Essay On All Quiet On The Western Front

All quiet On the Western Front, a book written by Erich Maria Remarque tells of the harrowing
experiences of the First World War as seen through the eyes of a young German soldier. I think that
this novel is a classic anti–war novel that provides an extremely realistic portrayal of war. The novel
focuses on a group of German soldier and follows their experiences.
Life for the soldiers in the beginning is a dramatic one as they are ordered up to the frontline to
wire fences. The frontline makes Paul feel immediately different as described here. "As if
something is inside us, in our blood, has been switched on." The front makes Paul more aware and
switched on as if his senses and reactions are sharpened. I think Paul and his friends are...show more
content...
"A wounded soldier? I shout to him–no answer– must be dead." The dead body has fallen out the
coffin and the coffin has been unearthed because of the shelling. Even the dead and buried cannot
rest in peace during this war. This just adds to the horror of the situation Paul is in.
Through out this book the author shows that war is not about heroism and fighting nobly for your
country, war is a terrible thing. Paul and his friends are on the frontline in the shelters for days
and the pressure gets to the men as Paul says here. "The recruit who had the fit earlier is raving
again and two more have joined in. One breaks away and runs for it." This shows that the frontline,
added by lack of food, has driven the young recruits mad and so much so that one recruit runs away
out into the battle field with inevitable consequence of death. Paul describes the front line in many
ways to show the reader and give the reader a good picture of what the frontline is like for a soldier,
as Paul expresses here." The front is a cage and you have to wait nervously in it for whatever
happens to you", and Paul also says. "I can be squashed flat in a bomb–proof dugout, and I can
survive ten hours in the pen under heavy barrage without a scratch." This shows the reader that it is
very unpredictable on the frontline and that a soldier owes his life only to lucky chances that they
have not yet been killed.
Paul and his platoon have been turned into machines due to the war, controlled by
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Essay: All Quiet On The Western Front
The invaders
With the gradual disintegration of discipline, many of the invading force had decided that amongst
the chaos, pocketing a few items from unattended stores might be worthwhile. Amongst the first
items to be pilfered, warm clothing and bed linen were most highly prized by the soldiers. The
confectionary store too, was stripped of all its sweet delicacies. The pavements, showered with
shards of glass and chocolate wrappers, were lined with soldiers devouring food with both hands.
Knowing their hunger would swiftly return, they lined their pockets with tins of all varieties. Even
the jars of jam and spam were not spared. Turning one particular corner, a bread–laden trolley
pushed by an eager one–armed soldier emerged. However, it...show more content...
It could be seen from the vehicle that most buildings were either abandoned or had been ravaged by
looters. Seeing that, his men were running hungrily towards the building. Several blocks away Vern
spotted a group of men in khaki shirts and leggings, hungrily gulping down the stolen contents of
what looked to be a small service station. They were no doubt his fellow countrymen and in breach
of orders. It was his duty to command them to stop and report the incident to his superiors.
Considering their hunger, he mercifully turned a blind

All Quiet On The Western Front: An Analysis
World War I was one of the most destructive wars in recorded Human History and it was only 100
years ago. The book, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque proves that war is
very destructive. The people we are looking at are Paul Baumer, Albert Kropp, and Detering.
These people are brainwashed and are told that they are the "iron youth" and are coerced to join
the army during World War I. Then they go into the war and see that war is not glorious, but see
an ugly reality that is war. War is very destructive of physical places, emotionally, and can cause a
loss of a generation, and this book shows this very well.
War can be very destructive to the mental stability of people. An example of mental deterioration
is that Paul sees that Detering is affected by the screams of the horses during the battle. Paul says,
"We are pale. Detering stands up. 'God! For God's sake! Shoot them'" (Remarque 62). In this
situation, Detering was yelling out giving away their location in the middle of a war zone because
he was being driven insane from the horses screams. It drove him to where he made the illogical
move to yell out. Later in the war, Detering loses all of his mental stability due...show more content...
The author Erich Maria Remarque, wrote All Quiet on the Western Front to show that war is very
destructive. Sometimes people need to ask themselves, is war worth it? Through all that it
destroys, what does it accomplish? Just like Paul during World War I people need to remember
the ugly reality that is war before they go guns blazing' into a situation when they are not fully
aware of the cost. During World War I, Paul and his company go into the war thinking they are the
"iron youth" and that war is glorious and it is their duty to serve in this honorable war. Then they
go on and see that war is horrendous and very ugly. Sometimes people need to be reminded of that

