Symbols In The Quiet On The Western Front

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.

In All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich M. Remarque, his tone is rather depressing. He uses Paul to explain his thoughts and opinions of war. Using Paul as the storyteller helps to trouble the reader, yet still makes Paul portray as calm. In addition to his sincere tone, Remarque uses imagery to make it feel as if the reader were one of the soldiers in war. Both of these key elements for a novel come together quite well and make for an interesting war story.

Faith is a guiding force to a man’s life. In Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front the soldiers endure many months of trench warfare. They go through many physical horrors that cause physical and mental scars. Their hopes and dreams are what keep these soldiers alive and sane. They dream of their home, family, food, and other simple pleasures. These boys are young and have had no major life experiences before enlisting in the war. The war changes everything for them and put them into a war mindset where they disregard human life. In Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, the tribal village of Africa is taken over by white missionaries who intrude upon their system to convert many of the tribe’s younger members to the Christian faith. The younger members are attracted to the Christianity faith because they see that it does not look down on them for reasons that the tribe might. Okonkwo does not want his people to lose their way of life. Their everyday customs and traditions are what he grew up with and has become sacred to him. The white missionaries turned his people into Christians by saying that their religion was false. Okonkwo cannot bear to let this happen to his people. What these two novels have in common is the theme of losing an idealized past. The two protagonists of these two novels lament a loss of an idealized past which in turn changed their whole perspective as their life unraveled or as it falls apart.

1. Paul Baumer and his friends, as German soldiers in World War I, collectively fight any who oppose the German army. However, Corporal Himmelstoss is an enemy whose transgressions are taken far more personally by Paul and his friends. Himmelstoss often torments Paul and his comrades for the sake of doing so, as he is power-driven and tries to exert control over others whenever he can. It is never stated that the soldiers hate or even dislike the enemies that they fight daily on the battlefield; yet they disfavor Himmelstoss openly. In addition, they all begin to harbor distaste for their former teacher, Kantorek, for encouraging them to join the army. All of the men also struggle against the knowledge that

The rise of World War I caused millions of casualties and was yet another demonstration of how supposedly civilized nations could be led into a chaotic war of power over lands and people. Since the beginning of civilization, war has been the way of the world. However, with major advances in technology, this idea of war has since become mechanized and deadlier. There is no doubt that the powerful men who lead wars often don’t care to think of nitty gritty of war, to them, rather, it’s a matter of power and legacy. In Remarque’s novel, the particular story of Paul and his comrades is a perfect example of how a generation can be used and manipulated to drive the agenda of power- hungry men. Through Remarque’s own personal experience and unparalleled writing ability, this novel presents many first-hand experiences into the living conditions of soldiers and peoples.

It’s no surprise that soldiers will more-than-likely never come home the same. Those who have not served do not often think of the torment and negative consequences that the soldiers who make it out of war face. Erich Remarque was someone who was able to take the torment that he faced after his experience in World War I and shed light on the brutality of war. Remarque was able to illustrate the psychological problems that was experienced by men in battle with his best-selling novel All Quiet on the Western Front (Hunt). The symbolism used in the classic anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front is significant not only for showing citizens the negative attributes of war, but also the mental, physical, and emotional impact that the vicious war had on the soldiers.

In Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, soldiers at the front have a better idea than civilians of the true nature of war because they have experienced the war while civilians have only read about it or listened to government propaganda. Remarque is trying to tell us that only those who experience the war can understand how awful war truly is.

This essay will consider the different effects created by Erich Maria Remarque in his novel All Quiet on the Western Front. As a writer, Remarque unknowingly left his novel open to readers with completely different perspectives, and to various forms of criticism. This undoubtedly meant that every single reader had been affected by the novel in many different ways which unfortunately for Remarque may have been an effect that he never intended. This essay is divided into 5 main sections. Firstly it will address any of the intentions Remarque could have possibly wanted to propose through his novel, and closely examine the purposes and motives behind All quiet on the Western Front. It will then go on to analyse Remarque’s use of language in various extracts of the novel. Then the content is analysed in two parts; the third part is a brief insight into one of the key themes of the novel, and the fourth part highlights the effects Remarque causes. Finally, some conclusions will be drawn as to whether or Remarque may have intended to achieve a certain effect in his novel, and as to whether or not I personally agree with the comment that through his shaping of language and content, Remarque may have achieved an effect he might not have intended.

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

Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front and Ernst Junger’s memoir, Storm of Steel, present the differences of the experience of The First World War with intriguing contrasts that spark debates between the two accounts. These texts illustrate real events within The First World War. Both authors, who are veterans of the war tell the reader their conclusions in post-war experiences and opinions. It is essentially two faces of the same coin. One, “All Quiet on the Western Front”, reflects the inner dialogue and self-reflection of the protagonist, while “ The Storm of Steel”, is a public projection to the audience. Closed off yet propelling nationalistic pride and propaganda.

Mother, Mother Earth Mothers are symbols of care and love in our daily lives. Our mother and the mother before them care and love their children in the same way. Without the care of our mothers, what will we be like? Savages or maniacs; our mothers align us with the right path of life. They provide love for us, they catch us before we fall, they protect us from the greatest danger even if they do not have the ability.

There is not as much symbolism shown throughout the text “All quiet on the western front” to show the effects of war too. However, Kermerich’s boots provide a symbol for the certain attitude a soldier would require – detaching their emotions only to act as an emotionless object that follows orders to reduce the effects of war inflicted on the soldiers. Each Solider (including Kemmerich) who took them from dead air pilot) dies when owning these boots. Therefore, it could be argued that the boots are worth more to people than a human life – Aslan argues that this represents the shallowness of society at the time of World War One. The audience is able to see how characters can become selfish for their own survival.

Imagine being in the shoes of a soldier in World War 1, being put at risk with a group of men who will face horrific images. Facing the decision of life and death, protecting each other so each person would go home. 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.

The Tragedies of Youth in War In WW1 over 10 million young men were killed. This took away all of the soldiers hopes and dreams. In All Quiet on the Western front a novel by Erich Remarque about the evils of war shown through Paul Baumer a German Soldier, It also shows how the men all lost their youth and their lives as young men. The worst place for a young man to be is in war because of the deaths of soldiers, the loss of their youth, and the loss of their sense of home.

The third and final term I will be examining is motif. The motif I chose was death. Death is certainly the most obvious and common motifs I believe is represented in this story. Death is literally everywhere in this book. Starting from chapter one when the civilian is incinerated by the Martian’s blaster, to the giant alien machines that crawl across planet Earth destroying any person or structure in its path. The main character visits many towns in his attempted escape from the seemingly inevitable doom that is followed by the invasion. Death has stricken almost every town he comes across. Whether it be a random body he sees, or a person from the group that travels with him, the narrator is almost always around death. The only time death can be represented as a good thing is when the narrator reaches London and sees the Martians lying dead in their defeat from disease.