All Quiet On The Western Front Essay Topics

Essay Writing: All Quiet On The Western Front
The air was cold and crisp as I lay perched on a hill on a farm. Silence was the only company I had as
I waited patiently for the task force team to arrive. We were assaulting a small French village a
few miles west of Paris , I required to gather and retrieve intel as reports have claimed that the
Germans were using this town as a supply depot. I was then contacted via pigeon claiming that the
task force would not arriving and that I had to report back to command. As I was doing one more
sweep of the area I saw general Kaiser enter one of the buildings. I convinced myself to go in and
take out the General as he was the main man in supplying the enemy troops and without him the
Germans would be held back on production and supply for weeks...show more content...
The building was empty when suddenly I my leg was grabbed , I reacted fast and pulled out my
trench knife and jerked my leg away from the grasp of the hand, but I looked down at the now wet
street only to see one of the men who I shot but apparently never ended, he crawled to me gasping
for air as his throat filled with the blood from the wound in his neck, I looked into his eyes that filed
with blood and at that moment the soldier said " Please....p p p please help me.....(cough,cough)
I.....I have a wife and daughter." I faced a decision at that time, the monster who am or the
monster that they say I am. I grasped the man in between my arms and brought him closer to my
body, I whispered a prayer that my mother taught me when i was a child,"Father..forgive those
who have forsaken me and forgive those who have forsaken you." The soldier's tears of blood ran
down my uniform, as I pierced his heart with my blade. I lay him down on the path and as he
drew his last breath, he thanked me. The shed door creaked slowly as i peered into the warm and
sheltered air that was hiding from the storm. The General stood there in his dark grey coat, covered
in badges and symbols, a beacon of authority to all the soldiers under his influence. I tried to silence
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Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front
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.
Death is horrible for any young man, specifically when there is death in huge amounts like in war.
The novel shows this horror many times. For example, when paul is describing how he saw
stacked up coffins on the schoolhouse that are waiting for him and his comrades, Paul describes
them as "stacked up against it's side is a double wall of yellow unpolished, brand new coffins"
(p.99), showing that death is waiting for them. Later, when all of Paul's comrades have been killed,
he says, "I am so alone and so without hope".(p.295) This shows how death...show more content...
Paul says, "And men will not understand us, for the generations that grew up before us, though it
has passed these years with us already had a fame and a calling; now it will return to its old
occupations, and the war will be forgotten––and the generation that has grown up before us will be
strange to us and will push us aside. we will be superfluous even to ourselves, we will grow older, a
few will adapt themselves, some others will merely submit and most will be bewildered; –– the
years will pass by and in the end we shall fall into ruin."(p.294). This shows how the older
generation has a life to go back to after war, but his entire life is consumed by war. Paul says,
"Trenches, hospitals, the common grave––there are no other possibilities."(p.283) meaning that he
has nothing but war. The soldiers have no house and no life to go back

All Quiet on the Western Front Essay
All Quiet on the Western Front The novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque
describes the psychological and physical battles of young soldiers such as the main character Paul
Baumer who was pressured by the spirit of nationalism and his school master into joining the
German army during World War I. In the beginning the young students are glowing with enthusiasm
with the honor to be trusted with serving their nation in a time of crisis. The inexperienced soldiers
soon loose their innocence and eagerness as they watch the new technological capabilities of the
twentieth century painfully kill their comrades one by one and in the end become weary, burnt out,
rootless, and hopeless. Over time the young soldiers, through...show more content...
Paul's attitude began to change soon after going home on leave when he realized that he no longer
had any connections with his old community except for his school mates who also enlisted and
eventually died in the army. Even the conditions at home were hopeless as illustrated in the moldy
food, his father's futile efforts to change the situation, and his mother's illness. The hopelessness of
war is obvious to the reader and to Paul when Tjaden and Paul are severely injured while attempting
to protect a town. They resist medical treatment due to the number of fatalities that result from
amputation. They realized that death was almost inescapable if they allowed themselves to be
treated in just any hospital. At the end of the novel, one of Paul's closest friends, Katczinsky has
recently died due to a small splinter to the head as Paul was attempting to carry him to safety on
one of the last days of battle. At this moment it is evident to the reader that because of the war this
young man has lost everything that he once held including all of the members of his class and the
ability to connect with the rest of the world. In October 1918, Paul even lost his most precious
commodity – his life to a stray bullet on what the army pronounced to be still and quiet day on the
entire front. It is ironic that the army considers only a few deaths to be a peaceful and quiet day.
Death has become such apart of reality that only