All Quiet on the Western Front
The greatest war novel of all time, All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, is a
novel that depicted the hardships of a group of teenagers who enlisted in the German Army during
World War 1. Enlisting right out of high school forced the teens to experience things they had never
thought of. From the life of a soilder on the front line to troubles with home life, war had managed
to once again destroy a group of teenagers.
Throughout the novel, we saw the men of the Second Company adapt to the harsh conditions of war
and fighting on the front line. The first instance was the men going to relieve the front line. It had
been fairly quiet for them, so the quartermaster requisitioned the normal amount of rations for an
entire...show more content...
Paul explains that every man is intimately acquainted with their stomach and intestines. Being that
they all had the same parts there was no need to be embarrassed. In addition to the effects of battling
on the front line, the teens were affected by the thoughts of their home lives.
Considering the boys were only eighteen when they enlisted in the army they did not have a chance
to experience life after high school. They had been cut off from life just as they were beginning to
live it. Paul remembers that as a high school student, he wrote poetry. He now has no interest in,
or time for, poetry, and his parents seem to him a cloudy and unreliable memory. Reminiscing
about his home life upset him. Paul soon learned that he would receive a leave of seventeen days;
fourteen days leave and three days for traveling. Paul also learns that he will not return to the
front immediately after he is done with leave but to a camp for a training course. After Paul
learns of his leave he says farewell to his fellow comrades. He begins to worry about if the men he
has grown so fond of will still be there. Despite all of this Paul packs up and heads to the train
station to leave for home. As the train approaches his hometown all the memories come flooding
back to him. When Paul finally got to his parents house he realized his life will never be

All Quiet On The Western Front Essay examples
Essay: All Quiet on the Western Front An anti
–war novel often portrays many of the bad aspects and
consequences of war. Erich Remarque&#8217;s All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel set
in the First World War that is against war. Remarque describes the terrible reality of the war,
focusing on the horrors and involved. The novel portrays an anti–war perspective as it brings up
issues about the brutality of war, the narrator&#8217;s change of attitude towards war, the
futility of war and the deaths of the narrator&#8217;s friends. In the novel, Remarque presents
the brutality of war. Early on in the novel, he describes the sound of the wounded horses and how
brutal the war atmosphere is. &#8220;There is a whole world...show more content...
He says, &#8220;We were eighteen years old, and we had just begun to love the world and
to love being in it; but we had to shoot at it. The first shell to land went straight to our
hearts&#8230;We don&#8217;t believe in those things anymore; we believe in the
war'; (p63). Later he also says, &#8220;We have been consumed in the fires of reality, we
perceive differences only in the way tradesmen do, and we see necessities like butchers. We are free
of care no longer– we are terrifyingly indifferent'; (p88). He continues to realise his change even
more. He says, &#8220;I suppose I am the one who has changed in the meantime. A great gulf
has opened up between then and now. I didn&#8217;t know then what the war was really
like–&#8230;Now I can see I have become more brittle without realising it'; (p120). Baumer
describes his change as like turning into an animal. He reflects, &#8220;We have turned into
dangerous animals. We are not fighting, we are defending ourselves from annihilation'; (p81).
The narrator&#8217;s attitude change also affects his feeling for his mates. He says,
&#8220;We have lost all feelings for others, we barely recognise each other when somebody
else comes into our line of vision, agitated as we are'; (p83). All Quiet on the Western Front also
portrays the complete futility of war. Kropp describes a seemingly silly way of fighting a war. He
thinks that it should be done by the ministers and

All Quiet On The Western Front Critical Analysis
In All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, Paul, the protagonist has to live
through World War I. He joins the military at 19 years old, and from the start, he has to endure
immense pain. Paul, along with 6 other friends that he met in basic training, goes through basic
training, and eventually have to fight on the war front. Paul has mental predicaments throughout the
book, all due to him being in the war. The recurring pattern in these problems is that he is becoming
inhuman. Paul pictures himself more as a machine since he entered the war. Paul's mental state
changes from when he enlisted, which raises the question, 'To what extent is engaging in conflict
worthwhile?'. From reading the book, the answer is that In All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich
Maria Remarque, a conflict is worthwhile depends on the person's situation before and how they've
changed afterward.
Paul, early on in the book, realizes that war is nothing that he could've prepared for. Although it
doesn't mention how he initially thought of war, there is an obvious change in how he thinks of war.
His change happens during and after Kemmerich's death. Paul sees first–hand how war's effects do
not justify the means. To give context about this, Kemmerich was one of Paul's friends that he met
through basic training. When Kemmerich goes to the war front, he gets shot and has to have his leg
amputated. The amputation leaves Kemmerich weak and without a will to live. Paul tries to lift his

