The first war-based text that I read independently was All Quiet on the Western Front. Penned by Erich Remarque, the plot takes place amidst World War One. In my reading of the title, I noted several consequences of war that I felt to be particularly poignant.

At the beginning of the book, the reader is met by the epitaph of Remarque, who reinforces the fact that the major theme of his novel is the brutality of war and that even those who survive physically are likely to be destroyed mentally. The piece concentrates exhaustively on the destructive properties of war. Remarque rejects any romantic preconceptions the reader may have about combat in his descriptions of rat-infestation, starvation, nerve attacks, shell-shock, and inclement weather.

The consequences of war are similarly starkly dealt with. The character of Paul is forced to witness the dismemberment of many of his comrades. At vario

Following this, I then moved on to read Regeneration. I was attracted to read this particular title due to the fact that novelist Pat Barker was one of the first females to deal with the "Great War". Regeneration appeared to have far more of a grounding of reality to it than other texts based upon war that I have read. This may well be owing to the inclusion of real persons throughout a fair proportion of the novel. Several characters like Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfried Owen and Robert Graves were both poets and soldiers during the war.

Nationalism is one of the chief factors in the actual inception of war. The said mindset swept through Europe in the early twentieth century. Kantorek, the boys' former schoolteacher, epitomizes nationalism; Paul describes how Kantorek rallied his pupils with patriotic speeches and bullied them into volunteering for the war, ridiculing them for cowardice if they stayed at home. However, Kantorek and his generation are not the ones dying in the war. It is the "Iron Youth," as he calls them, who give up their lives for the political power games of a few global leaders.

As a part of a separate A2 module I have also read both Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Catch 22. Both of these novels take the topic of war and afford it somewhat of a humourous slant. Despite their aim in doing this, even humour cannot mask the appalling effect of war.

us intervals, he movingly realises

Some common words found in the essay are:
Robert Graves, World War, Iron Youth, Remarque Nationalism, Western Front, Journey's Despite, Mandolin Catch, War Regeneration, War Reading, Erich Remarque, horror war, iron youth, consequences war, western front, war reading, quiet western, quiet western front,
Approximate Word count = 952
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)