Writing Style And Plotline Developments In 'All Quiet On The Western Front'
Isabella Campisi
Ms. Pomerantz
AP Literature and Composition
20 April 2023
The Significance of Writing Style and Plotline Developments in All Quiet on the Western Front The act of war is one of the most romanticized pieces of human existence. Voices of soldiers destroyed by war are silenced, and pro-war propaganda is spewed from both government officials and average citizens. Young people are targeted for recruitment because they are able bodied and naïve. Soldiers are unknowingly thrown into a world of death, destruction, and violence; and what remains afterwards is the shell of a human. All Quiet on the Western Front follows the life of German army recruit Paul Baümer. The novel is unapologetically brutal in its descriptions of war. Author
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Remarque writes egregious scenes in an apathetic manner to showcase how desensitized Paul has become to brutality. “The belly of one is ripped open, the guts trail out. He becomes tangled in them and falls, then he stands up again” (Remarque 63). This instance involves the miserable death of a horse. The incident is communicated bluntly by Paul, despite being callous, to highlight how numb he has become to violence. “Beside me a lance-corporal has his head torn off. He runs a few steps more while the blood spouts from his neck like a fountain” (Remarque 115). Yet again Paul describes a gruesome image, calmly. He has witnessed so much at this point that he only reports the facts and fails to have an emotional response. Remarque intentionally does this to call attention to the hardships soldiers regularly face. Paul had even become desensitized to the passing of friends. Following the death of fellow soldier Franz Kemmerich, Paul and his remaining comrades appear to be more captivated by the fate of his boots than the fate of Kemmerich himself. "It is also a sign of a general dehumanizing set of values in which the dying man's boots become more important than the dying man himself" (Birns). Remarque did not aim to portray these men as heinous monsters for wanting Kemmerich's boots. He wished to communicate that soldiers are forced to behave somewhat inhumanely to protect their mental and physical
All Quiet On The Western Front Dialectical Journal Answers
1891 Words | 8 Pages1. Erich Remarque’s purpose for writing All Quiet on the Western Front was to show the devastating effects of war on soldiers and to protest against the war. He does this by depicting the experiences of a group of young German soldiers who are fighting in World War I. One example of how Remarque fulfills this purpose is when the protagonist, Paul Baumer, reflects on the futility of war and the sacrifices soldiers are forced to make. On page 49, Paul says, "We are forlorn like children, and experienced like old men, we are crude and sorrowful and superficial - I believe we are lost."
Summary Of All Quiet On The Western Front
857 Words | 4 PagesKemmerich, Paul’s classmate, is visited by his fellow soldiers at the hospital after he wounded his thigh. He states to Paul that “they have amputated my leg”, and as Paul tries to comfort him, Kemmerich explains how he “wanted to become a head-forester once” (Remarque 27-28). After being incited through nationalistic pressures by his teacher, Kemmerich enlists in the army only to lose a part of himself. Kemmerich’s lose and the cold pointlessness of his eventual death disillusions the idea that there is honor in war. Remarque also shows opposition to the war later on in the book when he illustrates a scene of soldiers starting to question the actions of the higher authorities and pondering the reasons for war.
Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front
182 Words | 1 PagesLike the concept of survival of the fittest, it is essential for the soldiers to have an animal instinct to survive on the battlefield. Many moments are shown in which the soldiers become two faced, changing from good-mannered and soft soldier to animal - like characteristics. Paul informs us that they only way to survive in battle, is to block away all your emotions, if not, it would drive you insane. Another aspect as to the book’s anti-war sentiment, is how Remarque describes the consequences of war, the loss of the young life. Paul's generation was known as the "Iron Youth", which was a group of young boys who enlisted and fought in the war as a way of showing gratitude for their country, Germany, but his age group is lost because
All Quiet On The Western Front By Eric Maria Remarque
1580 Words | 7 PagesTheir life during the war was hard on them at first. When they were just starting out, they had “proudly shaved for the first time before going to the barracks” (Remarque 21). Remarque is showing the reader how young these classmates really are. Paul recalls “how embarrassed we were as recruits in barracks when we had to use the general latrine” (Remarque 7), and how they have adapted now, and use “square, neat boxes with wooden sides” (Remarque 7). During World War I, many soldiers from all sides, and from many countries were killed.
All Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque
961 Words | 4 PagesPaul and his comrade, Albert Kropp were taken to a Catholic war hospital because they were shot in the leg. As Paul heals, he limped around the hospital looking at all the other injuries as he sees, “shattered bones hanging free in the air from a gallows; underneath the wound, a basin is placed, into which drips the pus. ”(Remarque Ch.#10) Through this Remarque shows us that war is very dangerous as it shatters bones into pieces in a way that it can never heal using imagery. This is abominable because of the amount of pain that one has to go through while suffering that injury.