All Quiet on the Western Front
The book All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, is about a group of 19 year
old young men who are changed by the ways of war. There is paul: the main character; Tjaden: a
tall, skinny locksmith, also the biggest eater; Albert Kropp: a lance–corporal and the clearest thinker;
Muller: studious, intelligent, and likes school; Leer: has a preference for the girls from the
prostitution houses and has a beard; Haie Westhus: a peat–digger, and big in size; Deterring: a
peasant, he always thinks of his farm and his wife; Stanislaus Katczinsky: He is 40 years old,
cunning and the leader of the group. Each of the boys experience a variety of struggle because of
the war. Remarque uses the views of the characters to argue his opinion patriotism, honor, war and
bravery.
All Quiet on the Western Front argues many thoughts on war, patriotism being one of them. From
reading All Quiet on the Western Front, you can see that Remarque is not fond of war. He uses
the experiences of his characters to let every reader know the consequences of patriotism.
Patriotism is not necessarily a bad thing but it is thrown on young men as the sine qua non of life.
Kantorek, the schoolteacher of the boys, persuaded Paul and his friends to join the war. In the
book, Paul has bitter feelings toward Kantorek because he feels tricked and deceived into the war. In
the book it says,
"The idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in our minds with a greater insight
and a more

All Quiet On The Western Front Essay
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and Paths of Glory (1957)
Stanley Kubrick directed the movie, Paths of Glory. All Quiet on the Western Front is both a
novel, and a movie. The novel is written by Erich Maria Remarque, and the movie was directed by
Lewis Milestone. Both Paths of Glory and All Quiet on the Western Front depict "The Great War",
also known as "First World War" or "World War I." The Great War originated in Europe, it was a
Global War that lasted from July 28 1914 up until November 11 1918. involved all the world's
economic great powers, which had all assembled into two opposing alliances. The Allies, which
were based on the Triple Entente of the British Empire, France, and the Russian Empire, and the
Central Powers which were composed of Germany, and Austria– Hungary. These alliances
reorganized and expanded as more nations entered the war. Italy, Japan, and the United States
joined the Allies, while the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the Central powers. Both sides
of this war were fighting from the trenches, hardly making any progress at all unless one side
became brave enough to venture forward and out of the trenches in attempt attack the enemy. The
movie Paths of Glory, and All Quiet on the Western Front are both realistic representations of the
life for soldiers during this war. However, these two movies differ slightly in the way that the story
of "The Great War" is told. These two movies are told from opposing sides. Paths of Glory is told

All Quiet On The Western Front
"He fell in October 1918, on a day that was so quiet and still on the whole front, that the army report
confined itself to a single sentence: All quiet on the Western Front" (Remarque 296). Paul Baumer,
the narrator of All Quiet on the Western Front, enlisted into the German army at a young age of
nineteen with a group of friends from school. Kantorek, Paul's teacher, "gave us long lectures until
the whole of our class went, under his shepherding, to the District Commandant and volunteered"
(Remarque 11). After Paul and his friends underwent the ten weeks of horrific training, under the
control of brutal Corporal Himmelstoss, they found out that everything Kantorek had told them
about the war being illustrious was inaccurate. Paul and his fellow combatants experienced the war
to be an alienating event that led the young men to feel alone because of the relationships between
the young men at the front, the problems Paul faced when returning home, and the prewar and
wartime civilian society. 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