All Quiet On The Western Front Thesis
In Remarque's book, "All Quiet On The Western Front," the main character Paul Baumer, a
German soldier in World War One , states that soldiers become "lost" (Remarque 123). This idea
that soldiers become lost is illustrated throughout the book as seen when the young men no longer
desire their prewar lives anymore as they feel foreign. Paul explained to the reader that, "The war
swept us away. For... the older men, it is but an interruption" (Remarque 20). This explains how the
war had a more significant impact on young soldiers rather than their elder counterparts. This most
likely occurred due to the young soldiers having little to no roots in the real world. For example,
most youth soldiers only had their parents, and very few a significant

All Quiet On The Western Front Analysis
In 1914 World War I became the first event to impact society on a global scale. No person or
country experienced such mass destruction or annihilation before. The closeness of Europe's
countries pitted them against each other and strong nationalist feelings emerged in government and
civilian life. The soldiers experienced the worst of the war during its duration. Most lost their
innocence due to the clouded perception of war by society, the young age of the recruits, and such
high intensity falling on their shoulders. All Quiet on the Western Front candidly portrayed the
struggles of the Lost Generation while and after the Great war took place. Before World War I
European society believed that war presented a time to show the nationalism and strength of your
country. Young
...show more content...
Before fighting, the men attended training camps that cruel officers like Himmelstoss ran. They
did not tell the specific details of the war and how to stay alive. Once entering the trenches many
were unprepared to fight. Due to their inexperience many died very early by making crucial
mistakes. Their faces held looks of terror as they saw torn limbs, dead bodies, and brutal killings all
across the battlefield. Paul met a new recruit after the man retreated into his arm during a heavy
bombardment. After the terror finished, Paul realized that the boy defecated in his pants and helped
him through the shock(4.61–62). At the next battle Paul found the recruit on the ground with a
serious hip wound. He whispered to Paul, "Don't go away, Stay here," like he was talking to his
mother(4.72). Though he was not yet physically dead, the man had been mentally damaged by war.
Other soldiers had difficulty with the transition while dealing with claustrophobia in the trenches and
the loud noises of the shellings. Some went insane trying to cope with the intensity. War broke the
young soldiers without much

Essay Writing: All Quiet On The Western Front
The air was cold and crisp as I lay perched on a hill on a farm. Silence was the only company I had as
I waited patiently for the task force team to arrive. We were assaulting a small French village a
few miles west of Paris , I required to gather and retrieve intel as reports have claimed that the
Germans were using this town as a supply depot. I was then contacted via pigeon claiming that the
task force would not arriving and that I had to report back to command. As I was doing one more
sweep of the area I saw general Kaiser enter one of the buildings. I convinced myself to go in and
take out the General as he was the main man in supplying the enemy troops and without him the
Germans would be held back on production and supply for weeks...show more content...
The building was empty when suddenly I my leg was grabbed , I reacted fast and pulled out my
trench knife and jerked my leg away from the grasp of the hand, but I looked down at the now wet
street only to see one of the men who I shot but apparently never ended, he crawled to me gasping
for air as his throat filled with the blood from the wound in his neck, I looked into his eyes that filed
with blood and at that moment the soldier said " Please....p p p please help me.....(cough,cough)
I.....I have a wife and daughter." I faced a decision at that time, the monster who am or the
monster that they say I am. I grasped the man in between my arms and brought him closer to my
body, I whispered a prayer that my mother taught me when i was a child,"Father..forgive those
who have forsaken me and forgive those who have forsaken you." The soldier's tears of blood ran
down my uniform, as I pierced his heart with my blade. I lay him down on the path and as he
drew his last breath, he thanked me. The shed door creaked slowly as i peered into the warm and
sheltered air that was hiding from the storm. The General stood there in his dark grey coat, covered
in badges and symbols, a beacon of authority to all the soldiers under his influence. I tried to silence

