All Quiet On The Western Front Personification

To someone just picking up this book, this scene would simply look like some poor soldiers developing a temporary and innocent coping mechanism to deal with Death as they face him head on. But

The aftermath o the gas attacks is addressed in the last stanza. The reader is now apart of the poem by the use of the possessive pronoun "you too" that imposes the reader to empathise with the injured victim. The victim is then described by the gruesome alliteration and assonance of "watch the white eyes writhing in his face" that together enhance the vivid sight. The continuing imagery of "gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs" uses onomatopoeia to lead the reader to believe that war is incorrectly glorified. The last lines "My friend, you would not tell with such a high zest/ To children ardent for some desperate glory,/The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est

Paul Bäumer is a German, young boy, who, together with his classmates, enlists for the army to fight in the Great War. Full of enthusiasm and adventurous thoughts, they arrive at the front, but then are faced with the horrific and soul-destroying war. One by one the classmates are fall in action…

In the middle of the poem, the speaker arrives at the number of casualties from the war. When he reads this number he can’t believe that he is still alive. As he reads down the names he uses the visual imagery and simile to describe how he expected to find his own name in “letters like smoke” (line 16). This helps the reader understand how lucky the speaker felt about somehow escaping the war still alive. As he goes

     “I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another (263).” Powerful changes result from horrifying experiences. Paul Baumer, the protagonists of Erich Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front utters these words signifying the loss of his humanity and the reduction to a numbed creature, devoid of emotion. Paul’s character originates in the novel as a young adult, out for an adventure, and eager to serve his country. He never realizes the terrible pressures that war

In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque depicts the effects of power and authority on the characters. Young school-going “men” are given no choice but to support their country by signing up to be on the front line. Pushed into war by the ones they trust most, these soldiers quickly learn the realities of the abysmal trenches and immediately begin to question the older generations that pressured them to enlist. Furthermore, these leaders who speak of patriotism are willing to sacrifice the lives men of lower social classes even when it is evident that the war cannot be won. In the novel, Remarque brings to light how the circumstances of war influence an individual to abuse their role of authority. Additionally, Remarque depicts an individual’s desire for power exposing that their hunger intensifies over time. As a result, the authoritative figures depict that once power is given to an individual, greed and misuse begin to control the person and sway their decisions. Remarque portrays the abuse of power that arises due to the appalling circumstances of the novel, uncovering their inhumane behavior.

Throughout the story All Quiet On The Western Front several different types of literary devices are used to add meaning. Symbolism takes place in countless parts of the story, “just you think, boys, a real feather-bed with a spring mattress…” as the guys can only think that if they had that bed they would love to stay in the war further more to fight longer(Remarque 78). During the war, numerous soldiers didn’t get nice as well as luxurious items, consequently, as for these soldiers they are sure-enough thankful to have the items they have.

The soldiers who had attended the war were shown to have died brutally, like “cattle”, yet when reaching the home front, it is seen that they are laid to rest in a much more civil and dignified manner. The concept of this can be seen as an extended metaphor throughout the entire poem, with the battle front seen as a world filled with violence, fear and destruction, where as the home front is perceived as a place marked by order and ritual, a civilized world. The second sonnet opens with “What candles may be held to speed them all?”, invoking a more softer and compassionate tone towards the audience, more specifically through Owen’s use of a rhetorical question. It captures the readers’ attention, engaging them to feel empathetic and notice the shift of energy from anger and bitterness to a sadder and more somber tone. Owen’s use of descriptive language, as simple as it seems, such as ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ provokes the audience to view the horrors of the war as if they had been placed onto children, because in reality the ‘men; who had signed themselves into war to fight in glory for their country had really only just been boys themselves.

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

Iron - In the book we hear the term "The Iron Youth" used to describe Paul 's generation. "The Iron Youth" is an ideal of a strong Fatherland-lovin ' group of young soldiers who enlist and fight in the war as a way of showing pride for Germany and its history. The author and characters in the book tear this ideal apart, feeling it to be useless and empty when compared with the realities of war. These young soldiers are not made of "iron," but of flesh and blood. The term "iron" would suggest they are protected emotionally and physically against all weapons of war, but this book proves to us that that is completely false. Lives melt away in the arms of this violent war.

The book All Quiet on the Western Front is narrated in first person by the character named Paul Baumer, who shares his experiences on the battlefield during the final two years of the war. Paul is a German soldier who tells the story as he lives it, in the trenches, and on the frontline. Paul is a compassionate, intelligent and sensitive young man who loves his family more than anything and enjoys reading and writing poetry on his free time. Throughout the book, these character traits of Paul vanish because of the horror of the war and the anxiety it brings to him. Paul learns that death is normal and he becomes unable to grieve over the loss of his friends in the war. Paul becomes bitter and depressed throughout the war as he is unable to remember how it feels to be happy and safe.

War has brainwashed soldiers and people to always believe and obey what they are told. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul killed a French soldier, an enemy, and tries to deal with the guilt gained by the traumatic event. Paul says, “ I did not want to kill you. If you jumped in here again, I would not do it, if you would be sensible too. But you were only an idea to me before, an abstraction that lived in my mind and called forth its appropriate response… But now, for the first time, I see you are a man like me… Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us.” (Document B) Paul is regretting killing the French soldier as he realized he is exactly like him and his friends. Soldiers are trained if an enemy approaches without hesitation to go and kill, and Paul

The first statement in the beginning of All Quiet on the Western Front states that this story is a serious story about death, which is not an adventure, and war has an everlasting effect on the survivors. In the book, the various deaths show the seriousness of death and its effects as described in the epigraph. Also, the novel illustrates specific instances in which a soldier was affected long-term by the war. There are also various quotes that show how soldiers will be affected by the war. Therefore, this book supports the epigraph through the portrayal of death, individual experiences, and the overall effect of the war on the men.

This contrast portrays Jim’s disturbance. He is accustomed to his peaceful, quiet surroundings and his birds. The war though, is completely different. He is out of his comfort zone, and in something he has never experienced. As this disturbs Jim, it disturbs the reader, and foreshadows the horrors and troubles Jim faces.

Through the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, novelist Erich Maria Remarque provides a commentary on the dehumanizing tendencies of warfare. Remarque continuously references the soldiers at war losing all sense of humanity. The soldiers enter the war levelheaded, but upon reaching the front, their mentality changes drastically: “[they] march up, moody or good tempered soldiers – [they] reach the zone where the front begins and become on the instant human animals” (Remarque 56). This animal instinct is essential to their survival. When in warfare, the soldiers’ minds must adapt to the environment and begin to think of the enemy as objects rather than human beings. It is this defensive mechanism that allows the soldiers to save