All Quiet On The Western Front: Chapter Analysis
All Quiet on the Western Front is a riveting novel about World War 1, told through the eyes of a German soldier, Paul. This novel is different than other war stories because it forces you to experience the war from a point of view other than a United States Soldier. The author, Erich Maria Remarque, beautifully balances the hardships, horrors and loss of innocence that war brings to young men, with scenes of serenity, as soldiers fight to save their country.
In chapter one Remarque writes, “Yesterday we were relieved, and our bellies were full of beef and beans. We are satisfied and at peace” (1.1). The start of the novel begins with young soldiers who have not given their innocence to the horrors of the war yet. Paul and his comrades have no idea of what hardships are headed their way. Paul has an odd outlook on death throughout the book. He chooses to personify death, and once figuratively hides behind death to save his life. “But the shelling is stronger than everything. It wipes out the sensibilities, I merely crawl still deeper in the coffin, it should protect me, and especially as Death himself lies in it too” (88). Remarque captures the essence of life throughout the novel, by counteracting the horrors of war with moments of peace and comradeship between soldiers.
Most war novels tend to romanticize the ideas of glory and
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Once we had such desires – but they return not. They are past, they belong to another world that is gone from us” (100). All Quiet on the Western Front is a war novel unlike all the rest. Remarque does not romanticize the horrors of looking death in the eye every day, while fighting for what you believe in. While illustrating young soldiers losing their innocence on the battlefield, moments of perfect serenity and happiness arise, helping to balancing all the terrible realities of
Chapter Summary Of All Quiet On The Western Front
505 Words | 3 PagesThroughout All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul and some of his comrades wonder why they’re fighting a war that they have no relation to. Furthermore, that doesn’t give them a sabbatical for going home, even though they aspire to go home to their families. In the book, Paul and the other soldiers are taught that the country they are fighting against is their enemy, and whenever they are to approach any of the “enemies” they are to tranquilize them promptly. Just because you are fighting against a country that you believe is atrocious or corrupt, doesn’t mean that an individual on that side is in that manner. Nevertheless, a book should not be judged by a cover.
Summary Of All Quiet On The Western Front
761 Words | 4 PagesRemarque wrote this story so that common people would know the true treachery of war and how war is only a device to achieve greatness. War is portrayed as a waste of valuable time and human life that in the end, only corrupts and destroys the minds and lives of the many military families- all because a political power wanted something that somebody else had and couldn't come to a peaceful
All Quiet On The Western Front: Chapter Analysis
465 Words | 2 Pages“breeding, education are changing…hardly recognizable any longer”(121)this shows how the norm for paul has become the war. Paul has been in the war for so long that when he returns home he feels out of place and later goes on to talk about he his new home is the front line. Towards the end of the book paul goes into great detail about how the war has drastically changed them all and that for those who have survived the war things will never be the same “few will adapt themselves, some others will merely submit and most will be bewildered”(131). This depicts how paul and his generation will never fully recover from the war things will never be the same few will be able start over but most were scared and lost at war. Paul and his generation are considered the lost generation because they will never be able to fully recover from the war they will forever live in the war mentality because of PTSD or other mental health
How Does Remarque Create Identity In All Quiet On The Western Front
617 Words | 3 PagesRemarque uses the thematic concept of sacrifice to impact the plot of the story and to show how soldiers had to live during this time period. Throughout the novel, Remarque writes about many different types of sacrifices. For the majority of World War I, sacrifices were constantly being made. These sacrifices included time, money, future, education and even lives. Early in the book, the reader is introduced to one of the first sacrifices mentioned in the book.
All Quiet On The Western Front Literary Devices
1667 Words | 7 PagesAll Quiet on the Western Front is a story, in which it allows people to know the true horrors of war. Throughout the story and in Erich Maria Remarque’s writing he uses many literary devices to emphasize what he experienced and the emotions he felt. The devices that he used are used in order to help the readers understand his experience and emphasize the theme of his war novel. Throughout this essay, I will show you a few of the literary devices used within the novel that emphasized the theme, the brutality of war. Within this essay you will learn about imagery, metaphors, and symbolism.
Summary Of Siegfried Sassoon And All Quiet On The Western Front
841 Words | 4 Pages"All Quiet on the Western Front" is a war novel by Erich Maria Remarque that reveals the ways in which war is not glorious, and the ways in which destroys a soldier 's happiness, innocence, and youthfulness. In addition, it uses imagery and characterization to describe some of the hardships the soldiers face in the trenches and at the front. Likewise, "Suicide in the Trenches" is a poem by Siegfried Sassoon that glosses over these topics as well, in the form of a poem. While both Remarque 's "All Quiet on the Western Front" and Sassoon 's "Suicide in the Trenches" portray war as a destroyer of innocence and youthfulness, Remarque 's use of characterization to illustrate the theme is more effective than Sassoon 's use of imagery and word play, because it is more
All's Quiet On The Western Front Critical Analysis
748 Words | 3 PagesTo him, the war represented newfound uncertainty of ridiculous social norms and thus a complete remodeling of those rules and strident challenging of Positivistic thinking. Entering the war, Germany was a confident nation full of “noble” young Nationalists ready to die for their country, but the realities of the war soon dispelled that veil of Positivistic thinking. Prior thinking states that it is noble to die for your country, but Remarque is deeply critical of this belief. There is no reason to die for the cause – he calls for soldiers to break the social norm of unwaveringly fighting for your country. The war dashed the confidence of young soldiers and shocked them into realizing that what they perceived before was not so certain.
