As scientific innovations and developments push the frontier of our technological capabilities, the threat of using them for evil is an all too present reality. While at the height of the Cold War, John F. Kennedy said, "Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.". In his groundbreaking book, All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich M. Remarque seeks to spread this pacifistic message and anti-war sentiment, after the devastation brought by the First World War (Remarque 1982). As the biggest, most technological advanced and deadliest war of its time, this new breed of warfare has left ripples all across the fabric of the global society (Rowley 2003). Remarque wanted to use this book to recreate the horrors of this war in a fictional, yet ghastly tale. In his own words, he wishes All Quiet On The Western Front "to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure..." (Remarque 1982). Having served personally on the German front lines during the First World War, Remarque translates this firsthand experience of the war into this book (Gale 2003). He wanted to pay homage to his fallen comrades of his generation, saying "It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who were destroyed by the war" (Remarque 1982). Remarque weaves a tale that gives a new, horrifying, and shocking account of the trauma that soldiers face on a daily basis while on the front (Gale 2003). He uses this, and his own experiences from, and after, fighting in
Do you know anyone who has been in a world war? Do you know what happens to people in war? The novel All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque is the story of the German man Paul and how he copes with the war and how he gets through it. World War 1 was an international conflict which lasted from 1914 to 1918. War transforms people in many ways and nobody except those who have experienced it can understand the terrors. War can change whole societies, how people live in it, and how it runs. Many people go into war thinking that it will be very adventurous and fun because that's what they see in advertisement and propaganda. The reality of war is that it is brutal and you have to kill people to survive and every day you survive is
Faith is a guiding force to a man’s life. In Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front the soldiers endure many months of trench warfare. They go through many physical horrors that cause physical and mental scars. Their hopes and dreams are what keep these soldiers alive and sane. They dream of their home, family, food, and other simple pleasures. These boys are young and have had no major life experiences before enlisting in the war. The war changes everything for them and put them into a war mindset where they disregard human life. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, the tribal village of Africa is taken over by white missionaries who intrude upon their system to convert many of the tribe’s younger members to the Christian faith. The younger members are attracted to the Christianity faith because they see that it does not look down on them for reasons that the tribe might. Okonkwo does not want his people to lose their way of life. Their everyday customs and traditions are what he grew up with and has become sacred to him. The white missionaries turned his people into Christians by saying that their religion was false. Okonkwo cannot bear to let this happen to his people. What these two novels have in common is the theme of losing an idealized past. The two protagonists of these two novels lament a loss of an idealized past which in turn changed their whole perspective as their life unraveled or as it falls apart.
Mahatma Gandhi, a renowned political and spiritual leader, once said that, “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary, the evil it does is permanent.” Presume you see two men in a heated argument and one of them is about to attack the other, you take a rock and throw it at him and knock him out. On one hand it is a good thing that you prevented the attack but on the other hand you used violence yourself, and there is no doubt that you would not hesitate to use it again. The good that came from the violence that you used lasted for a short time, but the punishment that you get for doing this lasts for a long time. Imperialism of rivalries and nationalism were two of the main reasons that most
1. Paul Baumer and his friends, as German soldiers in World War I, collectively fight any who oppose the German army. However, Corporal Himmelstoss is an enemy whose transgressions are taken far more personally by Paul and his friends. Himmelstoss often torments Paul and his comrades for the sake of doing so, as he is power-driven and tries to exert control over others whenever he can. It is never stated that the soldiers hate or even dislike the enemies that they fight daily on the battlefield; yet they disfavor Himmelstoss openly. In addition, they all begin to harbor distaste for their former teacher, Kantorek, for encouraging them to join the army. All of the men also struggle against the knowledge that
The rise of World War I caused millions of casualties and was yet another demonstration of how supposedly civilized nations could be led into a chaotic war of power over lands and people. Since the beginning of civilization, war has been the way of the world. However, with major advances in technology, this idea of war has since become mechanized and deadlier. There is no doubt that the powerful men who lead wars often don’t care to think of nitty gritty of war, to them, rather, it’s a matter of power and legacy. In Remarque’s novel, the particular story of Paul and his comrades is a perfect example of how a generation can be used and manipulated to drive the agenda of power- hungry men. Through Remarque’s own personal experience and unparalleled writing ability, this novel presents many first-hand experiences into the living conditions of soldiers and peoples.
It’s no surprise that soldiers will more-than-likely never come home the same. Those who have not served do not often think of the torment and negative consequences that the soldiers who make it out of war face. Erich Remarque was someone who was able to take the torment that he faced after his experience in World War I and shed light on the brutality of war. Remarque was able to illustrate the psychological problems that was experienced by men in battle with his best-selling novel All Quiet on the Western Front (Hunt). The symbolism used in the classic anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front is significant not only for showing citizens the negative attributes of war, but also the mental, physical, and emotional impact that the vicious war had on the soldiers.
In Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, soldiers at the front have a better idea than civilians of the true nature of war because they have experienced the war while civilians have only read about it or listened to government propaganda. Remarque is trying to tell us that only those who experience the war can understand how awful war truly is.
This essay will consider the different effects created by Erich Maria Remarque in his novel All Quiet on the Western Front. As a writer, Remarque unknowingly left his novel open to readers with completely different perspectives, and to various forms of criticism. This undoubtedly meant that every single reader had been affected by the novel in many different ways which unfortunately for Remarque may have been an effect that he never intended. This essay is divided into 5 main sections. Firstly it will address any of the intentions Remarque could have possibly wanted to propose through his novel, and closely examine the purposes and motives behind All quiet on the Western Front. It will then go on to analyse Remarque’s use of language in various extracts of the novel. Then the content is analysed in two parts; the third part is a brief insight into one of the key themes of the novel, and the fourth part highlights the effects Remarque causes. Finally, some conclusions will be drawn as to whether or Remarque may have intended to achieve a certain effect in his novel, and as to whether or not I personally agree with the comment that through his shaping of language and content, Remarque may have achieved an effect he might not have intended.
Ars Moriendi The complete ensemble gathers to pray and mourn Pius’ passing. Tone is drumming like a military march to symbolize the start of WWI. A bells tolls throughout. Pius sings with labored breath, taking air after every phrase.
The book, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque can be identified with many themes. Whether the theme is loyalty to friends, the unbelievable suffering at the hands of other human beings, or the beauty of nature in contrast to the horrors of war, none of those are as fitting as the theme: betrayal by adults. The manipulation performed by a trusted schoolmaster, the awful treatment done by someone who is called a leader, and parents going along with what society thinks is right versus what their sons want, all are important factors that explain why betrayal by adults is the central idea of this story.
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.
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.
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
The Tragedies of Youth in War In WW1 over 10 million young men were killed. This took away all of the soldiers hopes and dreams. In All Quiet on the Western front a novel by Erich Remarque about the evils of war shown through Paul Baumer a German Soldier, It also shows how the men all lost their youth and their lives as young men. The worst place for a young man to be is in war because of the deaths of soldiers, the loss of their youth, and the loss of their sense of home.
The Iliad seems to celebrate war and the idea of worthy combatants. The men that aren’t successful as warriors are ridiculed in the text, men that don’t take to the idea of fighting. Consequentially these men’s families and/or lovers look down upon them as lesser beings. On the other hand, Achilles is glorified to no end considering that he would rather fight at any chance possible rather than sit back. The text appears to give these fighters a champion status. It gives an idolized view of deities like Athena and pokes fun at others such as Artemis and Aphrodite. These beings are used as comic relief. The point that the Iliad attempts to make is that honor can’t be proven without battle; that one cannot exist without the other. To avoid battle