The Theme Of All Quiet On The Western Front Loss Of Innocence

This story 's theme shows comradeship because Paul and the other soldiers were in class together before joining the war. In the beginning of the novel Paul introduces his friends he went to school with before going to war with. "During drill-time Kantorek gave us long lectures until the whole of our class went, under his sheparding, to the District Commandant and volunteered. I can see him now, as he used to glare at us through his spectacles and say In a moving voice 'Won 't you join up, comrades? '(Remarque 110)". Paul and his friends all went through the class with Kantorek who eventually persuaded them all to enlist where they would go to war together. Peers that Paul knew like Albert Kropp before the war realties to comradeship because they both had to fight alongside with each other.

Millions of people have gone through life-altering experiences in their time in World War I. In Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul Bäumer, a 19-year-old German soldier, narrates his personal memoirs of this war. He describes the mental change and suffering he goes through as he is forced to mature from a young boy to a soldier in order to survive, leaving him permanently scarred from the throes of war. By employing juxtaposition to contrast Paul’s mindset, before and after the war, Remarque demonstrates how the mental health of the World War I soldiers is damaged because of the abrupt loss of their youth, leaving them in a state of survival and mental instability.

Throughout 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.

The book All Quiet on the Western Front takes place during World War I. The author, Erich Maria Remarque, describes how dehumanizing war can be for soldiers who give their life to serve their country and protect it. Remarque specifically describes the hardships of a German soldier Paul during the war. Through Remarque’s story we learn that war affects relationships, thought processes, natural instincts and many more functions of a soldier. We learn over the course of this book that all soldiers change through war.

The aftermath of the horrifying and traumatic events of World War 1, brought a dramatic rise in of pacifist and anti-war literature, including the impactful novel All Quiet on the Western Front, composed by Erich Maria Remarque. Remarque’s personal experiences fighting in the futile battles of World War 1 drove him to portray a realistic perspective of war and serve a voice for the Lost Generation through his novel and make deliberate decisions to portray the betrayal of the older generation forcing innocent boys to engage in atrocities, the immense fear and sadness when losing a comrade, and the major physiological impacts soldiers endure, in order to influence audiences towards pacifism and away from romanticizing war. Born 1898 in Osterburg,

Throughout the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator of the story, Paul Baumer goes through the realization how joining the war was destroying his and others’ youth while turning people against each other. Remarque uses the phrase “abyss of sorrow” as figurative language to describe the suffering and heartbreak the young boys experience in the front line, earning the generation of boys that served in World War 1 the name “the Lost Generation”. After Paul observes the pain of the prisoners that he is assigned to watch, he sees for himself “how people are set against one another, and in silence…slay one another”. Just because two sides are waging war, people are brainwashed or persuaded to sacrifice themselves for a fight that is

All 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 book cover of, All Quiet on The Western Front, quotes to be ‘’the greatest war novel of all time’’. The author, Erich Remarque, experiencing war himself; uses the protagonist, Paul Baumer, to express his own background and horrors of World War One. With this, it alternates between his vividly dying memories of the times before the war and the nightmares of trench warfare; although a first person narrative. Erich served in combat during WW1 in Germany and was wounded five times. The last injury was very severe and kept him out of the war. He published his book in 1929. Although his books are fictionally written; they are inspired by his experience through the mind of a different character like Baumer rather than his own. Being in the mind

In this part of the book, Paul and his friends are out on the front re-wiring the front line with new barbed and communication wires when they hear the shrill cries of injured and badly wounded horses. Additionally, during the bombing, one of their soldiers becomes badly wounded in his leg and will most likely die or never be able to walk again. There is a similarity between this young soldier and the injured horses, made apparent by the comparison the author makes between the two. The young soldier, while human, is helpless after getting injured and will likely die if he is not helped soon. In the case of the horses, they too are at risk of dying if they are not medically attended to quickly. The difference between the

War is a harsh reality that is inflicted upon the unwilling through the “need” of it’s predecessors and those whom wish it. All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is about 19 year old Paul and his friends in the “Second Company”. Even though they are just out of school age, they have already seen things that many could not bear to even think about. Eventually, all of his friends die, and even Paul too, dies. Remarque uses diction and syntax as literary devices to express his anti-war theme, or lesson.

World War II was a devastating war with over 18 million casualties accounted for not even including famine and diseases. All Quiet on the Western Front follows a group of germanic recruits and their pathway throughout the way they saw the tragedy of the war. In the classic novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque uses symbolism to show camaraderie, a loss of innocence, and how life can be impacted in monumental ways when people choose to not back down when an evil force awakens.

Kantorek is the sole cause for the boys’ enlistment in the army, giving the boys’ “long lectures until the whole of [Paul’s] class went, under his shepherding, to the District Commandant and volunteered.” According to Kantorek, the war was glorified while the harsh reality of it was kept hidden from the boys. With an ironic twist for the boys, the glorious war was not what they had in mind as their classmates fell one-by-one; it was not until “the first bombardment that showed [the boys’] mistake, and under it the world as they had taught it to [the boys] broke in pieces.” This evidently shows how Kantorek, has used manipulative propaganda and speeches to trick these innocent adolescents onto a one-way train to living hell; in turn, the originally respected image of Kantorek is shattered in the boys’ brain along with their hope in their future. As the boys entered the military, they encountered Himmelstoss, “the strictest disciplinarian in the camp.” Himmelstoss forced them to do cruel and near-impossible tasks, such as kneading a pair of boots for twenty hours, cleaning the Corporals’ Mess with a toothbrush, and clearing the barrack-square of snow with a hand-broom and a dust-pan. However, when Himmelstoss was called up to the front line later in the novel, he was found by Paul to be “with a small scratch lying in a corner pretending to be wounded” during battle. The formerly tough and strict Himmelstoss, the formerly known “Terror of Klosterberg,” is now cowering in the backlines of an assault. This incident finishes the character of Himmelstoss: a selfish and apathetic authority who abuses power and cares solely about his life as hovers in fear during battle. Using these two characters,

Erich 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.

Himmelstoss is in charge of preparing Baumer and his friends for war, even though he was formerly a mailman and has no real fighting experience. He is focused on forcing the troops to salute, march, and be respectful to commanding officers, sometimes making them to parade-march for hours. This nearly drives Baumer and his squadron insane, and if they openly resist they will be reported to a higher commander. In order to cope, they apply a passive resistance to their practices. Himmelstoss forces them to practice charging and hiding in a mud-filled field, and they comply, however, they do so incredibly slowly to the point where Himmelstoss storms off in anger. This is all that they are effectively able to do in protest, anything else could get them in trouble. This mindless drilling is ultimately almost counter-productive to the squadron, they have practiced salutes and marches but not practical knowledge for fighting and surviving on the front lines. This system exposes the outdated and unnecessary routines that are being enforced by commanders who will never see battle, and do not know how to prepare

The 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.