Theodore Roosevelt Biography

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is said to be the greatest war novel of all time. Narrated by 19-year-old Paul Bäumer, this book describes the brutal experience he endured while fighting with the German army on the French front during World War I. This book stands apart from the rest of the war novels written during this time because most others left out the dehumanizing experiences that the soldiers withstood. Remarque did not just write a war novel, he wrote about the trials and tribulations they each went through, the unglamorous lifestyle they underwent, and most importantly he includes his inner thoughts toward war and life after war.
Paul’s attitude toward war fluctuates throughout the novel. In the beginning Paul reminisces on how he voluntarily joined the war after hearing multiple patriotic speeches given by his teacher, Kantorek. Several of Paul’s schoolmates enlist with him and together they embark on the terrifying journey of war on the front. Paul and his friends soon realize that not only are they fighting for survival, but also they are fighting to conserve their humanity. He does not sugar coat any aspect of war life, he tells it exactly the way that he and his friends experienced it. When describing what “going over the top” was like Bäumer says, “We see men living with their skulls blown open; we see soldiers run with their two feet cut off, they stagger on their splintered stumps into the next shell-hole” (Remarque 134). Bäumer makes statements such as this as if he has emotionally detached himself from the war; to him these brutal scenes have become a part of his everyday life. The uplifting attitude that he once started with is slowly fading as he begins to separate his emotions from the horrible scenes that he is deemed to encounter on a daily basis. His attitude throughout the novel changes because he feels almost