All Quiet On The Western Front Response Essay
Nicolette DiCosola
Dr. Buck
History 106
13 April 2016
All Quiet On The Western Front I really enjoyed reading All Quiet On The Western Front. This
book started off showing the young men ready to take on war, until the first bombing in the
trenches takes place. I found this book to be heart breaking, but it doesn't veer to far from the truth.
WWI is described very vividly throughout this piece. In this piece you really understand first of all,
how these young men loose that innocence to war in all reality. These young men some number of
200,000 of them under the age of 18 lost their childhood. It's absolutely nothing like the luxurious
life I live today. These soldiers are frequently subjects to physical danger. Life suddenly becomes
serious...show more content...
They constantly have to be alert to any physical dangers. These soldiers also lived in horribly
unsanitary conditions. No mom to clean the house, or even time for that matter. They do not
have the luxury of nice home cooked meals, and even clean clothes for that matter. The war
basically desensitizes these men, they have to see tons of deaths of close friends, and watch
them die in such a brutal fashion. I believe the author of this book really wanted to portray
specifically that these soldiers really had to disconnect their emotions. In The book right in the
beginning When Kemmerich is dying, the question is no longer what can we do to help him, it
is about who will get to take his boots. No one who lives a civilian life is worried about taking
their friends belongings after they pass away. You also see how lost the narrator Paul of the book
feels as he returns to his home, he feels very out of place. Again, loosing innocence. In the book it
states he walked in his bedroom, and the books he used to love now seem juvenile. Survival on the
Front was pushed at the beginning by these soldiers patriotism, which was pushed on them by the
common people. These soldiers soon realized on the front that

In Erich Maria Remarque's novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, human nature is the only abstract
periphery between belligerent barbarism and justifiable violence. Through the insipid bombardments
that rained shells over the Germans' heads and noxious implementation of mustard gas, Remarque
dexterously misleads the reader into believing that he fights in an apathetic war where all remnants of
human nature and identity have been destroyed with the introduction of trench warfare. Through
Paul Baumer's eyes, Remarque identifies war as an artificial construct devoid of human identity and
any subsequent emotions until the first bombardment, the first glimpse Baumer has of the unfettered
abominations of war. After the shrieking of artillery shells ceased, it was replaced by the numbing
scream of injured horses. Paul described this abhorrent noise as "the moaning of the world..., wild
with anguish, filled with terror, and groaning" (Remarque 62), the first emotionally provocative
scene in the novel. As if the description of the noise did not suffice to pique the reader, Remarque
continues, "The belly of one is ripped open, the guts trail out. He becomes tangled in them and
falls..." (Remarque 63). At this instant, Remarque sheds the obscure layer of superficiality and
reveals the tatters of human nature and identity still exist even in most anguish conditions of
comeradeship, sympathy, contrition, and selflessness. As the war worsens, Baumer and his
colleagues gradually

All Quiet On The Western Front: An Analysis
World War I was one of the most destructive wars in recorded Human History and it was only 100
years ago. The book, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque proves that war is
very destructive. The people we are looking at are Paul Baumer, Albert Kropp, and Detering.
These people are brainwashed and are told that they are the "iron youth" and are coerced to join
the army during World War I. Then they go into the war and see that war is not glorious, but see
an ugly reality that is war. War is very destructive of physical places, emotionally, and can cause a
loss of a generation, and this book shows this very well.
War can be very destructive to the mental stability of people. An example of mental deterioration
is that Paul sees that Detering is affected by the screams of the horses during the battle. Paul says,
"We are pale. Detering stands up. 'God! For God's sake! Shoot them'" (Remarque 62). In this
situation, Detering was yelling out giving away their location in the middle of a war zone because
he was being driven insane from the horses screams. It drove him to where he made the illogical
move to yell out. Later in the war, Detering loses all of his mental stability due...show more content...
The author Erich Maria Remarque, wrote All Quiet on the Western Front to show that war is very
destructive. Sometimes people need to ask themselves, is war worth it? Through all that it
destroys, what does it accomplish? Just like Paul during World War I people need to remember
the ugly reality that is war before they go guns blazing' into a situation when they are not fully
aware of the cost. During World War I, Paul and his company go into the war thinking they are the
"iron youth" and that war is glorious and it is their duty to serve in this honorable war. Then they
go on and see that war is horrendous and very ugly. Sometimes people need to be reminded of that

All Quiet On The Western Front Analysis Essay
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. Paul's analogy between
minting coins and the effect of the war on veteran soldiers is also significant. It is true that he and
his friends establish close bonds that far surpass any civilian or peacetime friendship. However,
those bonds have been established through trial by fire. They have had to enter a crucible of
unbelievable violence in order to form and solidify these friendships....show more content...
Their individual identities no longer have any real meaning for them; rather, they see themselves as
coins–de–individualized tokens used by the German army. All semblance of individuality has been
"stamp[ed]" out, and the only identity that matters is that of German soldier. Paul and his company
also resemble coins in that they are valuable only as means to an end–they are exchanged
unsentimentally by those in charge of the war for the deaths of enemy soldiers or for a few yards
of ground. Should they perish, they are easily replaced by another group of de–individualized

