all quiet on the western front
As World War I comes into mind, millions of young men are pictured fighting for their country. Particularly, the countries of Britain, America as well as the other allies are thought of as triumphs. On the other hand, Germany was the evil enemy of the war. However, the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque depicts the horror and hopelessness of Germany's Iron Youth as well as the realities of war. The novel portrays the tragic account of a young man named Paul Baumer and his friends who enlist in the German army. They begin the war as teenagers enthusiastically with a cause and the glory for war, but when they are confronted with trench warfare, the horrors of war and the annihilation of the human spirit come into effect. Under the very first bombardment in the trenches, the romantic illusions about combat disintegrate. When Paul and his friends went to the District Commandment and volunteered, they were headed by their respectful schoolmaster Kantorek whose lectures taught them that the duty to one's country is the greatest thing. "The idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in our minds with a greater insight and a more humane wisdom. But the f
In this novel, Paul refers to himself and his friends as part of a lost generation. Paul feels that his generation does not have a previous life like the other men; they have wives, children, occupations, and interests (20). Thus, the lives of these men have just begun, and they only have the tragedies of war to show for it. The only thing Paul knows of is to fight against the young men of this same generation; survival is their only main concern. "I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow...And all men of my age, here and over there, throughout the whole world see these things; all my generation is experiencing these things with me...Through the years our business has been killing; --it was our first calling in life. Our knowledge of life is limited to death (264)." Paul describes how emotionally and mentally shattered these men became because of the war. Paul also believes that no one will understand what they have gone through and what they have seen with their eyes. From the moment they step into war, they must prepare for the world to which they will return, irrevocably changed. The longer they remain in the war, the more difficult it is to go back home. When Paul goes home to visit his family during his leave, everything around him has changed as well as himself. Since his last leave one year ago, Paul describes the differences and the estrangement he feels between the entire town and himself. "At that time I still knew nothing about the war, we had only been in quiet sectors. But now I see that I have been crushed without knowing it. I find I do not belong here any more, it is a foreign world (168)." He attempts
Some common words found in the essay are:
World War, District Commandment, Paul Baumer, Paul Paul, Britain America, Iron Youth, Maria Remarque, paul describes, war novel, world war, Quiet Western, Western Front, quiet western front, throughout novel, truth war, realities war, slowly dying, paul friends, trench warfare, war paul,
Approximate Word count = 1178
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
