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.
Erich Remarque uses compelling symbols in chapter six of All Quiet on the Western Front, many of them have a significant meaning, only two have a powerful meaning. A shelled schoolhouse, in a sense brings the reader this sort of comfort because the feel of school brings them back to the good ole days. It is the days when you did not have to worry about things because mom and dad were there. The shelling part is another thing, it is showing the amount and the type of war going on. The violence in this time and place is unimaginable and the shelled schoolhouse is an example of the violence is being revealed. Remarque is trying to display to the reader that in this day and age of war they did not care about what they destroyed. He describes many bloody situations because he wants the reader to feel the pain and suffering how
“We developed a firm, practical feeling of solidarity which grew on the battlefield, into the best thing that the war produced - comradeship in arms” (Remarque 19). In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front the men are faced at the decision of life and death, protecting each other so each individual will make it home. Facing horrific images while being put at risk on the line in the front. Comradeship plays an important role in All Quiet on the Western Front, by being able to survive, build a brotherhood bond, and restoring comfort and courage.
Plot Summary: All Quiet on the Western Front Written by Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front is the tale of a young man by the name of Paul. Paul who is nineteen years old gathers several of his friends from school and together they voluntarily join the army fighting for the Axis alliance. Before they are sent off into actual battle, they are faced with the brutal training camp. Along with this they face the cruelty of the life of a soldier. This made them question the reason for which a soldier fights. They are told that they fight because they must be nationalists and must therefore be patriotic. But they began to understand that these are just clichés and are used to brainwash soldiers. Soon after they graduate they are sent into the fray of war. The premature idea of war being glorious and honourable is destroyed when they step into the gruesome actuality of war. They are forced to live in constant fear for their life. Kemmerich, a friend of Paul, gets injured and contracts gangrene. From this his leg is amputated to stop the infection from spreading. Sadly, the operation was done too late and Kemmerich is declared to be slowly dying. Paul and his friend visit Kemmerich is slowly dying, and Müller, another former classmate, overlooks Kemmerich’s horrible state and says that he wants Kemmerich’s boots for himself. Accustomed to life at war, Paul doesn’t consider Müller insensitive. Paul understands that Muller knows Kemmerich will no longer use his boots
One of the best, if not the best war novels that is Erich Remarque's “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Remarque he explains the horrors of war by gives his knowledge of his days as a German soldier fighting on the western front. Remarque’s terrible war
War is Crippling to a Man’s Body and Soul In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque, starting with the epigraph of the book, defaces the didactic tips that the war burdens Bäumer with, "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 shells, were destroyed by the war" (1). A variety of books are written about wars, aggression, and the vast majority of them are full of patriotic pathos and romantic passages. As the novel's raconteur and protagonist, Bäumer is the focal figure in All Quiet on the Western Front and fills in as the mouthpiece for Remarque's reflections about war. All through the novel, Bäumer's internal identity is stood out from the way the war drives him to act and feel. His recollections of the time before the war demonstrate that he was at one time an altogether different man from the miserable fighter who now portrays the novel. Bäumer is a caring and naive schoolboy; before the war, he adored his family and composed poetry. Witnessing the awfulness of the war and the tension it instigates, Bäumer, as different warriors, figures out how to separate his psyche from his sentiments, keeping his feelings under control with a specific end goal to save his rational soundness and survive. With his epigraph, Remarque immediately separates
Chapter 11: The war continues and the German forces are weakening. Muller dies and gives Paul his boots. No one hears of Detering ever again after he tries to escape back home. Leer dies because of a thigh wound. Kat eventually dies too because of an exploding shell fragment landing on his head.
In Chapter five of Erich Remarque’s novel All Quiet on The Western Front, Paul explains that they are no longer young from the experiences such as being young and having to fight for their lives, not being able to know if they have a future, and lastly, death. As a result, it makes Paul feel older from those terrible experiences as he writes, “We are not youth any longer” (87). Paul makes this statement because even though they are nineteen or twenty, they will experience more in their life when they are in the war than any other time. Paul explains about how they are just starting their new independent life, and then it is shot to pieces from being in the war. “The war has ruined us for everything” (87). The war definitely did wreck everything.
Jordan Hist 102H Document Questions Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front 1) Who is Paul Baumer? Describe his background and experiences prior to the war. In what ways does he represent the "typical" soldier in WWI? In what ways is he exceptional? How do his views about the war and his reasons for fighting change over time?
A War For Soldiers, And The Destruction Thereof The novel, “All Quiet On The Western Front”, centers its self around the events that shape the lives of the soldiers involved in the German army, of World War I. The novel takes focus on the actions of a young, enlisted soldier, named
The novel All Quiet on the Western Front written by Eric Remarque is a powerful anti-war novel. It is about a young man of nineteen who fights in the German army at the western front. He is accompanied by his friends and soon realise that war isn’t glorious or honourable, and they live in constant terror. Throughout the novel Remarque describes the physical and psychological horrors of war as well as how they have become the lost generation and the question of who is the enemy. He includes many writing techniques to describe each topic, especially the physical horrors of war.
Many images from this novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” appear in my mind but the certain images that stick are the dead bodies and people fighting in the Trenches. The Trenches are a big factor to the Great War because it is the place where the soldiers eat, sleep, talk, and take cover from enemy infantry. When I think of war, the shooting back and forth between trenches comes to mind. As a teenager I play video games that are war related and my favorite is Battlefield 1 because it takes place in the Great War. Each Trench is a place for protection but also a death sentence because it is tight and easy to land a grenade or gas in. Although you take cover in there, the amount of dead bodies is far greater than the amount of living soldiers.
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
The idea of lost generation is probably the most important and evolving theme in All Quiet on the Western Front. In the preface, Remarque states, “It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war” (Remarque). This directly stated quote shows what Remarque wants his readers to take from the book. Throughout the captivating novel, many experiences show that these soldiers truly were part of a “lost”
All Quiet on the Western Front is told from the perspective of German soldier, Paul Baumer, who journals about the brutality and callousness of war. The novel chronicles the demise of Paul and his classmates from high school graduation and military basic training to the trenches of WWI battlefields. Paul Baumer, is as an idealistic young poet swept away by the Rhetoric of his teacher and the misguided patriotism of his peers. He is in many ways just a child that hasn’t traveled beyond his own backyard.