Month: November 2023

Erich Maria Remarque antiwar novel “All QUIET ON THE WESTERN Front” published in 1929. Talks about the story of Paul, a German soldier in the first World war.

I enjoyed reading the novel. Talked by a person who wasn’t so lucky in the war and died. I found also interesting how Erich Maria tells us how the protagonist dies.

    He fell in October 1918, on day that was so quiet and still on the whole front, that the army report confined itself to the single sentence: All quiet on the Western Front.                                                  He had fallen forward and lay on the earth as though sleeping. 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. (p. 296)

Normally in novels, the main character doesn’t die.

 

In conclusion the Book tells a very different view of the war.

 

“All Quiet on the western Front” By Erich Maria Remarque is a book of high quality and interesting novel, I’d say this because it is not a basic WW1 book, I like how this book talks about the experiences effect of war in young men. In some of the chapters Erich Maria Remarque would add more feelings and physiology into the novel, which I feel other WW1 novels wouldn’t do, for example, I’d say other novels would consist of action and battles and heroic moments since the start. Thats why I enjoyed some of these chapters, because I feel it helps to understand other chapters and glorify WW1. Another thing I really enjoyed of this book was how Erich Maria Remarque, would make us get to know the characters, physically and emotionally, the author would explain in detail the personalities of the character, and their physical appearance, and after getting to know the character and empathize with them, Erich maria Remarque, would choose their fate, making the reader let go of them harshly, Making us feel how WW1 truly is.

I absolutely enjoy how the author made me empathize with characters and give me a good perspective of WW1. Some of the quotes in the books made me see how hopelessness was WW1, for example ” We loved our country as much as they; We went courageously into every action; but we also distinguished the false from Ture, we had suddenly learned to see” Personally, what I get from this quote is how soldiers realize the enemies aren’t the bad people, that there are just exactly like the rest of the soldiers.

I think this is very well written and it can lure the reader. I enjoyed how this book is, emotional and touching to the reader, I like how the author used and amazing way of explaining WW1 to us in a non-basic way.

 

                   “All Quiet on the western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque is a unique and interesting novel because it does not follow the conventional rhythm often found in other war-themed books. The chapters did not always consist of action packed battles and the heroic feats that one associates with war, Remarque instead intentionally left mundane chunks in between the thrilling action. These ‘chunks’ delved into the overlooked hardships and physiological tolls present outside of the trenches. Though I was not initially as interested in these chapters, I am glad that they were included because it helps defeat the trend of romanticising war.  Another aspect of the book that distinguishes it from others is the fate of its characters. I am accustomed to reading about characters improving from surviving the adversities they face in their story. Remarque however, chooses that the fate of the characters we’ve spent time getting to know, is to be killed by the unrelenting nature of WW1. This is to show us the destructive randomness that befelled countless soldiers, only for them to be replaced by younger optimists who would meet the same grim fate. Paul and Tjaden were able to survive by holding on to the friendship and bonds of their fallen comrades, up until the heartache of losing all his friends caused Paul to draw his last breath in the midst of complete quietness.

 

                   Each character being killed (except for Tjaden), though sad, was important to show the reality of war and the impact on those who fought it. These tragic deaths served as a reminder of how scarce survival was in this brutal conflict.The readers are exposed to the harsh emotional and physical tolls that the soldiers were cruelly forced to endure. Witnessing their friends and fellow soldiers meet horrific deaths on the battlefield, paints a picture of the relentlessness of war. I used to picture these types of deaths as statistical instead of understanding that each one is extinguishing one vibrant life. Paul was only 19 when he enlisted and I was haunted to find out, some of his comrades were even younger. These youths were robbed of their innocence and forced into a brutal life where they were being used as pawns for the interests of those in power. The youths experienced a sense of seclusion from the rest of society. Paul’s short connection with the woman across the river told us a lot about his character. After parting with the intimacy he had not felt in a long time. Paul felt lonelier than ever because he realised how much he missed that sort of affection that was bereft in his current life.