The Effect Of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front
960 Words | 4 Pages”(Remarque 217). An illustrious novel, All Quiet on the Western Front portrays war’s true nature atrocious and vile. Remarque expertly depicts the drastic transformation of these innocent young men into killing machines with all of their youth lost to them, because of the travesty that is
What Is The Conflict In All Quiet On The Western Front Dehumanize Remarque
626 Words | 3 PagesActing on instinct Paul stabs the soldier and in watching him die Paul begins to spiral. Remarque uses dehumanizing diction when he describes the soldier's death which shows Paul's descent from his past self. Paul describes how the only thing he felt while killing the soldier was how “the body suddenly [convulsed]” and then “ [became] limp” and “[collapsed] (216). The author's use of dehumanizing diction in this passage regarding the French soldier's murder is significant because the connotation of “body” lends itself to an unempathetic tone, enhancing the discussion on the loss of humanity because it demonstrates how Paul doesn't even think of the man he killed as a person; same as he. Remarques description of the person as a “body” makes the reader see the soldier as less than a human, how the war has impacted Paul.
All Quiet On The Western Front Sparknotes
1737 Words | 7 PagesAll Quiet on the Western Front is a very largely anti war book. Erich Maria Remarque bases the story off of some of his experiences in World War 1. Remarque writes about soldiers from the German perspective in World War 1. This discusses the brutality and senseless portion of war which really takes a toll on soldiers’ lives. It also broaches the idea of how world leaders are so disconnected from what atrocities that these soldiers are committing and how this is slowly ruining their life.
What Are The Effects Of Paul's Transformation In All Quiet On The Western Front
557 Words | 3 Pages"(Remarques 123) This quote goes to show Paul's disappointment with the war and his feelings of separation. However, Paul's companionship with his fellow soldiers provides him with a sense of belonging that helps him cope with his mental
A Comparison Of All Quiet On The Western Front And German Prison
1046 Words | 5 PagesPaul describes the degeneration and mental instability of the soldiers. Just before his comrade Detering deserts, Paul states, “We are little flames poorly sheltered by frail walls against the storm of dissolution and madness, in which we flicker and sometimes almost go out” (Remarque 275). Traditionally, light is symbolic of hope. Remarque uses metaphors to compare the soldiers to “little flames”, the inclusion of “little” describes that their flames were much bigger, but war is extinguished most of it.
Use Of Imagery In Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front
228 Words | 1 PagesRemarque also uses imagery to display the horrid environment of war. For example, in the Catholic Hospital that Kropp and Paul go to in the novel, people are trying to kill themselves because they can no longer take the pain of war, "In the evening, while he is being fed, the sister is called away, and leaves the plate with the fork on his table. He gropes for the fork, seizes it and rives it with all his force against his heart, then he snatches up a shoe and strikes with it against the handle as hard as he can" (261). Paul portrays the petrifying environment Paul had to see as followed, "Two fellows die of tetanus. Their skin turns pale, their limbs stiffen, at last only their eyes live- stubbornly.
All Quiet On The Western Front Rhetorical Analysis Essay
403 Words | 2 PagesWar 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.
All Quiet On The Western Front Effects Of War Essay
1064 Words | 5 PagesHowever, when they were sent out into the midst of the war many of them realised the misconceptions they had and were led to believe. They became disillusioned as they realized that the war was much more brutal and horrific than they had previously believed. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Remarque effectively comments on the horrors of war from Paul’s perspective, especially when Paul comments on injuries the soldiers endure and witness by stating “We see men go on living with the top of their skulls missing; we see soldiers go on running when both their feet have been shot away…Another man…with his guts spilling out over his hands as he holds them in.” (Remarque,
Major Themes Of Comradeship In All Quiet On The Western Front
841 Words | 4 PagesThis demonstrates how much these soldiers depend and need one another. In the novel it says, “Our only comfort is the steady breathing of our comrades asleep, and thus we wait for the morning” (Remarque 275). I imagine being in a dangerous environment such as an ongoing war it would be difficult to find comfort. However, Paul knowing his comrades are alive and getting some rest brings him comfort.
Nationalism In Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front
1091 Words | 5 PagesMoreover, commonly, soldiers are exhilarated to finally go home after long periods of time at the front, and the men dread when they have to return to battle. However, in Paul’s case, he desires to return to the front, rather than staying in his home town and seeing his mother in pain, he yearns to feel numb again. Therefore, Paul is in “agony” because before going on leave, he was hopeless and had no will to live, thus making him a better soldier. Although, after visiting his mother and sister, he has rediscovered a reason to survive, making it harder to go back. Moreover, the word, “comfortless,” illustrates how Paul feels isolated even at home, he feels little comfort where he grew up.
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