All Quiet On The Western Front Rhetorical Analysis Essay

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All Quiet on the Western Front In this novel, Remarque thoroughly outlines the horrors of war. Remarque identified young, inexperienced boys who have joined up from the same class as volunteers for WWI. The narrator, Paul Baumer, becomes closely acquainted to his friends and soon, they develop a strong bond. This bond will help one another throughout the book and will cause many of them to maintain some of their sanity and to be there for each other, no matter the circumstance. Remarque also expresses his disgust towards savagery, hungry-for-power people. Such as Himmelstoss, who is the most feared disciplinarian in the training camps. He treats his recruits as if he enjoys oppressing them. Soon, Himmelstoss will experience the same traumatic …show more content…

In the beginning of the book, some of Paul’s fellow comrades had died. “Each man has another mess-tin full for the evening; and, what is more, there is a double ration of sausage and bread.” (1). Instead of mourning the death of their fellow soldiers, the men take advantage of this and enjoy their food. Then again, it was war and rations were very slim. Soon after, Kantorek sends Kropp a letter which reads “We are the Iron Youth”. (18). This statement is ironic in two ways. First of all, there is nothing “iron” about these young men. They have just gone into war unprepared and are getting by with little hope and much stress. Another ironic thing about this sentence is that they are not the youth, they are in their twenties, but mentally, they are “old folk”. The war has greatly impacted these men where their minds are set in more mature ways, no longer having younger fantasies as any other 20 year old would. As always, the best is saved for last. Paul Baumer is traumatized all throughout the book, becoming nervous and awaiting his death, which he figured would take place on the battlefield while being blown up by the shelling. Little did Baumer know, he would die peacefully. “Turning him over one saw that he could not have suffered long; his face had an expression of calm, as though almost glad the end had come.”

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