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Erich Maria Remarque wrote All Quiet on the Western Front in 1929 to advertise the horrors of World War I, the dangers of complete nationalism, and how any type of war can turn even the strongest soldier into an emotional and physical mess. With the novel being written in the early 20th century, the starting point of the World Wars, Remarque had the emotions of the public and Europe and American and the tip of her fingertips. The point of the novel was not to glorify war like previous war time novels had, rather it was to show the horror and the realistic negative aspects to war that the common person would not see. Remarque uses many different ways to portray the violence and horrible aspects of war, but one of the most visual is his description of destruction. This is not destruction of buildings or human made objects; this is the destruction of actual human beings. He uses this method to be able to grab onto the reader. If Remarque was only trying to tell a story, this use of blood and gore would not be necessary, but since he is trying to prove a point about the …show more content…
“The soldier is on friendlier terms than other men with his stomach and intestines. Three-quarters of his vocabulary is derived from these regions, and they give an intimate flavor to expressions of his greatest joy as well as of his deepest indignation.” (Remarque 8) Even though the soldiers gain these personal relationships with their enemies, it is understandable that their overwhelming feelings would be of disgust and nerves. In this quote, the author visually gives an example of what the soldiers feel. By talking about their digestion and stomachs, he is relating to the stereotypical thing that happens what people get nervous or scared,
All Quiet on the Western Front is a book written by Erich Maria Remarque. It was a book written to reflect the human cost of war. It shows us how war has a hidden face that most people do not see until it is too late. In the novel, he describes a group of young men who at first think war is glorious. But as the war drags on, the group discovers how war is not all it is set out to be. As the war went on, they saw their friends either die or be permanently wounded. Then the end comes when there was only one person left.
All quiet On the Western Front, a book written by Erich Maria Remarque tells of the harrowing experiences of the First World War as seen through the eyes of a young German soldier. I think that this novel is a classic anti-war novel that provides an extremely realistic portrayal of war. The novel focuses on a group of German soldiers and follows their experiences. Life for the soldiers in the beginning is a dramatic one as they are ordered up to the frontline to wire fences. The frontline makes Paul feel immediately different, as described here. "
Everyone knows what war is. It's a nation taking all of its men, resources, weapons and most of its money and bearing all malignantly towards another nation. War is about death, destruction, disease, loss, pain, suffering and hate. I often think to myself why grown and intelligent individuals cannot resolve matters any better than to take up arms and crawl around, wrestle and fight like animals. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque puts all of these aspects of war into a vivid story which tells the horrors of World War 1 through a soldier's eyes. The idea that he conveys most throughout this book is the idea of destruction, the destruction of bodies, minds and innocence.
All Quiet on the Western Front, directed by Delbert Mann, is based on the novel written by Erich Maria Remarque. It tells the story of a German schoolboy, Paul Baumer, and a group of his classmates, who journey from fantasies of heroic glory to the real horror of actual soldiering. Their journey is a coming of age tale that centers on the consternation of war and emphasizes the moral, spiritual, emotional, and physical deterioration suffered by the young soldiers.
The story of several schoolmates who symbolize a generation destroyed by the dehumanisation of the First World War, All Quiet on the Western Front tells of the men who died, and the tragically changed lives of those who survived. Remarque follows the story of Paul Bäumer, a young infantryman, from his last days of school to his death three years later. Whereas the journey motif is typically used to portray a positive character development, that of Paul is deliberately the opposite. In what has been dubbed the greatest antiwar novel of all time, Remarque depicts the way in which Paul is snatched away from humanity by the brutality of war. However while Paul and his comrades become separated from society, and begin to rely on their basic survival instincts, in their own surroundings they still show humane qualities such as compassion, camaraderie, support and remorse. Paul’s transformation from human to soldier begins in training camp, and is reinforced by the trauma at the front. His return home further alienates him from society, and Paul begins to feel safe at the front with his friends. Nonetheless throughout the novel suffering and mortality bare Paul’s true side, and he momentarily regains his former self. Bäumer, the German word for tree, is an early indication that Paul must remain firmly rooted in reality to survive the brutality of war.
The chapter begins with German soldiers at rest after fourteen days of fierce battle on the Western Front. A double ration of food has been prepared so the soldiers are eating their fill. Paul Baumer, the protagonist and narrator of the novel, watches in amazement as his friends, Tjaden and Muller, eat another helping; he wonders where Tjaden puts all the food, for he is as thin as a rail. Baumer is only nineteen years of age. He enlisted in the German infantry because Kantorek, his high school teacher, had glorified war and talked him into fighting for the fatherland. Kropp, Behm, and Leer, former classmates of Baumer, were also persuaded by Kantorek to join the infantry. They are all now fellow soldiers along with Tjaden, Westhus, Detering, and Katczinsky.
All Quiet on the Western Front was published in March 1929, London. The late publication of the novel may have been due to the grief and trauma that Remarque experienced in the war. All Quite on the Western Front was written for the millions of men who fought for their countries. Remarque's intent, is to recount the pain and misery that the soldiers experienced during the war and to acknowledge their remarkable courage. Remarque does not mention any specific country or nationality in his book, in order for all soldiers to be identified as a whole, they all had the same goals and experienced the same fears, regardless of their nationality.