Essay on All Quiet On The Western Front
Chapter 1
The chapter begins with German soldiers at rest after fourteen days of fierce battle on the Western
Front. A double ration of food has been prepared so the soldiers are eating their fill. Paul Baumer,
the protagonist and narrator of the novel, watches in amazement as his friends, Tjaden and Muller,
eat another helping; he wonders where Tjaden puts all the food, for he is as thin as a rail. Baumer
is only nineteen years of age. He enlisted in the German infantry because Kantorek, his high school
teacher, had glorified war and talked him into fighting for the fatherland. Kropp, Behm, and Leer,
former classmates of Baumer, were also persuaded by Kantorek to join the infantry. They are all
now fellow soldiers along with Tjaden,...show more content...
In spite of the pain, Kemmerich frets that his watch has been stolen by someone in the medical
facility. His friends try to comfort him. Muller, however, has his eyes on Kemmerich's leather
boots and tries to persuade Kemmerich to give them to him. Being the practical and logical one of
the group, Muller feels that Kemmerich no longer has use for a matched pair. He also knows that
one of the orderlies in the hospital will steal the boots, just as the watch was stolen. Moral
decadence is obviously a by–product of the war.
Notes
It is obvious from the opening chapter that this novel will center on the war and the effects it has
on a young group of soldiers, none of them more than twenty years of age. They are all friends and
former classmates of Paul Baumer, the narrator and protagonist of the book; they have enlisted in
the German infantry because their teacher, Kantorek, had painted for them a glorious picture of
fighting and saving the homeland from destruction during World War I. In this first chapter, Baumer
and his friends are away from the front lines, relaxing a bit after two weeks of fierce fighting. As
each of the young men is introduced, it is apparent that they are tired, hungry, angry, and
disillusioned over the war.
The young soldiers are miserable over their plight and cast blame on Kantorek. All of them have
been in the midst of battle on the Western Front and have seen the horror and

All Quiet On The Western Front War Essay
All Quiet on the Western Front could definitely be considered an anti–war novel. The changes the
characters in the novel subjected themselves to throughout the book allow the reader to view the
negative effects soldiers went through during, as well as after the war. Anti–war means that you are
against the war and leaning more towards the idea of peace. This novel showed the dissatisfaction
and disappointment in each character once they begun to truly understand war and battle from
first–hand experience. All Quiet on the Western Front had an anti–war theme in every aspect of the
book starting with the eagerness of the characters at the beginning of the war and their
transformation to...show more content...
His guilt made him feel that he should write to Duval's family apologizing and sending them
money, but he quickly changes his mind when his survival instinct kicks in and he realizes that it
was either kill Duval or be killed by Duval. Again he must quickly "annihilate his feelings" and
forget the dead man in order to continue fighting and surviving. Paul's promise to the dead man
"to fight against this that has truck us both down; from you taken life and from me? Life also? I
promise you comrade it shall never happen again" (p. 226) proves that he himself is against war.
Both parties are affected equally whether they survive or not they all suffer and have life taken
away from them in a physical as well as mental manner. If the characters themselves are against war
and the loss of life then of course this novel is anti–war because it displays the transformation of the
characters from innocent for the war into experienced combat killers against it.
The humanization of the enemy also depicted anti–war in that it allowed us to see how leaders in
political power could order war and gain all the benefits from winning, yet rarely partook in actual
combat or felt the everlasting grief and pain it caused. While on the other hand these young soldiers
were the ones who suffered and sacrificed all for no gain. "A word of command has made these
silent figures our enemies; a word of command might transform

