection with them. His
conclusion that all life is meaningless might be a
reflection of his inability to establish any connection with human beings. He never achieves fulfillment and dies the same way he lived: in violent
conflict.