Imagine being in an ongoing battle where friends and others are dying. All that is heard are bullets being shot, it smells like gas is near, and hearts race as the times goes by. This is similar to what war is like. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator, Paul Baumer, and his friends encounter the ideals of suffering, death, pain, and despair. There is a huge change in these men; at the beginning of the novel they are enthusiastic about going into the war. After they see what war is really like, they do not feel the same way about it. During the war the men experience many feelings especially the loss of loved ones. These feelings are shown through their first experience at training camp, during the actual battles, and in the hospital.
All Quiet on the Western Front is the most superb World War I motion picture. The movie had a budget of $1.25 million (which was very expensive at the time) and runs 128 minutes long giving enough time to capture the horrors of war perfectly. The Great War was the subject for many movies during the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, most offering a serious and very emotional time for the audience. It’s no coincidence that two of the first three Best Picture Oscars were awarded to World War I movies. Even though the movie is dated for this day in age, the battle scenes are still as emotional and bone chilling. Director Lewis Milestone’s attention to detail plays a major role when filming trench scenes and because of this, it makes it hard to realize that the film was actually filmed in California and not in Germany or France.
The story centers around a young soldier named Paul in some unnamed regiment in the German army. They fight the Allied forces of the United States of America and Europe, plus their friends. The story is about how Paul and the other soldiers with him, who are also his closest friends, deal with the many aspects of the war. They do this in the only way that they know how, and they are not always successful. Remarque deals with the characters' fears and thoughts by mixing them together into the story. You form a kind of bond with the various characters throughout the book. Although the author does not offer great detail on any one character, you still find yourself caring and hoping for each of them as they fight, love, hate, and in many cases, die. This is mainly through each of the character's personalities, which are so well-developed that you find yourself wondering if these were real people at some time or another and you might travel to Germany to meet them. The plot is not linear, and in most cases I would say that this is a negative thing. However, in the book the author actually uses it to enhance the storyline by not dwelling on any one scene for too long. Many chapters end and you find yourself wondering if there was supposed to be more. By the end, you realize that it actually enhances the plot greatly. One moment the people might be eating and bathing in the barracks, and the page after they are fighting on the front lines. It skips around a lot, but I became used to it. I may even grow to miss it in the future. This story's real strength lies somewhere else, though. This is in the portrayal of the characters' thoughts and feelings. Each character reacts to situations so realistically that many times I found myself thinking: "That's what I would have done!" This blends well with Remarque's many ventures into human nature throughout the book. He uses his characters to go into the depths of all of our souls, and he does it with skill. Especially well done was the part where Paul gets some leave of his duties and he goes back home to his family for a few weeks. While there, he realizes that he is no longer one of these people, that he is changed forever from what he has seen and what he has done.
Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel that takes you through the life of a soldier in World War I. Remarque is accurately able to portray the episodes soldiers go through. All Quiet on the Western Front shows the change in attitudes of the men before and during the war. This novel is able to show the great change war has evolved to be. From lining your men up and charging in the eighteenth century, to digging and “living” in the trenches with rapid-fire machine guns, bombs, and flame-throwers being exposed in your trench a short five meters away. Remarque makes one actually feel the fun and then the tragedy of warfare. At the beginning of the novel Remarque gives you nationalist feelings through pride of Paul and the rest of the boys. However at the end of the war Remarque shows how pointless war really is. This is felt when everyone starts to die as the war progresses.
One of the worst things about war is the severity of carnage that it bestows upon mankind. Men are killed by the millions in the worst ways imaginable. Bodies are blown apart, limbs are cracked and torn and flesh is melted away from the bone. Dying eyes watch as internal organs are spilled of empty cavities, naked torso are hung in trees and men are forced to run on stumps when their feet are blown off. Along with the horrific deaths that accompany war, the injuries often outnumber dead men. As Paul Baumer witnessed in the hospital, the injuries were terrifying and often led to death. His turmoil is expressed in the lines, “Day after day goes by with pain and fear, groans and death gurgles. Even the death room I no use anymore; it is too small.” The men who make it through the war take with them mental and physical scarification from their experiences.
World War I had a great effect on the lives of Paul Baumer and the young men of his generation. These boys’ lives were dramatically changed by the war, and “even though they may have escaped its shells, [they] were destroyed by the war” (preface). In Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul Baumer and the rest of his generation feel separated from the other men, lose their innocence, and experience comradeship as a result of the war.
All Quiet on the Western Front - A Book Review Professor’s Comments: This is a good example of a book review typically required in history classes. It is unbiased and thoughtful. The student explains the book and the time in which it was written in great detail, without retelling the entire story. a pitfall that many first time reviewers may experience. All Quiet on the Western Front is the story of Paul Baumer’s service as a soldier in the German army during World War I. Paul and his classmates enlist together, share experiences together, grow together, share disillusionment over the loss of their youth, and the friends even experience the horrors of death together.
of his father and of these men that "they talk too much for me ...