Through the two powerful war novels, All Quiet on the Western Front, a fictional piece written by
Erich Maria Remarque in 1928, and Night, a memoir written by Elie Wiesel, readers experience the
horrors and struggles of World War I and World War II. In AQWF, Paul BaГ
јmer, a young
nineteen–year old boy, enlists in the army to join the German army in World War Iwith his
classmates. Initially filled with excitement, the boys shockingly face their greatest nightmares with
scarce resources and monotony with the ceaseless sounds of shells and wails from soldiers haunting
them as the trudge through muddy trenches, holding onto each other for support. As the "Iron
Youth", the proud leaders of their generation, they fight in hopes of bringing honor...show more
content...
AQWF notices the role of the army as one unit, but in Night, every man is truly out for himself.
Readers see the barbaric and inhumane situations that the holocaust victims go through which
causes many of them to give up if they do not have someone to lean on. The relationships between
father and son are tested as some families become divided while others grow stronger. The role of
family is tested between choosing oneself to care for or honoring one's loyalty in their family.
Through the acts of Stein and Rabbi Eliahu's son, readers can see the two different aspects of family
in the holocaust. Specifically, through the growth of Elie and his father's relationship we see how
the holocaust brought them closer together. After Elie realizes what Rabbi Eliahu's son did to his
father, he promises that he would never fall into that same path. Instead, Elie grows more vulnerable
after his father's death because nothing matters to him anymore. In total, both novels act as powerful
statements on the two world wars and the critical role that family and comradeship has between
them. Without family, the soldiers and prisoners would struggle to stay alive, searching for a reason
to

Summary: All Quiet On The Western Front
1916.....
Shadowy clouds hover over No Man's Land, they were all fed up with the war, the lives it had
already claimed, the unburied dead and the smell, oh my god, the smell. Life in the trenches was
unbearable, cold, muddy, vermin and parasites that consume your skin for food. Every man
entombed in the trenches dreaded the day they would hear the whistle, the whistle to move forward
into No Man's Land.
William, entrenched for months had not gone topside yet. He was in his early twenties, but
considered the "old man" in his unit, still inexperienced in the reality of war and was dreading the
day he was called to go over the top, into No Man's Land. He had begun to recognise despair in the
eyes of his mates, physically shaking before they climbed the ladders from the trenches, so
courageous but yet weak with hunger, there was a constant muttering of "please God save us".
Most barely 15 years' old when the deadly whistle blew, the order came, "Over the top boys, for
Victory, Queen and Country!"....show more content...
He could speak both French and Russian. He hoped this would save him from No Man's Land and
he quietly prayed it would be radioed down that he was needed elsewhere. His prayers were never
answered. The day came where he William had to go topside. He trembled like his mates, his
mud–covered fingers fumbling as he loaded his rifle. A soldier named Bland playfully slapped
William's helmet, chuckling, "come on lad, snap out of it!", "For England!" William said, trying to
warm his hands with his cool crisp breathe. Machine guns started to echo in the distance, hot iron
showering the edge of the trenches. They quickly got down holding their weapons for dear

Summary: All Quiet On The Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front When it comes to war we tend to look the other way not because
we think that war is the worst thing that is happening at this exact moment but because we tend not
to know more about it. The definition of war is "A conflict carried on by force of arms, as between
nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air". War is something every
country has in common just because there seems to always be something to be fighting about
therefor, we seem to not put much interest in it unless we have a family member in it or the war is
happening where we are. We should alway pay attention when war is happening not just because
it's important but because if we can't seem to change the way it is handle it may affect our
everyday lives. So when it comes to how we should handle the way we portray the things that are
happening in the war should we also support either the government or our president to hide
information the might risk the life of an individual just so...show more content...
Enrich has had background on war and everything that came with it before we wrote his first
novel. The novel tell us how the main character Paul Baumer was encourage by his teacher to join
the the german army. Meanwhile, Paul with the rest of his classmates give us an overview not on
heroic stories that had happened while being in the war but on how they find themselves if
conditions they weren't use to. Enrich Maria Remarque started out his novel by saying "This book
is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an
adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men
who, even though they may have escaped (its) shells, were destroyed by the

