Why Is All Quiet On The Western Front Dehumanization

The Courage and Strength in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

This remorse, “blue-black like poison”, kills them slowly until nothing is left but, “dead ashen hollows” (15). This first chapter describes a war from beginning to end, dealing with the events that transform the men from “Iron Youth” to “old folk” in a matter of two years (18).

War is a hellish battleground where many lives are taken. In war there is constantly images and events that happen which can change a soldier’s life forever. In the book All Quiet on the Western Front Remarque uses the symbols of boots, butterflies and horses to advance the main theme in the novel, that war takes young men’s innocence away.

The novel is written in the perspective of Paul Baumer, who directly experiences the effects of authority figures. For example, the boys are convinced against their better judgement to enlist in war by their school teacher, Kantorek. Although the young boys hesitate to join, Kantorek's position of authority influences the men to volunteer. Ironically, one

Pursuing Remarque’s tone throughout the novel was rather easy to find because of the horrific, depressing, yet at the same time a little sympathetic scenes. Paul explains a scene after a bombardment, “In the branches dead men are hanging. A naked soldier

In war, both violence and fear revokes a soldier’s humanity. These elements of war cause a person to shut down their emotional instincts, which causes the soldiers to mature rapidly by taking innocence along with joy and happiness in life. Through the experiences that the soldiers encounter, their humanity is compromised. Thus, as war strips soldiers of their innocence, they start to become disconnected from themselves and others. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque illustrates the negative effects war has on a soldier’s humanity, through his use of Paul’s books and the potato pancakes by revealing the soldiers loss of emotion that causes them to become detached from society. Through these symbols they deepen the theme by visually depicting war’s impact on Paul. Paul’s books helps the theme by depicting how the war locked his heart to old values by taking his innocence. Likewise the potato pancakes reveal Paul’s emotional state damaged by the war with his lack of happiness and gratitude.

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.

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.

To soldiers, fighting on the front lines is a life changing event that can forever alter the way they look, think, and feel. By using juxtaposition, Erich Remarque is able to capture how feelings and behaviors can change while trying to become free from the war experience in Chapter Seven of All Quiet on the Western Front. The main character, Paul, faces three events that make him yearn to rid himself of the terrible weight of war on his shoulders. It is clear that you can never truly understand what it is like in a war until you are the one doing the fighting.

Erich proves his thesis by taking from his war experiences and describes it in details how soldiers have negatively changed and couldn’t cope with reality. Despite of the fact, the novel All Quiet On The Western Front remained hugely popular, it received highly mixed reviews from critics. It was banned and burned by the Nazis, who were against anything that might call into question with their nationalistic views. Nonetheless, it is beyond question that Remarque gives voice to the side of the war and its experience that was overlooked or suppressed at that time. Erich proved his thesis by describing the gory details of the front and the coming of age for many characters who haven’t been well trained or experienced with gore. “ We see men living with their skulls blown open: we see soldiers run with their feet cut off, they stagger on their splintered stumps into the next shell

The young men at the front had a distant relationship that seemed to grow as the war went on. The men that fought at the front became alienated through all of the gruesome scenes they encountered and the problems they faced daily. After just two weeks of battle only half of the men that went to battle with Paul remained at the battle front. Paul along with all of the other soldiers at the front had to see their “brothers” shot and killed or wounded while fighting right by their side. Paul

When someone is put in a situation of horror and destruction, it is only natural for beauty to deteriorate from one’s life. All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Remarque perfectly illustrates the destruction war has on the beauty of the ordinary world. Paul’s alienation from home eventually causes him to lose sight of what life should be like, who he is and the importance of relationships.

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.

In Timothy Findley’s The Wars, the main character, Robert is a Canadian soldier who goes to Europe to fight the German forces during World War I. Deeply empathetic, Robert has a kinship with all animals. Animals shape Robert Ross’s identity in the war by creating his sense of morality. This leads Robert to value dehumanization and to reject all faith in humanity. Valuing dehumanization is seen as a negative thing.

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