All Quiet On The Western Front Essay - 1330 Words

Throughout time humanity has relentlessly found a reason to tear itself apart. The slaughter of man is read about almost every day and one never thinks twice about it; however, when the lackluster conditions of others’ lives throughout time is conveyed via a novel or movie, we are forced to delve into the lives of those who fought tirelessly for their beliefs – even if â€Å"their beliefs† are not correlated to their own. Prime exemplum of soldiers fighting for differing causes is and attempting to save the sliver of humanity remaining is demonstrated by Paul Bà ¤umer in â€Å"All Quiet on the Western Front,† by Erich Maria Remarque and Lieutenant Hans von Witzland in Stalingrad. While both protagonists die in the end of their works and suffer brutal warfare, their attempts to transcend the dehumanization of war may be one of the few reasons that the characters survived as long as they did. In the novel â€Å"All Quiet on the Western Front,† the audience is entwined with Bà ¤umer’s point of view and follow along with his company’s endeavors throughout World War I. Bà ¤umer is an ordinary soldier who does not seek fame nor glory, just success for his homeland: Germany. During the novel Bà ¤umer struggles with losing his comrades and doing what is expected of a ruthless soldier, such as what he is trained to be. The Germans want Bà ¤umer and his fellow soldiers to be merciless and kill all who stand in their way; any means to an end of the war will please their superiors. Bà ¤umer ironicallyShow MoreRelatedAll Quiet of the Western Front756 Words   |  3 PagesPlot Summary: All Quiet on the Western Front Written by Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front is the tale of a young man by the name of Paul. Paul who is nineteen years old gathers several of his friends from school and together they voluntarily join the army fighting for the Axis alliance. Before they are sent off into actual battle, they are faced with the brutal training camp. Along with this they face the cruelty of the life of a soldier. This made them question the reason forRead MoreAll Quiet on the Western Front700 Words   |  3 PagesThe greatest war novel of all time, All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, is a novel that depicted the hardships of a group of teenagers who enlisted in the German Army during World War 1. Enlisting right out of high school forced the teens to experience things they had never thought of. From the life of a soilder on the front line to troubles with home life, war had managed to once again destroy a group of teenagers. Throughout the novel, we saw the men of the Second CompanyRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front1797 Words   |  8 PagesTitle: All Quiet on the Western Front Creator: Erich Maria Remarque Date of Publication: 1929 Class: War Novel Anecdotal Information about Author: -Erich Maria Remarque was conceived on 22 June 1898 into a working people family in the German city of Osnabrà ¼ck to Peter Franz Remark (b. 14 June 1867, Kaiserswerth) and Anna Maria (nà ©e Stallknecht; conceived 21 November 1871, Katernberg). -During World War I, Remarque was recruited into the armed force at 18 years old. On 12 June 1917, heRead MoreAll Quiet on the Western Front943 Words   |  4 Pages The book All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, is about a group of 19 year old young men who are changed by the ways of war. There is paul: the main character; Tjaden: a tall, skinny locksmith, also the biggest eater; Albert Kropp: a lance-corporal and the clearest thinker; Muller: studious, intelligent, and likes school; Leer: has a preference for the girls from the prostitution houses and has a beard; Haie Westhus: a peat-digger, and big in size; Deterring: a peasant, he alwaysRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front2393 Words   |  10 PagesAll Quiet on the Western Front: Book Review Erich Maria Remarque, author of All Quiet on the Western Front, actually fought in WWI (Remarque 297). Because of this, he was able to write this book with accurate depictions of the war. He writes how being in combat can really take a toll on a person and affect them in a negative way. He also writes of the pain and suffering that the soldiers must cope with that comes along with living in constant fear and danger. When looking at the title of theRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front2085 Words   |  9 PagesThis essay will consider the different effects created by Erich Maria Remarque in his novel All Quiet on the Western Front. As a writer, Remarque unknowingly left his novel open to readers with completely different perspectives, and to various forms of criticism. This undoubtedly meant that every single reader had been affected by the novel in many different ways which unfortunately for Remarque may have been an effect that he never intended. This essay is divided into 5 main sections. Firstly itRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front1089 Words   |  5 Pages In Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, human nature is the only abstract periphery between belligerent barbarism and justifiable violence. Through the insipid bombardments that rained shells over the Germans’ heads and noxious implementation of mustard gas, Remarque dexterously misleads the reader into believing that he fights in an apathetic war where all remnants of human nature and identity have been destroyed with the introduction of trench warfare. Through Paul Baumer’sRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front1509 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"He fell in October 1918, on a day that was so quiet and still on the whole front, that the army report confined itself to a single sentence: All quiet on the Western Front† (Remarque 296). Paul Baumer, the narrator of All Quiet on the Western Front, enlisted into the German army at a young age of nineteen with a group of friends from school. Kantorek, Paul’s teacher, â€Å"gave us long lectures until the whole of our class went, under his shepherding, to the District Commandant and volunteered† (RemarqueRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front1129 Words   |  5 PagesIn Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, soldiers at the front have a better idea than civilians of the true n ature of war because they have experienced the war while civilians have only read about it or listened to government propaganda. Remarque is trying to tell us that only those who experience the war can understand how awful war truly is. In All Quiet on the Western Front, the main character Paul goes back to his home, the people he meets still think that the Germans are winningRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front1790 Words   |  8 Pagessmell of cigar smoke, gunpowder, and dirt that filled the air. There was no nationalism; all Paul wanted was survival. World War I was supposed to be about nationalism and the propaganda forced upon the soldiers to feel superiority over other countries, but Paul helps to prove otherwise, as his story tells what is was like to be at the front, and how tough it was to be a soldier. â€Å"All Quiet on the Western Front† portrays war as it was actually experienced, replacing the romantic picture of glory and