All Quiet On The Western Front Response Essay
Nicolette DiCosola
Dr. Buck
History 106
13 April 2016
All Quiet On The Western Front I really enjoyed reading All Quiet On The Western Front. This
book started off showing the young men ready to take on war, until the first bombing in the
trenches takes place. I found this book to be heart breaking, but it doesn't veer to far from the truth.
WWI is described very vividly throughout this piece. In this piece you really understand first of all,
how these young men loose that innocence to war in all reality. These young men some number of
200,000 of them under the age of 18 lost their childhood. It's absolutely nothing like the luxurious
life I live today. These soldiers are frequently subjects to physical danger. Life suddenly becomes
serious...show more content...
They constantly have to be alert to any physical dangers. These soldiers also lived in horribly
unsanitary conditions. No mom to clean the house, or even time for that matter. They do not
have the luxury of nice home cooked meals, and even clean clothes for that matter. The war
basically desensitizes these men, they have to see tons of deaths of close friends, and watch
them die in such a brutal fashion. I believe the author of this book really wanted to portray
specifically that these soldiers really had to disconnect their emotions. In The book right in the
beginning When Kemmerich is dying, the question is no longer what can we do to help him, it
is about who will get to take his boots. No one who lives a civilian life is worried about taking
their friends belongings after they pass away. You also see how lost the narrator Paul of the book
feels as he returns to his home, he feels very out of place. Again, loosing innocence. In the book it
states he walked in his bedroom, and the books he used to love now seem juvenile. Survival on the
Front was pushed at the beginning by these soldiers patriotism, which was pushed on them by the
common people. These soldiers soon realized on the front that

All Quiet On The Western Front Essay
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and Paths of Glory (1957)
Stanley Kubrick directed the movie, Paths of Glory. All Quiet on the Western Front is both a
novel, and a movie. The novel is written by Erich Maria Remarque, and the movie was directed by
Lewis Milestone. Both Paths of Glory and All Quiet on the Western Front depict "The Great War",
also known as "First World War" or "World War I." The Great War originated in Europe, it was a
Global War that lasted from July 28 1914 up until November 11 1918. involved all the world's
economic great powers, which had all assembled into two opposing alliances. The Allies, which
were based on the Triple Entente of the British Empire, France, and the Russian Empire, and the
Central Powers which were composed of Germany, and Austria– Hungary. These alliances
reorganized and expanded as more nations entered the war. Italy, Japan, and the United States
joined the Allies, while the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the Central powers. Both sides
of this war were fighting from the trenches, hardly making any progress at all unless one side
became brave enough to venture forward and out of the trenches in attempt attack the enemy. The
movie Paths of Glory, and All Quiet on the Western Front are both realistic representations of the
life for soldiers during this war. However, these two movies differ slightly in the way that the story
of "The Great War" is told. These two movies are told from opposing sides. Paths of Glory is told

All Quiet on the Western Front Essay
The 19th century view of war expressed that it was the most honorable and glorious event that a man
could participate in. This romantic viewpoint was quick to change after World War I. In addition,
Erich
Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front further illustrated the ghastly nature of war. His
descriptive writing portrays the graphic details of reality, leaving the readers of the 20th century in
shock. Since Remarque was the first author of his time to reveal these lifelike affairs, his novel
helped change their perspective of war, forcing them to not want any part of it.
In his novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque utilizes the main character Paul to symbolize
the people of...show more content...
The truth that they learned was that war was not glorious at all, in fact, it was pointless.
Correspondingly, the people of the 20th century received this same message after Remarque's book
was published.
The young soldiers in the novel discuss how the war has taken away their youth. Remarque notes,
"We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces...We
are cut off from activity, from striving, from progress. We believe in such things no longer, we
believe in war" (88). The soldiers do not believe that war was right, but they believe in war only
because that is the only thing that is real to them. The soldiers lost their youth and future. The war
was a wake up call to them since they came with preconceived notions that war was splendid.
However, these ideas that they were preached are wrong, and now the only thing in reality is war.
Just as the soldiers are surprised, Remarque's novel was a wake up call to the readers of the 20th
century in the same way.
With Remarque's help, the people of the 20th century gradually became more adjusted to the
realities of war. Similarly, as the war goes on,
Paul becomes more familiar with the horrors of the war. Remarque writes, "We have almost grown
accustomed to it; war is the cause of death like cancer and tuberculosis, like influenza and dysentery.
The deaths are merely more frequent, more varied and terrible" (271). The people of the 19th century
could have

