In All Quiet, the main character, a young German named Paul Baumer, enlists in the army. Initially, in his company, two distinct classes of individuals exist. Paul and his four schoolmates are well educated and of a higher station in life. They are still teenagers, fresh from school, and have volunteered fo

Evadne Price's Not So Quiet... was written as a response to All Quiet from a woman's perspective. In contrast to All Quiet, the class lines that exist between the characters are not erased through the necessity of war. While some of the stupidity and wastefulness associated with war is addressed in the novel, the social distinctions still remain, even in the mind of the main character.

While Smith overtly criticizes the wasted human resources caused by the class distinctions, she does still retain many of the ideas and ideals held by the upper class. This concept is exemplified through the character of Georgina Toshington. Tosh, as she is often called, is the niece of an earl. Price initially seems to use Tosh to break the stereotypes associated with the upper-crust of society. She has "a mind like a sewer (her own definition), the courage of a giant, the vocabulary of a Smithfield butcher, and the round, wind-reddened face of a dairymaid" (Price 11). These characteristics are not generally thought of as those of a lady, but of all the ambulance drivers, Tosh has the most breeding and is of the best lineage. This portrayal lends the idea that Price would like to break the image generally associated with the British gentry; however, in contrast, Tosh is also one of the most likeable characters in the novel. She is a heroine. She is courageous, knows her job, does it well, and is the idol of the entire convoy. Smith has "adored her since the first night I arrived" (Price 11). As a member of the upper class, Tosh's faults are readily overlooked. On the contrary, when Skinny uses vulgar language, Smith does not excuse it. Instead, she refers to Skinny as using "vile language, not like Tosh's good-natured swear words that always sound characteristic of Tosh and therefore exactly 'right,' but low shameful, foul somehow" (Price 113). Why is this behavior forgivable in Tosh and not in Skinny? Perhaps Price intends to show that Smith has a bias of which she is unaware or perhaps Price has inadvertently incorporated her own prejudice.

For the protagonist in Not So Quiet..., class is the determining factor in her position in the war. In order to be ambulance drivers, young women are required to be of a certain social level. Smith is "the nondescript daughter of a nondescript father who made money, sold his business, retired, and is spending the rest of his life in a big house on Wimbledon Common" (Price 23). The women volunteer to pay for the privilege of driving the wounded soldiers to hospitals. Due to the monetary requirements necessary to work the job, only girls of upper class families are able to afford to do this job. On top of this, a girl's familial background

Some common words found in the essay are:
Paul Baumer, Skinny Price, Toshington Tosh, Stanislaus Katczinsky, Price's Quiet, Common Price, Skinny Frost's, Kat Paul, League Gottingen, , ambulance drivers, upper class, class system, main character, evadne price's quiet, beginning novel, mother aunt, ambulance driver, price's quiet, evadne price's, price 211,
Approximate Word count = 1809
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)