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...show more content...
3. At one point, Kropp and Kat place bets on an air fight happening above them. The German plane
is eventually shot down, but neither of the men seem to care. Kropp regrets only that he lost the bet.
This shows the desensitization that the soldiers feel towards who wins the war, and the war as a
whole. They don 't care who lives or dies; they only know that their job is to fight, kill, and die for
their country. The loss of life is less important to Kropp than the loss of his money.
4. Men of Paul 's age group fear the end of the war because the war has taken up so much of their
lives and personalities that they wouldn 't know how to function in a world without the war. They
were conditioned to violence and battle. Moreover, they spent quite a few of their formative years
in the war, and essentially grew up in combat. Older men in the war have jobs and families to
which they can return; Paul and his friends have nothing of the sort. They often joke about
becoming postmen like Himmelstoss, solely because they want to best him in his own field. In
reality, though, they have no idea how they will operate in the world, even if they escape the war
alive.
5. The war enables small–minded, controlling men like Himmelstoss because they lived
insignificant, tiny lives before the war. They were often unrecognized in their daily lives, so when
they are afforded the kind of control that a position of authority gives them, they often become
intoxicated with

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 BaГ
јmer, a young
nineteen–year old boy, enlists in the army to join the German army in World War Iwith 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...show more
content...
AQWF notices the role of the army as one unit, but in Night, every man is truly out for himself.
Readers see the barbaric and inhumane situations that the holocaust victims go through which
causes many of them to give up if they do not have someone to lean on. The relationships between
father and son are tested as some families become divided while others grow stronger. The role of
family is tested between choosing oneself to care for or honoring one's loyalty in their family.
Through the acts of Stein and Rabbi Eliahu's son, readers can see the two different aspects of family
in the holocaust. Specifically, through the growth of Elie and his father's relationship we see how
the holocaust brought them closer together. After Elie realizes what Rabbi Eliahu's son did to his
father, he promises that he would never fall into that same path. Instead, Elie grows more vulnerable
after his father's death because nothing matters to him anymore. In total, both novels act as powerful
statements on the two world wars and the critical role that family and comradeship has between
them. Without family, the soldiers and prisoners would struggle to stay alive, searching for a reason
to

The global conflict that arose in the beginning of the 20th century, World War I, became one of the
darkest events that transpired in human history. The First World War or known by many as the
Great War, was seen by many as horrendous and appalling and it inspired many writers and painters
to document the experience. One of those soured by the war effort was novelist Erich Maria
Remarque, and his novel All Quiet on the Western Front captured his anti–war position on the
conflict. His novel details the life of Paul Baumer, a young German soldier who fights on the front
lines with his fellow young comrades and explains the hardships of fighting in a war he no longer
understands. Remarque describes the challenges that the men face, from the trench warfare to the
older generation not understanding what these men go through for just a small piece of land.
Throughout the entire novel, the themes may change of significance from chapter to chapter but
overall Remarque maintains an anti–war theme. Overall, Remarque wrote this book to show how
truly horrendous this war was, provide a real life view of the war contrasting what the average
German believed, and the average reader would lose a novel that told the story of a generation lost
to war. Remarque wrote All Quiet on the Western Front because of his strong opposition to the war
effort; He did not believe that fighting in the Great War was something glorious but rather something
that was completely unnecessary. Immediately after

