All Quiet On The Western Front Language Analysis

In All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, the reader is taken on a literary journey to the western front of World War One on the German side in order to experience what it’s like through the eyes of a young German soldier. Part of the novel’s appeal lies in its descriptive themes which help the reader get a better visual image of what is happening in the book. Stylistic devices such as imagery, figurative language, and setting are used throughout the novel to explain something in a better way, help you getter a better picture of what’s going on, and understand where the event is taking place. Initially, Remarque uses figurative language to compare something to something else to add more description to the object he is talking

Now the stems gleam purest white, and between then airy and silken, hangs the pastel-green of the leaves; the next moment all changes to an opalescent blue, as the shivering breezes pass down from the heights and touch the green lightly away; and again in one place it deepens almost black as a cloud passes over the sun.And this shadow moves like a ghost through the dim trunks and rides far out over the moor to the sky- then the birches stand out again like gay banners or white poles, with their red and gold patches of autumn-tinted leaves,” (Remarque 188). This very descriptive setting shows how peaceful it is even though the soldiers are going through one of the worst days of their life. The soldiers are able to escape to a place that is beautiful and it can show them that even though they are in this sad state it doesn't mean that they can’t see the beautiful side of the world. Remarque’s purpose is to give us a different view on WW1 in order to show that just because they are the enemy doesn't mean they are more or less evil and that they too are going through some of the same hardship you or any other soldier is facing. This work is significant because it gives a very vivid explanation of what war is