All Quiet On The Western Front Essay examples
The introductory paragraph of All Quiet on the Western Front states that the book's purpose is
"neither to be an accusation nor a confession." Remarque never actually says that the book is not to
condemn. In fact, that is exactly what All Quiet is––a condemnation. It is quite true that Remarque
never accuses either side or makes any confession, but he does in fact condemn war altogether. In a
critical response to All Quiet,
Modris Eksteins says that "All Quiet was not a book about the events of the war––it was not a
memoir––but an angry postwar statement about the effects of the war on the young generation that
lived through it," (Eksteins 336). Eksteins is correct in saying this because an "angry postwar
statement" is in essence a...show more content...
But young? Youth? That is long ago. We are old folk." From the start of the war, these young men
were robbed of their idealism, and already their ideas of the future and their places in it became
distorted. For older men it was different because for them it was "but an interruption. They [were]
able to think beyond it. We [the young soldiers], however, have been gripped by it and do not know
what the end may be. We know only that in some strange and melancholy way we have become a
wasteland," (20).
As the novel progresses, the reader sees the "Iron Youth" become more and more disillusioned, and
one by one the reader sees the "Iron Youth" go out of existence.
Eksteins critical article quotes Remarque in 1928. He says, "The war...had shattered the possibility of
pursuing what society would consider a normal existence," (Eksteins 337). As
Paul drifts further and further from that "normal existence," Remarque gives the reader glimpses of
Paul trying to reach out and re–embrace his old thoughts and emotions and reconnect with the
society he once knew. For example, Remarque shows Paul's descent from his previous "normal
existence" in chapter six. Paul says, "We have become wild beasts. We do not fight, we defend
ourselves against annihilation," (113). This just shows what the young men are becoming. Then, in
an attempt to regain himself when he goes home, Paul sits in his room and tries to recapture the

Essay On All Quiet On The Western Front
Almost 5000 years ago the first recorded war between the Sumerians and the Elamites took place.
Ever since then there has been countless wars and an estimated 500 million deaths, but the effects
are way greater than these deaths. Self–preservation, reproduction, and greed are the three natural
human instincts that war can enhance, or destroy. All Quiet in the Western Front, written by Erich
Maria Remarque, shows the effects and transformation it has on young soldiers at war. From the
beginning to the end of the novel the characters undergo life changing experiences that will have
negative impacts on them indefinitely. Remarque was conscripted into the army at the young age of
18. After serving for only 49 days Remarque was wounded and unable to continue fighting. Despite
his minimal time serving, "Remarque is considered one of the most important war novelists in
contemporary literature." (Citation Source 4) Shortly after the release of All Quiet on the Western
Front he moved to Switzerland after his denunciation by the Nazi Regime. Remarque had sparked an
interest in writing when he was 16 however it wasn't until...show more content...
There have been many opposing views on the novel since it was seen as an anti–war novel. Some
depict All Quiet on the Western Front not as an anti–war novel, but as a novel that shows the true
side of war. "The narrative moves among vivid scenes of actual warfare."(Citation Source 2) It is
know that war has horrific effects on people, the economy, and even nature but most propaganda
hide these effects to try and advocate war. Similar to All Quiet on the Western Front, Ernest
Hemingway's novel Farewell to Arms, both novels show how they depict war and not how media
portrays war to the public. Both novels have created controversy between the truth that war holds
and how war is seen by the common

All Quiet On The Western Front Book Review Essay
All Quiet on the Western Front Book Review "We were eighteen and had begun to love life and
the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces. The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts.
We are cut off from activity, from striving, from progress. We believe in such things no longer, we
believe in the war" (Remarque, 1929, pp.87–88). This novel is a truly captivating story told through a
soldier's eyes while looking back and reflecting on war and the bitter scenes Erich Maria Remarque
experienced similar to the characters within his piece of literature. Remarque fought during the First
World War and was injured shortly after, but he coped with the horrific scenes of war by writingAll
Quiet on the Western Front. The quote above allows the reader to see the innocence of boys that
went to war and in turn became men because of the responsibilities they faced after being...show
more content...
Throughout the novel, it shows the patriotism that was built up around the First World War. A lot
of young men signed up for the draft because of war propaganda glorifying the war. It depicts the
war and does not cover up what occurred during battle. Instead, it gives gruesome details in what a
day in the life of a soldier was like. The anti–war aspect is shown through senseless acts of violent
and innocent mean killed over protecting their country. In the novel Paul kills a French soldier
where he finds notes and pictures of his family. Thinking that his family will never see him again
eats him up inside even though the soldier is seen as his enemy. The war becomes a long battle that
what started as a huge patriotic event turned into a cause that seemed not right and useless. The only
thing that gets the soldiers through the hardships they face is each other. Even when the men feel
hopeless, they can turn to one another for comfort. Forming bonds with the other soldiers gives
them a sense of family and normalcy in a war

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