All Quiet On The Western Front Theme Essay
Lost generation is the idea of an unfulfilled generation coming to maturity during a period of
instability (New Oxford American Dictionary). The idea of lost generation first started with writers
such as Ernest Hemmingway after having served time in the war felt a disconnection to his prewar
self. In the book, All Quiet on the Western Front, the authorErich Maria Remarque wrote about war
and included details that were often kept as a secret. A very prevalent theme in Remarque's novel is
the loss of innocence, which ultimately leads a generation of soldiers to become known as the lost
generation. World War One caused a sense of instability and uncertainty in its young men, ultimately
leading the soldiers to lose their innocence and questions their sense of self.
Soldiers lost their innocence the moment they stepped onto the battlefield. They become so numb to
the horrors of the war, which no longer feel a sense of...show more content...
Without the uniform and title of a soldier who are they really? If they are not in combat then what
is the purpose of their life, "I find I do not belong here any more, it is a foreign world"(168) Paul
has returned home but what was once a place he called home has become a distant memory from
before he went to war. There is a sense of disconnection to the things that had once brought him joy,
"I stand there dumb. As before a judge. Dejected Words, Words, Words
– they do not reach me.
Slowly I place the books back in the shelves. Nevermore. Quietly, I go out of the room" (173).
Disengaged from his former life Paul find himself upset, once upon a time the words on the pages
of these books had made an impact on him, entertained him but now feels no connection to these
words. They are now unimportant in his new life, he now has no time to worry about what will
happen on the next page but only worries about the next chapter in his

All Quiet On The Western Front Reaction Paper
The first memory that sparked my mind when reading this section was the whole idea of do the
ends justify the means. When discussing the wartime battle at the trenches of Somme and having
the men gain mere feet in the German defenses and loosing thousands of lives, the question really
comes to beg were the lives justified. It brings me back to the discussion that we held in class over
weather we thought that the athenians should take over the island of Crete. Although in that in class
discussion, we were deciding on the stance of the athenians, if you take the perspective of the Cretes
and question if what they chose to do justified what was the result of there action it looks very
difficult. If they had simply gone along with the athenians, they would also have to betray their own
moral judgements towards enslavement and conquest. However, because they chose instead to stand
their ground, we read that countless men, women and children were brutally killed; did the ends
make it...show more content...
My teacher, I swear he was in the CIA of something, was able to show us the war stories that made
sure to give us students an honest idea of war time. He had stated that many history books are
jaded based on which region that they are published, and that since the major textbook provider
for history books was in Texas, he didn't trust them to always show different perspectives. Despite
All Quiet on the Western Front being a book about war, it also was a book about life and death as
well as friendship and the bonds that we carry with others. Ending with the death of even the
leading character (sorry I didn't mean to give away spoilers in case you were planning on reading
it), it ended oddly just as any war story should, after all the horrible strife and hardship simply the
calm

In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque depicts the effects of power and
authority on the characters. Young school–going "men" are given no choice but to support their
country by signing up to be on the front line. Pushed into war by the ones they trust most, these
soldiers quickly learn the realities of the abysmal trenches and immediately begin to question the
older generations that pressured them to enlist. Furthermore, these leaders who speak of patriotism
are willing to sacrifice the lives men of lower social classes even when it is evident that the war
cannot be won. In the novel, Remarque brings to light how the circumstances of war influence an
individual to abuse their role of authority. Additionally, Remarque depicts an individual's desire for
power exposing that their hunger intensifies over time. As a result, the authoritative figures depict
that once power is given to an individual, greed and misuse begin to control the person and sway
their decisions. Remarque portrays the abuse of power that arises due to the appalling circumstances
of the novel, uncovering their inhumane behavior.
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

In the beginning of the 20th century, as European countries were getting ready for war, people
were rushing to sign up in what is now known as the Great War. The thought of war used to be
romanticized by many because of how imperialists were able to win battles and take over so easily
with their technological advances. Men thought they could go off, make a name for themselves, and
then return home safely to their families; it was the ultimate romantic adventure. However, they
soon found out that wasn't the case. The war turned out to be one of the most tragic, all consuming
wars in history of worldwide conflicts. The novel, All Quiet On The Western Front, depicts the lives
of soldiers in trench warfare who, even though may have escaped shells, welre ultimately
destroyed by the war. Paul Baumer was only nineteen years old when the war broke out in Europe
in 1914. He and three others became soldiers with great eagerness and enthusiasm, which the war
gradually took away from them. In the beginning of the novel, Paul would often write poems and
the only things that really bothered him were the lack of sleep and having to use the general
lactrine as a recruit. Later on, he says that he has learned better than to be shy about such trifling
immodesties because there are far worse things to endure. All he had outside of the war were
parents and girls; other than that, their life did not extend. Even the parents and girls had no real
meaning to him at age twenty, because he says at