 

                   Erich Maria Remarque masterfully conveys the pure hopelessness of war. Remarque remarks “Not even a fly can survive the endless artillery barrage” which shows us the sheer constant savagery in the trenches, and that even the most stubborn of creatures would eventually fall to the endless violence. I have always pictured soldiers as highly trained killing machines with each fighter having the ability to turn the tide of battle. Instead of the primary objective being to minimise casualties, the ultimate goal was to outlast the enemy with a relentless rotation of troops. One single life was nothing compared to the grand scheme of things, this is why war is a never ending cycle of misery, with the soldiers’ lives being replaced as quickly as they were lost.

 

                   I think this book is well written and immersive to the reader. This book drew an emotional reaction from me by intricately describing the death of so many people, some that we had come to know and others who we did not. “All Quiet on the Western Front” used a unique way of storytelling, had interesting characters who endured a lot, and accurately expressed the hopelessness of war.

The novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque made me feel very emotional. Considering that I am a sensitive person finding a novel about war heartbreaking wasn’t very unusual for me. However, I found the way Paul described his emotions and behaviour in this novel very fearsome and unnerving rather than sadness or pity. This behaviour is the animalistic and survival state of mind Paul described himself and his comrades being driven to.

 A depiction of the animal-like state that was constantly described throughout the novel was when Paul Baümer volunteered to crawl through no man’s land to collect information on the enemy’s current state. Paul finds himself in a shell hole as the enemy begins to send waves of soldiers, a French soldier falls into his shell hole and Paul’s instincts to stab him ensues,” I do not think at all, I make no decision–I strike madly home, and feel only how the body suddenly convulses, then becomes limp, and collapses.” (p. 209). In this example, Paul describes the instinct to kill any soldier who falls through the shell hole he is hiding in. That moment of having no control and desperately trying to survive he regretted no more than a few minutes later, after recovering. It was as if he had lost consciousness, his mind had gone into survival mode. This scene felt very disturbing to me and helped me connect to Paul as I was trying to imagine what I would do in such a situation.

Paul Baümer even describes some of his comrades or other soldiers directly using the word animal. The animalistic behaviour that is described is also connected to survival instincts that they had to learn in training. For example, in this quotation Paul’s division and some recruits are assigned a dangerous task, to set up barbed at the front. A shell bombing begins, Paul and the older recruits in the division bury themselves underground and fold their bodies to dodge the shells, “By the animal instinct that is awakened in us we are led and protected. It is not conscious; it is far quicker, much more sure, less fallible, than consciousness. One cannot explain it.” (p. 59). This quotation emphasizes how the young boys who joined the war did not originally have such instincts, as many of the new young boys who were conscripted died in this scene. This segment of the novel sparked many feelings, I felt mortified at the thought of having these animal instincts induced by the war. This contributed to Erich Maria Remarque’s goal, to write a novel about war that did not romanticize it. Instead, it showed the truth behind war the people who fought for their lives, not for glory. The soldier’s reliance on animal instincts to survive.

While reading the novel All Quiet on the Western Front I connected to the character Kemmerich while noticing his purpose as a character. Additionally, I noticed the sheer difference between the setting of our lives compared to the soldiers’.

After first hearing about Kemmerich’s leg, which had got shot off and amputated (Chapter 1, Pg 14), I was quite taken aback.

“We looked at his bed covering. His leg lies under a wire basket. The bed covering arches over it…. The leg is amputated. He looks ghastly, yellow and wan.”

This quotation made me think about how I would feel if my own friends got injured on the battlefield, how it would affect the lives of their friends and family.

When Bäumer spoke about Kemmerich’s mother being the “least composed of all” (Chapter 1, Pg 15), I felt a connection with the character as my mother would act the same in that situation. It seems as though the author Erich Maria Remarque intended for Kemmerich to serve as a reminder to us of how abruptly life can change. How in the blink of an eye, the friend you cherished and shared memories with lies on a hospital bed, yellow and frail, with death creeping through his body.

The setting of this story is very different to life today due to the lack of resources, particularly food. This was first seen in Chapter 1, when all the soldiers were satisfied because they got enough food.