All Quiet On The Western Front Rhetorical Analysis Essay
403 Words | 2 PagesUsing diction, Remarque is able to communicate an anti-war theme in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front. For example, after a very arduous battle, Paul tells the reader “Monotonously the lorries sway, monotonously come the calls, monotonously falls the rain” (24). The use of the word monotonously shows how monochrome, black and white, and lifeless and dull the world feels. Furthermore, after another battle, Paul tells the reader “ And at each call a little group separates itself off, a small handful of dirty, pallid soldiers, a dreadfully small handful, and a dreadfully
All Quiet On The Western Front Essay
972 Words | 4 PagesAll Quiet on The Western Front, written by Erich Maria Remarque, is a novel composed after World War One to convey the experiences of German soldiers during this horrific time of fighting. He brought to light many important issues that occur during wars. In this book, three horrors of war that had the largest impact were the lack of sanitation in the trenches, the loss of comrades, and the shock that came from unexpected and ongoing shelling. The lack of sanitation in the trenches caused many diseases, infections, and terrible memories to me made.
All Quiet On The Western Front Effects Of War Essay
1064 Words | 5 PagesThroughout the ages, wars have wreaked havoc and caused great destruction that lead to the loss of millions of lives. However, wars also have an immensely destructive effect on the individual soldier. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, one is able to see exactly to what extent soldiers suffered during World War 1 as well as the effect that war had on them. In this essay I will explain the effect that war has on young soldiers by referring to the loss of innocence of young soldiers, the disillusionment of the soldiers and the debasement of soldiers to animalistic men. Many soldiers entered World War 1 as innocent young boys, but as they experienced the full effect of the war they consequently lost their innocence.
Examples Of Graphic Violence In All Quiet On The Western Front
1079 Words | 5 PagesHowever it may seem, this is not violence simply for the shock factor, neither is it simply included to add realism to the novel. Instead this is an effort on Remarque’s behalf to communicate the human aspect of war, and describe the immense suffering that could be inflicted on any soldier during the GReat War. Through the use of the Narrator Paul Baumer, and the graphic imagery and description, Remarque illustrates the suffering that a soldier had to go through, both psychological and physical. The physical injuries sustained by men on the frontline in All quiet on the western front were absolutely horrendous. Remarque communicated this through his vivid use of gore and graphic imagery, however did was not supposed to be a surprise factor, but more for the reader to truly understand what soldier could go through.
Summary: All Quiet On The Western Front
294 Words | 2 PagesReview All Quiet on the Western Front is great piece of literature because it incorporates a lot of different aspects into the book. It has the action of war, the happiness of friendship, and the sorrowness of loss and given up hope. It varies from other books i have read about war and loss because it gives a perspective that I have never seen through before. The book is based on the lives of German soldiers in World War I, rather than the usual book through the eyes of an American soldier.
All Quiet On The Western-Western Front Thesis
665 Words | 3 PagesErich Maria Remarque was a man who had lived through the terrors of war, serving since he was eighteen. His first-hand experience shines through the text in his famous war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, which tells the life of young Paul Bäumer as he serves during World War 1. The book was, and still is, praised to be universal. The blatant show of brutality, and the characters’ questioning of politics and their own self often reaches into the hearts of the readers, regardless of who or where they are. Brutality and images of war are abundant in this book, giving the story a feeling of reality.
Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front
804 Words | 4 PagesThe war novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque depicts one protagonist, Paul, as he undergoes a psychological transformation. Paul plays a role as a soldier fighting in World War I. His experiences during the war are not episodes the average person would simply experience. Alternatively, his experiences allow him to develop into a more sophisticated individual. Remarque illustrates these metamorphic experiences to expose his theme of the loss of not only people’s lives but also innocence and tranquility that occurs in war.
Analysis Of All Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque
1361 Words | 6 PagesErich Maria Remarque, a World War I veteran, took his own personal war experience to paper, which resulted in one of the most critically acclaimed anti-war movement novels of all time, All Quiet on the Western Front. The voice of the novel, Paul Baumer, describes his daily life as a soldier during the First World War. Through the characters he creates in the novel, Remarque addresses his own issues with the war. Specifically, Remarque brings to light the idea of the “Iron Youth,” the living conditions in the trenches, and the sense of detachment soldiers feel, among other things. Therefore, All Quiet on the Western Front criticizes the sense of nationalism, which war tends to create among citizens by quickly diminishing any belief regarding it as a glorious and courageous act.
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