Comparing The Great War And Modern Memory By Paul Fussell

The topic of war is hard to imagine from the perspective of one who hasn't experienced it. Literature makes it accessible for the reader to explore the themes of war. Owen and Remarque both dipcik what war was like for one who has never gone through it. Men in both All Quiet on the Western Front and “Dulce Et Decorum” experience betrayal of youth, horrors of war and feelings of camaraderie.

In 1975 the Oxford University Press published the first edition of The Great War and Modern Memory written by Paul Fussell. As Fussell states in the opening line, “this book is about the British experience on the Western Front from 1914 to 1918.” In this paper I will argue, that despite the numerous literary awards this book has won, it contains historical inaccuracies and shortcomings in relation to the accurate information provided that takes away from the prestige of the book. Despite the numerous negative aspects of the book, this paper will also briefly highlight the few positive areas of the book, therefore providing an in-depth analysis of the book.

Literature encapsulates the human experience, reflecting facets of our culture, traditions, and beliefs. Literature functions as a tool to develop and explore empathetic links with other individuals and can provide insight into experiences removed from our own reality. Peter Fischl’s poem ‘Little Polish Boy’ is one such text in which we can attain a unique understanding of the horrors catalysed by war. An expression of Fischl’s own Holocaust experience, this poem is set in WWII, and addressed as a letter to an innocent child of the war from a photograph Fischl found years after the war ended. We can also learn of the loss and grief children face in times of war through the picture book ‘a Soldier, a Dog and a Boy’ by Libby Hathorn. The story follows a young boy orphaned by the Battle of Somme and he’s only left to survive with his dog before an Australian soldier comes to his rescue. These texts allow us to reach a better understanding of the different effects conflict has on children.

Memoirs of war often reflect the positive or negative experiences endured throughout battle. Considered by many to be one of the best memoirs of World War I, Hervey Allen’s “Toward the Flame”, recalls his own experiences of battle. His recollection of events shows that he had a negative image of war and that there was nothing glorious about it. What started out looking like a man’s greatest adventure turned into a shell-shocking reality that war is actually horrible and trying. Allen’s experiences with consistent hunger, mustard gas, and artillery shellings led to his disillusionment with war, and left him with a permanent hatred of battle.

In the incredible book, All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, the reader follows Paul Baumer, a young man who enlisted in the war. The reader goes on a journey and watches Paul and his comrades face the sheer brutality of war. In this novel, the author tries to convey the fact that war should not be glorified. Through bombardment, gunfire, and the gruesome images painted by the author, one can really understand what it would have been like to serve on the front lines in the Great War. The sheer brutality of the war can be portrayed through literary devices such as personification, similes, and metaphors.

The author believes that the war had a positive outcome but it was unnecessarily disturbing. The accomplishments made during the war has indeed undermined the failures, with misconstrued views. People today think this war was “The best war ever.” Adams creates a realistic picture of the war by describing the major aspects as well as topics that have little coverage to the masses. This includes; the development of teen culture, treatment of homosexuals who took part in the armed forces, minority combat during the war, the physical and mental scars, and economic reorganization of war production.

War is always the worst tragedy of mankind in the world. We, as human beings, were experienced two most dolorous wars that were ever happened in our history: World War I and World War II. A young generation actually does not know how much hardship the predecessors, who joined and passed through the wars, undergo. We were taught about just how many people died in the wars, how much damage two participations in the wars suffered or just the general information about the wars. We absolutely do not know about the details, and that’s why we also do not know what the grief-stricken feeling of people joining in the wars really is. But we can somewhat understand that feeling through war novels, which describe the truthfulness of the soldiers’ lives, thoughts, feelings and experiences. All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, which takes World War I as background, is the great war novel which talks about the German soldiers ' extreme physical and mental stress during the war, and the hopeless of these soldiers about the “future” – the time the war would have ended.

Looking at the past in a narrow way does nothing to help further our understanding of it. We see the War as a time of devastation and sorrow, and that is precisely the truth. “The First World War killed fewer victims than the Second World War, destroyed fewer buildings, and uprooted millions instead of tens of millions — but in many

The novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a tale about a group of young gentlemen in Germany who decide to join the army, and fight in World War I for their country. The boys become interested in fighting for their country after their schoolmaster informs them about the importance of this war. With much excitement, the young men have high expectations of what they want the war to be like. Throughout the course of the novel, the attitudes and opinions of the boys change as they develop an anti-war perspective. The war really takes a toll on the main character, Paul, as he often finds himself anxious and uncomfortable. This gives the feel that the novel has anti-war themes that are exhibited by this negative perspective on the part of Paul. The novel All Quiet on the Western Front shows an anti-war perspective that is demonstrated by Paul’s personal struggles in war, how Paul is changed by the war, and the theme of fearing war.

In both texts, it is important to understand the nature of society prior to the war in 1914 and the importance of raising “War Fever.” War fever and propaganda are used to inspire a nation to admire the idea of war in 1914 and World War One. In these texts we see the romanticizing of warfare and the creation of a specific type of pro-war attitude that is especially stark in “The Storm of Steel”. Essentially, these characteristics are obvious in

The final chapters of All Quiet on the Western Front are full of bitter irony. Even the battle-hardened soldiers are reaching the point of collapse. Their prewar lives have ceased to mean anything since they can no longer imagine a peacetime existence. Paul’s comparison of the war to disease reflects an attack on the romantic ideals of warfare. Until now, he and his friends have avoided allowing the disease of war to infect them. At this point, however, the sickness is creeping into their minds and souls because it is becoming their only existence. They have ceased to think of themselves as anything other than soldiers fighting a hopeless conflict. They share an intense bond with one another, but it has now taken on the character of a bond between fellow convicts sentenced to death. The war has become a mental prison, as their country refuses to end the hostilities in the face of obvious evidence that it is losing the war badly.

Public perceptions of World War I were formed by literature written during the war itself. British literature in particular offers a vast array of perspectives. The writings of Siegfried Sassoon and Vera Brittain demonstrate themes of grief and recall upon instances of mental fragility revealed by war. In “The Great War and Modern Memory, literary historian Paul Fussell identifies that this type of literature expresses an essential truth about not only the First World War, but all modern wars. Fussell strongly asserts that war is futile, wasteful, and most importantly, destructive. (Fussell 3-35). Modern literature about the First World War is also demonstrative of these themes.

After reading William R. Keylor's The Legacy of the Great War, I realized the important events that pertain to the international relations. Until our present day there has not been so many great leaders come together to address issues such as: politics, economics, and social settings in Europe. This is the beginning of the problems in European civilization.

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 Paul Bäumer, who, through his words, gives the audience a window into the hardship that he, and his classmates, are bearing, while in combat. The novel not only delivers the emotional aspect of the fight, but also, sheds light on the real life, gruesome situations surrounding the lives of the soldiers, to ultimately, tell of a generation of young men who must live, but who must now also, inhabit a form of self mercilessly annihilated by battle.

Contemporary Canadian reimagining of the First World war is from the book Catching the torch by a Brock University teacher Neta Gordon. She wrote this book in 2014. She tries to explain to the reader the conflict between history and collective memory of the First World War. With many other essays, she focuses on the role of the Canadian army in the First World war. As we know, the Canadian army entered the war in early 1915 to offer help to the Britain soldiers fighting against the Germans. The Canadian army was basically forced to join because they were a member of the British Empire.