“Yesterday we were relieved, and now our bellies are full of beef and haricot beans. We are satisfied and at peace. Each man has another mess-tin full for the evening; and, what is more, there is a double ration of sausage and bread. That puts a man in fine trim. We have not had such luck as this for a long time,” (Chapter 1, Pg 1).

In this quotation Paul Bäumer, the protagonist speaks about getting double rations. It seems that all the men are happy about this. The quotation “We have not had such luck as this for a long time,” signifies that they aren’t used to having such an abundancy in food and apparently it is a rare occurrence. In today’s developed parts of the world, food is abundant and most people have easy access to it. However, there is still a lack of food in the developing areas where food and resources are not easily accessible. In Chapter 7, Pg 160, Bäumer returns to his house with food that Kat provided him with and asks his family if they get enough food.

‘Is it pretty bad for food here?’ I enquire.

‘Yes, there’s not much. Do you get enough out there?’

I smile and point to the things I have brought.

‘Not always quite as much as that, of course, but we fare reasonably well.’

This quotation also shows that it is quite normal for there to be a lack of food.

Overall, I thought that All Quiet on the Western Front showed the importance of the difference of setting between life in the past and life today, since it teaches us to cherish the privileges we share today, and it taught the invaluable lesson of how quickly life can change.

𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚒𝚡𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎’𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚍 𝚗𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛. 𝙸 𝚘𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚢, 𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚗𝚎’𝚜 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚞𝚖𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎’𝚜 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚢. 𝙸𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚀𝚞𝚒𝚎𝚝 𝙾𝚗 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚋𝚢 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛 𝙴𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚊 𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚚𝚞𝚎, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚕 𝙱𝚊𝚞𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚗𝚞𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚘𝚗𝚎’𝚜 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒-𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚋𝚢 𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚚𝚞𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚜 𝚖𝚞𝚕𝚝𝚒𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛 𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚜 𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚕’𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚌𝚒𝚛𝚌𝚞𝚖𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕.

𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚚𝚞𝚎’𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚛’𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚆𝚊𝚛 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚊 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜. 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛, 𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚚𝚞𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚑𝚒𝚋𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜’ 𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚕’𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜. 𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚕 𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠𝚕𝚎𝚍𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝙺𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚔, 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚜. 𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚕 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜, “𝚈𝚎𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝’𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙺𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚔’𝚜! 𝙸𝚛𝚘𝚗 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑! 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑! 𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚞𝚜 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚕𝚍. 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐? 𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚑? 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚐𝚘. 𝚆𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚔.” (𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚚𝚞𝚎, 𝟷𝟿𝟸𝟾, 𝚙.18). 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚚𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚒𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚜𝚘 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚡𝚑𝚒𝚋𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚓𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛.

𝙰𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢, 𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚕’𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚢 𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚍𝚞𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚏𝚝𝚢 𝚗𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜. 𝙰𝚜 𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚙𝚎𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚘𝚏 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚕 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚜, “𝙸 𝚗𝚘𝚍 𝚠𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚜, 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗, 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚝𝚜, 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚎-𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚟𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜.” (𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚚𝚞𝚎, 𝟷𝟿𝟸𝟾, 𝚙.𝟹𝟻). 𝙳𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚌 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝚟𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚗, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚕’𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜. 𝙸𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙿𝚊𝚞𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚒𝚡𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚐𝚎.

𝙰𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚏𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚕𝚎𝚌𝚝, 𝙸 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚏𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍. 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚝𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚌 𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚐𝚎? 𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚀𝚞𝚒𝚎𝚝 𝙾𝚗 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚆𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚊 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚊 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚎. 𝙰𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚘𝚖 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚎-𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚞𝚐, 𝙸 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙, 𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍-𝚞𝚙 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐. 𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚚𝚞𝚎’𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚢 “𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚐𝚎”. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝, 𝙸 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚕𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝙸 𝚋𝚎 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚢 𝚊𝚐𝚎. 𝙰𝚜 𝚊 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍, 𝙸 𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚜 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚍𝚞𝚊𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚞𝚋𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎. 𝙽𝚘𝚠𝚊𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜, 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚕 𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜. 𝙸𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚢 𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔. 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚢, 𝚁𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚚𝚞𝚎’𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝-𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚜𝚢𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚜. 𝙸 𝚞𝚛𝚐𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞?

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a novel that I found very poignant and tactful, but what struck me the most about it were the descriptions of death throughout the book, which felt very realistic about how the soldiers may have felt.

