Descriptive Essay: All Quiet On The Western Front

Erich Maria Remarque’s literary breakthrough, All Quiet on the Western Front, describes two stories. It meticulously chronicles the thoughts of a soldier in World War I while simultaneously detailing the horrors of all wars; each tale is not only a separate experience for the soldier, but is also a new representation of the fighting. The war is seen through the eyes of Paul Baumer whose mindset is far better developed in comparison to his comrades’. His true purpose in the novel is not to serve as a representation of the common soldier, but to take on a godly and omniscient role so that he may serve as the connection between WWI and all past and future melees of the kind. Baumer becomes the

Throughout history, there has always been war, in which survival has been one of the most important aspects. For an individual soldier fighting for a cause, the need for survival is vastly heightened. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front camaraderie plays a huge role in helping the soldier survive for several reasons; sanity, sense of understanding, and to be at ease. This seemingly small aspect of a soldier's life can be very important and as Lake Bell puts it “The finest lesson I've learned with age is that all I need is a small team of comrades who inspire me, try not to judge me, and remind me when I'm judging myself.”

In regards to war, Gandhi once commented, “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary, the evil it does is permanent.” In other words, violence masks its potential impairment by seeming innocuous at first; however, the true damage, often permanent, can be seen chronically. The idea reflected by Gandhi’s quote can be proven through an examination of World War I and Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front. Although soldiers and governments in both worlds initially saw honor and security of their countries as valid reasons for going to war, what ultimately came of that conflict were both immediate consequences, such as loss of innocence and development of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (often referred to as PTSD) among young soldiers, as well as permanent, long-term consequences, like the hatred the war had spurred in Germans which ultimately ensued to Hitler’s rise to power.

“Okay so we found the bullet, but we need to get it out before it causes more bleeding, so I’m gonna give you some medicine to go to sleep, and when you awake you will be bullet-less and all bandaged up.” The doctor said.

All Quiet on the Western Front Essay We learn about past wars in history. We hear stories from soldiers that partake in these wars, but do we really understand what goes on out on that battlefield? We would have to see and experience it ourselves to fully grasp why soldiers come back so scarred. Not only physically but emotionally, and socially as well.

In All Quiet on the Western Front, author Erich Maria Remarque uses tactile imagery to emphasize that war is horrific. The main character Paul fights to stay alive every day while in the midst of World War 1 as a German soldier, but injuries are bound to happen at some point, ¨The surgeon pokes around in the wound and a blackness comes before my eyes.” (243). In this quote Remarque uses 2 examples of tactile imagery, movement and feelings. The details used to describe this scene makes you feel as if you were in the surgery with Paul.

Through the two powerful war novels, All Quiet on the Western Front, a fictional piece written by Erich Maria Remarque in 1928, and Night, a memoir written by Elie Wiesel, readers experience the horrors and struggles of World War I and World War II. In AQWF, Paul Baümer, a young nineteen-year old boy, enlists in the army to join the German army in World War I with his classmates. Initially filled with excitement, the boys shockingly face their greatest nightmares with scarce resources and monotony with the ceaseless sounds of shells and wails from soldiers haunting them as the trudge through muddy trenches, holding onto each other for support. As the “Iron Youth”, the proud leaders of their generation, they fight in hopes of bringing honor

In the book All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque illustrates the picture of World War I to the reader. This book is the story of Paul Baumer, who with his classmates recruits in the German Army of World War I. This anti-war novel is an excellent book because through the experiences of Paul Baumer, I am able to actually feel like I'm in the war. It is a very useful piece of literature, which increases the readers' knowledge on how the war affected the people at the time setting. By reading this book, one is drawn into the actual events of the war, and can feel the abyss of death. I believe this piece is very well written. It is entirely simple, lacking any bias

In the movie “All Quiet on the Western Front” one of the major themes is the destruction of innocence, disillusionment, the loss of hope, and alienation. The movie is a war story from the view of a German soldier during World War 1 who had just graduated from regular schooling. Other students and his class and he had been talked into joining the war under false pretenses. They were sold glory, but received trauma. Throughout the movie, you can see how they live and what their story is. They were once naïve schoolboys worrying about pointless thoughts, but then learn the meaning of life and how fast it can be taken away from them. How a shot could end a lifeline within seconds. Which didn’t take long to appear to the newly appointed soldiers.

Almost 5000 years ago the first recorded war between the Sumerians and the Elamites took place. Ever since then there has been countless wars and an estimated 500 million deaths, but the effects are way greater than these deaths. Self-preservation, reproduction, and greed are the three natural human instincts that war can enhance, or destroy. All Quiet in the Western Front, written by Erich Maria Remarque, shows the effects and transformation it has on young soldiers at war. From the beginning to the end of the novel the characters undergo life changing experiences that will have negative impacts on them indefinitely.

The War to End All Wars, also known as World War 1, began on July 28, 1914, because of an assassination, in Europe. It lasted until November 11, 1918. The total death toll of the war is 37 million. World War 1 ravaged the land across Europe destroying countless towns and cities. It was one of the deadliest conflicts to ever occur in the human race. “All Quiet On The Western Front”, is a novel that describes the physical and mental stress of a soldier during World War 1, along with daily life of a German soldier in World War 1, as well as the brutalities of war. It was written by German World War 1 veteran, Erich Maria Remarque. The book follows the story of Paul Baumer, a German Soldier during World War 1, and his life battling on the front lines through the last weeks of World War 1. He is the main character, as well as the narrator, so the reader is seeing through the eyes of a German soldier, but Paul becomes the representation of all men. The book was written in Germany, yet it is popular world wide, in many languages. In Germany, on release day, the initial prints quickly sold out, and some 20,000 copies moved off the shelves in the first few weeks on its way to more than a million books sold by year’s end. In the first 18 months of printing, over 2.5 million copies were sold, in 22 languages, making it popular world wide.

After reading All Quiet on the Western Front, I thought it was worth reading. While reading it I learned that the pain of death, sacrifice, and service is something that I will never personally understand. I made me think of all the families that had/have lost someone due to a battle, and how much suffering they went through. If I were to rate this book out of six stars, I would give it five and a half stars. I gave it five and half stars due to the fact that Katczinsky died and that Paul ended up being the last one from their original company left in his next tour.

In the words of Otto Von Bismarck, “Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.” Many of the preceding war novels to All Quiet on the Western Front, misrepresented or overlooked the anguish of war, in favor of more resplendent ideals such as glory, honor, or nationalism. The predominant issue of All Quiet on the Western Front is the terrible atrocities of war. The reality that is portrayed in the novel is that there was no glory or honor in this war, only a fierce barbarity that actually transformed the nature of human existence into irreparable, endless affliction, destroying the soldiers long before their deaths.

With the gradual disintegration of discipline, many of the invading force had decided that amongst the chaos, pocketing a few items from unattended stores might be worthwhile. Amongst the first items to be pilfered, warm clothing and bed linen were most highly prized by the soldiers. The confectionary store too, was stripped of all its sweet delicacies. The pavements, showered with shards of glass and chocolate wrappers, were lined with soldiers devouring food with both hands. Knowing their hunger would swiftly return, they lined their pockets with tins of all varieties. Even the jars of jam and spam were not spared. Turning one particular corner, a bread-laden trolley pushed by an eager one-armed soldier emerged. However, it

Professor’s Comments: This is a good example of a book review typically required in history classes. It is unbiased and thoughtful. The Student explains the book and the time in which it was written in great detail, without retelling the entire story… a pitfall that many first time reviewers may experience.