All Quiet On The Western Front Essay
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. All quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque is a story told by a soldier named Paul Baumer. He shares his experiences
of his service in World War one. The realities of the war and the death that surrounded Paul
Baumer were so epic that he didn't even feel like he was himself when he visited home. Dying in
a war or getting injured is considered a courageous act by society. Society doesn't know what the
soldiers go through. If you were a soldier your outlook on war may be a little different. The injuries
are so horrible and the amount...show more content...
By telling them this they believed that when they returned from the war they would be glorified
from their town as war heroes. Kantorek set off some excitement for the war in all of these young
men by doing so. When they reached the front they become conscious that war was no where near
how they imagined it would be. Paul then realized that after a war like this he would not return to
society and be able to fit in ever again. The war totally changed who he once had been. Soldiers go
home and don't know how to act around their families, and the people they grew up with. They
have seen so much death and violence that they don't know what a lifestyle or friendship is. Life
is very different for them. On page 165 Paul says, "I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know
nothing of life but despair death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow."
Remarque adds these thoughts by Paul throughout the book. Paul is over taken by this war and will
never be the same person ever

All Quiet on the Western Front Essay
The 19th century view of war expressed that it was the most honorable and glorious event that a man
could participate in. This romantic viewpoint was quick to change after World War I. In addition,
Erich
Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front further illustrated the ghastly nature of war. His
descriptive writing portrays the graphic details of reality, leaving the readers of the 20th century in
shock. Since Remarque was the first author of his time to reveal these lifelike affairs, his novel
helped change their perspective of war, forcing them to not want any part of it.
In his novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque utilizes the main character Paul to symbolize
the people of...show more content...
The truth that they learned was that war was not glorious at all, in fact, it was pointless.
Correspondingly, the people of the 20th century received this same message after Remarque's book
was published.
The young soldiers in the novel discuss how the war has taken away their youth. Remarque notes,
"We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces...We
are cut off from activity, from striving, from progress. We believe in such things no longer, we
believe in war" (88). The soldiers do not believe that war was right, but they believe in war only
because that is the only thing that is real to them. The soldiers lost their youth and future. The war
was a wake up call to them since they came with preconceived notions that war was splendid.
However, these ideas that they were preached are wrong, and now the only thing in reality is war.
Just as the soldiers are surprised, Remarque's novel was a wake up call to the readers of the 20th
century in the same way.
With Remarque's help, the people of the 20th century gradually became more adjusted to the
realities of war. Similarly, as the war goes on,
Paul becomes more familiar with the horrors of the war. Remarque writes, "We have almost grown
accustomed to it; war is the cause of death like cancer and tuberculosis, like influenza and dysentery.
The deaths are merely more frequent, more varied and terrible" (271). The people of the 19th century
could have

The greatest war novel of all time, All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, is a
novel that depicted the hardships of a group of teenagers who enlisted in the German Army during
World War 1. Enlisting right out of high school forced the teens to experience things they had never
thought of. From the life of a soilder on the front line to troubles with home life, war had managed
to once again destroy a group of teenagers.
Throughout the novel, we saw the men of the Second Company adapt to the harsh conditions of war
and fighting on the front line. The first instance was the men going to relieve the front line. It had
been fairly quiet for them, so the quartermaster requisitioned the normal amount of rations for an
entire...show more content...
Paul explains that every man is intimately acquainted with their stomach and intestines. Being that
they all had the same parts there was no need to be embarrassed. In addition to the effects of battling
on the front line, the teens were affected by the thoughts of their home lives.
Considering the boys were only eighteen when they enlisted in the army they did not have a chance
to experience life after high school. They had been cut off from life just as they were beginning to
live it. Paul remembers that as a high school student, he wrote poetry. He now has no interest in,
or time for, poetry, and his parents seem to him a cloudy and unreliable memory. Reminiscing
about his home life upset him. Paul soon learned that he would receive a leave of seventeen days;
fourteen days leave and three days for traveling. Paul also learns that he will not return to the
front immediately after he is done with leave but to a camp for a training course. After Paul
learns of his leave he says farewell to his fellow comrades. He begins to worry about if the men he
has grown so fond of will still be there. Despite all of this Paul packs up and heads to the train
station to leave for home. As the train approaches his hometown all the memories come flooding
back to him. When Paul finally got to his parents house he realized his life will never be

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