One of the first depictions of death, which I found the most moving, was the death of Paul’s friend Kemmerich, due to the inclusion of Paul’s thoughts and emotions. Paul, sitting by Kemmerich’s hospital bed, attempts to ease Kemmerich’s suffering by describing what he could do after he healed, despite being aware that Kemmerich would not survive, and ends up worsening the situation. Paul’s thoughts are shown in this example: “…he is crying. What a mess I have made with my foolish talk (p. 30)!” For me this is a very heartbreaking scene as it brings me into Paul’s perspective as he berates himself about his behaviour during Kemmerich’s last moments. It doesn’t show Paul as someone who always knows what to say, and instead depicts him as someone who sometimes makes mistakes. This scene felt very genuine, and also let me relate to Paul and imagine what it would be like to have to comfort someone in such a situation.

Something else which struck me as very lifelike were the changes in the ways that the deaths of Paul’s friends were portrayed. At the beginning of the book, where Paul is present at Kemmerich’s death,  he has many strong feelings as he describes the moment: “[Kemmerich] says nothing; all that lies behind him; he is entirely alone now with his little life of nineteen years, and cries because it leaves him. This is the most disturbing and hardest parting that I have ever seen (p. 31)…” Paul is deeply affected, and we as the reader also have the opportunity to connect him to Kemmerich, as they are both the same age. This scene is very emotional, and differs greatly from the descriptions seen later in the book. When Müller – another of Paul’s old classmates – dies, he gets a much shorter description: “Müller is dead. Someone shot him point-blank in the stomach with a Verey light. He lived for half an hour, quite conscious, and in terrible pain (p. 279).” Little more is said about Müller. When I first read this, the significant change in tone and description surprised me. In the first example, Remarque  illustrates Paul’s feelings, but at Müller’s death the description is very factual and none of Paul’s thoughts are shown. While Kemmerich’s death occurs first in the story, it still seemed strange that Kemmerich, someone who wasn’t described as being a particularly close friend of Paul’s, was given such a long description but Müller was not. Upon further reflection, I saw it to represent how Paul’s mindset changes throughout the book and I found this distinction very realistic. Before he has seen as much death on the battlefield, his friend dying is a substantial blow. However, by the end, Paul has seen many of his friends die and is desensitized to death as a whole. The addition of another death is not significant, and it is mentioned only as a passing fact.

I found All Quiet on the Western Front quite profound and emotional, but what I admire most about the book is the author’s ability to realistically portray the war in so many of its facets. Even when writing in a less expressive manner, Remarque manages to convey very meaningful parts of a soldier’s life.

Two major factors made the book “All Quiet on the Western Front” appeal to me more than the movie “They Shall Grow Old”.

First, I was able to emotionally relate to the book’s main character. I empathized with Paul and his companions as they were going through all the atrocities of the war throughout the novel. The more I read, the more I enjoyed this emotional connection with the characters.

Second, unlike the movie, the book allowed my imagination to go wild and create my own picture of what awful really is. Everyone has a different idea of good and evil, and I enjoyed the creative freedom to paint my own picture of hell. Imagining something that was deeply and personally sad affected me much more than watching the images created by someone else.

The book All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a World War I novel. It is narrated by a German soldier named Paul Baumer. The text expresses the experiences a soldier in WWl endured. In this Personal Response, I am going to reflect on the change of tone in Paul’s narration in the beginning compared to the end. I have noticed that the book starts in a playful and amateur manner, and by the end it displays a defeated, solemn and poetic one. These choices by the author allow the reader to at most fathom, the traumatizing exposures that the soldiers were thrusted into. During Paul’s training his experiences are recorded as blissful. Each day they get up, eat breakfast, shoot some bullets, exercise, smoke, then go to bed. Him and his comrades even play pranks on their non-commissioners. Paul has some idea of what the actual war will be like but not entirely. This is evident on page 26, when Paul says “We became hard, suspicious, pitiless, vicious, tough – and that was good; for these attributes were just what we lacked. Had we gone into the trenches without this period of training most of us would have gone mad. Only thus were we prepared for what awaited us”. He recognizes that the extensive training was not for nothing and had shaped them into strong men. Even so, Paul was not able to read forward in the book like we as readers have, and see that no amount of training could have prepared them for the war. This, is why Paul’s tone was amateurly blissful in the beginning of the book. Towards the end, Paul’s tone seems to sadden. The narration sounds more mature and confident. After weeks in the trenches he knows there is no positive outcome in his situation. The author has made clear of this. In the last paragraph of the book, Paul writes, “Let the months and years come, they can take nothing more from me, they can take nothing more” (pg. 295). This tone of emptiness and isolation brings the reader to at the minimum understand the perspective of how war has made these soldiers feel. It intrigues me how Paul says he “has nothing”. It is not true. He has clothes and food and his sister. He has people and things that could fulfil him superficially. But what the author means, is that the trauma this war has insidiously gifted to him, overcomes any tangible belongings. In the end, Paul’s soul and personality makes him who he is, and that was taken from him. Leaving him, and all the other fallen soldiers, with nothing.

