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Symbolism In 'All Quiet On The Western Front'

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This poster represents the main themes and ideas in ‘All Quiet on the Western Front ' through the use of visual techniques, including symbolism and colour. Symbolism is when an object or quote is representative of something. Colour can be used to symbolise certain emotions and feelings, however, in this case, it is used to represent the blood and the suffering of those in this war. The use of these techniques can be seen in the depiction of no man’s land, which is red, and the city being bombed, which is symbolic of the effects of war.
The main theme in ‘All Quiet on the Western Front ' is the brutality of war. Remarque wrote this novel to criticize the romanticized concept of war as proposed in previous novels. The brutality of war is …show more content…

The main themes in this novel are the brutality of war and the effects of war. In this novel, Remarque focused on these concepts as previous novels of this genre proposed a romanticized view of war. These themes are expressed through the use of text in this poster. The effect of war can be seen in the quote: "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". This quote shows the viewer the effects of the war on the soldiers through the description of the soldier 's life. Throughout the story, it is said that the soldiers had a happy, normal life before the war. This quote directly juxtaposes that view and shows the life of the soldiers during the war. Therefore showing the effects of war as it allows the viewer to see the lives of the soldiers before and during the war. The brutality of war is represented in the quote: "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 the single sentence: ‘All was quiet on the Western Front’". In this quote, it can be seen that the protagonist has died, despite this, the army restrict themselves to a single sentence: "All Quiet on the Western Front". This implies the cheapness of human life in war, which shows the viewer the brutality of war. Therefore, this poster represents the brutality of war expressed in this novel through the use of

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