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Analysis Of Erich Maria Remarque´s All Quiet On The Western Front

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Erich Maria Remarque, a German author, published All Quiet on the Western Front in 1929 as an anti-war novel. Remarque was a former soldier who actually endured the horrible effects of WWI (1914-1918). He used his experiences and writing to unveil the destructive aspect of war. Remarque was bothered by the fact that there was no anti war literature, and he became the first to publish an anti war novel. Although he bravely chose to publish his novel to shed light upon the detrimental effects of war, he was punished for doing so. The Nazis burned copies of his novel because of its anti-war message. Although publishing his novel did not come without consequences, Remarque is credited with being the first author to officially speak out about his …show more content…

The vile conditions and levels of danger led to physical damage to the soldiers’ bodies. The trenches were extremely dirty as they were muddy and cramped. Corpses constantly surrounded the soldiers who were stationed in the trenches. Nothing about life in the trenches was sanitary. Remarque describes the soldier’s struggles to keep their bread away from the rats that invest their living quarters (Remarque 102). The environment that the soldiers were forced to live in, was extremely uncomfortable, but also put them at risk for disease. Along with the disgusting living conditions, and life threatening injuries due to destructive explosions and gunfire, the soldier were endangered by WWI’s new use of mustard gas. Remarque explains the sheer panic that occurred when gas was detected. The soldiers alerted their fellow comrades of the gas, and then they had to quickly put their masks on and take cover in the shell hole. The use of gas was so destructive and dangerous because the soldiers could only hope that their masks were airtight, and were protecting them from the gas. The physical consequences of breathing in the gas resulted in damaged and clotted lungs (Remarque 67-70). Remarque portrays the destructive physical aspects to war, to show how brutal war truly is. Remarque also explains the mental and emotional damage that war can have on a

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