I wouldn’t consider myself to be someone internally inflicted by a written historical account. The novel ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’, written by German author Erich Maria Remarque, demonstrated otherwise. The novel voices the account of protagonist Paul Baumer’s experiences in battle as a soldier. It was captivating how the novel depicted the disillusionment of the early 1900s while engaging the reader with the reality of the effect of war on young men. The title alone is phrased in a nonchalant terse style, which graphically portrays the horrors of war in a laconic understatement. The word ‘quiet’ is conspicuous, stating the exact opposite of the novel’s depiction of war. Remarque often referenced the term ‘quiet’ to juxtapose the sounds of peacetime and war, associating it with everything the war is not. The word ‘quiet’ sounds alive, rather than ‘silence’, capable of erupting into an endless stream of sound at any moment, representing war, until it becomes a quiet memory.

The novel was repulsive yet indispensable, not clouding the reader’s interpretation with a romanticized version of the war. The overwhelming graphic depictions of war demonstrated the belligerent manipulative influence clouding the soldier’s rationality. Remarque expresses sediments about the contemporary nature of war itself. Throughout the novel, the reader becomes engulfed in Paul’s self-reflection, sharing accounts of atrocities and the ghastly truths about how the war destroyed the young soldiers. Soldiers’ mindsets could be described as hypnotized by patriotic propaganda. Paul describes the trance as becoming wild beasts, turning them into murderers, representing automata. These young boys were compelled by the idea to destroy the enemy, or they would destroy them, facing death, not other men. They were taught to become stolid animals, disregarding one’s moral identity.

As the novel progresses, Paul begins to recognize the reality of the war. “It’s the rulers who want to attack us, not the simple folk. Yet, the word of a command made them our enemies, making me perceive them as the melancholy of life” (Remarque, 1928, pg. 193). Paul acknowledges the inhumane actions of war, realizing the enemy are men just like himself, yet continues to feel obliged to fight, knowing nothing but death and fear. This notation of the segregation between those who declare war and those who fight it is portrayed throughout ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’. However, Paul doesn’t entirely accept this concept until he experiences the delusional guilt he receives after witnessing a French soldier slowly die from his hand. This scene introduces a cumulating transition where Paul begins to view the enemy as people rather than faceless targets. This guilt consuming him could be argued as inevitable, allowing Paul, and other soldiers alike, to omit the cloud of the ferocity of war, and recognize the reality.

This transition emphasizes the disconnect in Paul’s experiences. After suffering the guilt of ending one’s life, Paul’s demeanor shifts. He begins to describe the carnage of war in a laconic manner as if attempting to distance himself from the horrors. After accepting the truth about war, he avoids speaking about it, feeling isolated from anyone who isn’t a soldier. He refuses a sense of belonging. A distinctive factor of the novel was its refusal to take an explicit stance on war, acting as an unexpected contrast to the typical patriotic rhetoric accounts. This allowed the reader to perceive the war with logical representation, rather than through a biased account. The novel’s disclaimer insists that the account is not an accusation to any nation or individual involved in the war. Rather, the novel accuses war as an institution of stealing young boys’ lives, regardless of whether they died on the battlefield or survived, with their lives lost to the horrors of war. One can not decide which is worse.