Symbolism In All Quiet On The Western Front

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In All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque reveals the strong reverence soldiers felt for the earth as they focused solely on their instinct to survive whilst combatting the fear they face on on the front line. The front line is described as “sinister” as soldiers feel the “agony of terror” whilst they fight to survive. For safety, they turn to the earth, thus feeling as if they owe their lives to it. The earth is personified as the soldier’s “only friend, his brother, [and] his mother”. This personification makes the earth feel more relatable to the reader, and also shows how the soldiers have forgotten their families and now seek comfort and safety only from the earth. Syntax is used in a worshiper-like fashion as Remarque writes “Earth-earth-earth-!”,

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