The author of The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien, and the author of All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque, both use literary devices and overlying theme to show that war changes people. For example, Tim O’Brien has used setting as a great metaphor of a person forever orbiting a vortex caused by the Vietnam War. The theme is also quite prevalent in All Quiet On The Western Front, particularly when Paul goes on leave to his hometown and experiences a sort of “culture shock” because of his experiences in World War I . Each author displays this change of character in their own unique styles.
Tim O’Brien discusses the character Norman Bowker who was inevitably changed by Vietnam. Bowker is a man who almost won the Silver Star for
…show more content…
The horrors of combat have forever changed Paul . This sentence displays some of the changes that Paul went through, “The terror of the front sinks deep down when we turn our backs upon.”(AQ,140) In this sentence, Remarque is portraying the feeling of being on the front of the war as a stone sinking deep down into your body, a weight that you are always carrying around, never realizing the full implications of what it has done to you. This sentence also shows that as long as they never think about what they have done, they would never have to face the trauma that they have been exposed to in World War I. As shown even more in this quote, “Terror can be endured as long as a man simply ducks, but it falls if a man thinks about it”(Remarque, 138) While Paul is on leave, as he is crossing the street a trolley goes by and makes a screeching sound that replicates the sound of a bomb, and for a couple seconds he thinks he is back on the front of World War I and breaks into cold sweats because he fears for his life. The author uses that section to create tension in the book and fully display his point of how war changes peoples’ reactions to everyday encounters as well as their natural instincts of survival. Remarque also describes a scene when Paul is home on leave. He goes into his bedroom and tries to read the books which he used to enjoy so much; but now he found that he couldn’t, simply because they no longer held his attention after going to war. Paul actually says, “I ought never to have come on leave”(Remarque, 185). The war has changed him so much in that he is no longer held by books that he had once loved. The change in Paul’s character is displayed by this and that a simple braking noise from a trolley makes him duck and search for cover. Erich Maria Remarque shows with these examples that the war
“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.
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
In chapter four of Erich Remarque’s book All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque uses sensory images. Putting extra sensory images into a scene gives the reader more idea of what’s happening “I hear aspirant for the frying pan” (52). By describing how excited the men are when they hear geese Remarque is, in a way, letting the reader know that, to soldiers at war the smallest thing can be the brightest beaken of hope. When Remarque outlines how happy the soldiers get over some simple geese, it really helps to show how while the war has helped the men grow up, they are still young boys. In the previous chapter Remarque used sensory images to make the boys seem more grown up by giving them power while beating Himmelstoss “It was a wonderful picture”
Erich Maria Remarque uses significant symbols throughout chapter 6 of “All Quiet On the Western Front”, all of which hold an important meaning. The objects used throughout symbolize Paul’s fragileness with appreciation for nature, and the death and order happening around the men. One example of Paul’s simplicity comes into show when two brimstone-butterflies play in front of the men’s trench. In comparison to the observation planes, which the men “hate like a plague” (128), the butterflies express the simplicity and joy of nature. Even when the beautiful creature lands on a skull, the bufferlies presence remind the men that the land on which they fight still contains a order of nature. A second representation of the butterflies is that of frailness.
"Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die"- Herbert Hoover. The leaders who decide to start the war do not have to fight, but the people who do not want to fight, like nineteen year old Paul and his friends, are the ones who are killed and injured. In the book All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Paul changes physically and emotionally through war. Set in Germany during World War I, Paul and his friends must do the unthinkable to survive the war and it causes them to slowly lose their identity. Paul is changed by the harsh effects of the war through his dehumanization, rapid personal growth, and alienation from the rest of the world.
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.
He considered speaking with his father, but then realized it would be futile, as he could never fully understand him. To attempt to find relief, Bowker conjures an imaginary conversation with his father, and is awakened from his fantasy and realizes that he was alone. Later, Bowker committed suicide. The difference between Bowker’s and O’Brien’s outcome ultimately was the ability to share, or not to share their experiences. Dichotomies illustrate the extremities of war and how the soldiers are
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,
In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque demonstrates that war changes men in irreparable ways. Paul, the main character of the novel is a compassionate, nice, sensitive guy and his life was changed forever after getting drafted to the front. Remarque paints the picture that Paul, once a totally different person before the war, changed into a numb, dispassionate man. Paul loved his family and wrote poetry, but the war changed him “It is strange to think that at home in the drawer of my writing table there lies the beginning of a play called “Saul” and a bundle of poems” in the way needing to keep certain warming and enlightening feelings at bay in order to keep his mind straight to survive in the horrific war (19).
One of the best, if not the best war novels that is Erich Remarque's “All Quiet on the
Norman Bowker shrugged, “No problem,” he murmured” (p. 139). This quote shows the choice everyone is making and Norman having himself to deal with their choices because of their choices were what he wanted. The relationship choice was hard to maintain with war because everyone made their choices and move on. While he came to a life he left behind. The choices caused the relationship to break apart because war isn't the place to get information about
War , like love, is always present can be a person’s worst nightmare, since it always finds ways to emotionally or physically impact one’s life. Mary Anne and Norman Bowker in Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried both possess a strong sense of self certainty, however the war challenges their beliefs by forcing them into extreme situations and thus making them more physically and mentally attached to the war. Mary Anne is seen as a happy and
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.
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
These three individuals were people who Norman felt most comfortable speaking with about the combat he endured. Norman spent the rest of his night driving his father’s old Chevy in circles around the lake, reliving his experiences over and over, and going to the local A&W where he came close to telling his thoughts to the person on the other side of the drive through radio. When put into perspective, these events support the idea that Norman Bowker was lonely and did not have high hopes as a soldier or