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
All Quiet on the Western Front recalls the story of a German soldier on the front lines during World War I. Throughout the book Paul Baumer expresses his thoughts on the horrors of war, as well as, his new found brotherhood and sense of family with his fellow soldiers. The author has written this story as an adventure, but meticulously added the harsh truth of the battlefields. Remarque’s narrative was so effective because his narrative techniques, such as point of view, mood, and conflict, bring the story to life. Remarque’s narrative techniques make the readers feel like they are right there with the characters.
Earlier in the book, as Paul is scrambling for his life, he dives into a hole to try and survive the shells, or bombs, falling all around him. Going into war, dead soldiers littering the fields are expected as Paul experiences hands on, ¨...my fingers grasp a sleeve, an arm. A wounded man? I yell to him--no answer--a dead man.¨ (67). Tragedies in the battlefield is as common as flowers growing in a meadow when in war.
All Quiet On The Western Front Essay | English – Parks | 9/8/2017 | Noah Fallon
In All Quiet on the Western Front Paul witness all the horrors of war. He sees death crawling towards the wounded soldiers in the wood, hospital, and on the front. When a soldier was wounded it killed them, they lost a limb or they got sent back to the front. Another awful part of war is soldiers would get shot and stranded out in the woods. They would yell for help, but were never found. Mental wounds were another injury of war. Paul would see people go insane on the front and some soldiers got shellshock. The worst part of the war for Paul was watching all of his comrades die, and his connection with the ones he loved at home fade away. The horrors of war is clearly represented in both Battle Scars and All Quiet on the Western Front with physical wounds, mental wounds, and loss of loved ones.
In 1929 Erich Maria Remarque published a vivid novel that highlighted the brutality of war, All Quiet on the Western Front. Remarque takes the reader on the journey of nineteen-year-old Paul Baumer, a young soldier fighting on the front line for Germany during World War I. Despite its critical acclaim, this celebrated war novel did little to celebrate war.
The horrors of the war is by far the most horrifying event that the world has to go through. The soldiers that take part in war suffer irreversible damage because of the tragedies they have seen and beared. The worst things about war is the severity of deaths that are bestowed on mankind, the majority of soldiers that have nothing to go home to after the war, and the physical and mental harm that can occur after war. During the war people are victims and witnesses of broken limbs, blood oozing mouths, and lifeless bodies. All Quiet on the Western Front portrays the war as it was experienced, replacing the fantasy of glory, and heroism with a picture of fear and massacre. For example, in chapter one Paul reflects on the story of Joseph Behm,
World War I was one of the deadliest wars in human history, taking the lives of millions and changing the lives of countless more. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, 19- year-old German soldier Paul Bäumer strives to survive in the Western Front of World War I. Throughout the novel, the war forces Paul to change his character into a hopeless soldier that relies on instinct to only survive in battle. Once an ambitious and compassionate young man, the horrors, and anxieties of war induces Paul to detach his inner personality from reality forces him to focus on war. As a result, Paul struggled to understand himself and could not conceive a future without war, transforming his existence into an endless suffering, destroying Paul long before the war kills him.
One of the best, if not the best war novels that is Erich Remarque's “All Quiet on the
Throughout All Quiet on the Western Front perspectives of war are explored through multiple avenues; such as the characterisation of Kantorek, the Assistant Headmaster and multiple literary techniques. Additionally, “Dulce et Decorum est” by Wilfred Owen explores similar perspectives, deviating from the archetypal representation of war to display the ignorance of the home-front to the realities of war, and the contrast in views between the front line and the home-front. In unison, the texts exhibit the devastating effects of war upon prospective, serving and returning soldiers.
he meal scene in chapter 10 of All Quiet on the Western Front is a sharp contrast from the earlier chapters in the novel. Readers observe the men have a chance to unwind and enjoy the the general amenities of life that they rarely have the time to exhibit during their duty at war. From the tone of the narrator, readers will notice a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere that is created among the interactions between men coming together and sharing goods they worked to find around the village. “So we zealously set to work to create an idyll-an idyll of eating and sleeping of course” (232), summarizes the soldier’s initiative which deviates from the animalistic and hostile course of action the men rely on to survive while fighting on the front.
The novel All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, is story of the fictional character Paul Baumer and his troop Troop 9 as they battle in World War I on the Western Front for Germany. This novel differs from most war novels in that it does not portray the men as valiant soldiers protecting their country. The way that the story is told strips away the romanticized view warfare and portrays the raw emotions that come with being on the front lines of a battle. As both Paul Baumer’s life and the battle progress, Paul’s values, along with those of the other soldiers, evolve until they culminate in Baumer’s own passing.
The First World War was a war of many firsts. Not only was it the first true contemporary war, but it was also the first war that introduced new forms of industrial warfare, which resulted in many repercussions. One of these repercussions was the development of shell-shock or neurosis as a result of war in soldiers returning from the battle front. In “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Enrich Maria Remarque the psychological effect of industrial warfare on soldiers was depicted as a paradoxical combination of exhilaration on the battlefront as well as a deep state of numbness and melancholy.
The Great War, also known as World War I, is a defining moment in Europe’s history. Its aftermath consists of the demolition of Germany’s economy, the rise of Adolf Hitler, and the loss of an entire generation of young men who were sent into combat. All Quiet on the Western Front chronicles the experiences of Paul Baumer, a 19-year old student who volunteers for the military during World War I along with his classmates Muller and Kropp. They are compelled to enlist by Kantorek, their fiercely patriotic but misguided schoolmaster. Paul’s life in the military is told in short entries that reveal the reality of war: horrifying battles, violence, alienation, emotional indifference. His accounts of war are personal and emotional, and the bleak tone
A young soldier's life is changed by war before he can develop their identity. Remarque uses Paul as an example of how soldiers evolve from eager and enthusiastic recruits to cynical, hardened, veterans. When Paul thinks about the past he remarks that “We were eighteen and had begun
The novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque is about a German foot soldier in the First World War. It is known that World War 1 was really a horrific one as millions were killed on the battlefield. Though this novel was written in 1928 it really helps people in the 21st century understand the suffering and pain that the soldiers went through. The protagonist Paul along with his comrades were put in many unfamiliar situations where they were expected to kill the enemy and come home unharmed. The theme ; soldiers dehumanize their enemies in war, so they do not hesitate and get themselves killed, appears many times in the text. This book dwells deep into the how the soldiers must dehumanize their enemies to kill them with no emotion. It portrays the horrors of war and how civilians were turned into killing machines to survive. If the soldiers were to think even for one second their chances of survival went down exponentially.