Category: All Quiet on The Western Front

Erich Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front describes the young German soldier Paul Bäumer’s experiences in World War I, from his training to his death in battle. However, rather than show us how Paul grows as an individual, developing his own ideas and value system, the novel instead shows how Paul—along with his fellow soldiers—survives the war by doing precisely the opposite. The horrors of battle force the soldiers to develop animalistic instincts and a pack-like bond. There is no place for individuals in war, and therefore no place for a traditional coming-of-age tale.

The opening pages of All Quiet on the Western Front emphasize how war dissolves individual men into a single, collective identity. Most fictional autobiographies are narrated in the first-person singular, as the protagonist recounts his or her development from a child into an adult subject. However, Paul begins his tale by speaking not about himself but about his unit, using the third-person plural pronoun “we.” From the beginning, Paul is assimilated into the mass—a mass, moreover, that has been reduced to bodily functions and animal appetites. The third-person plural resonates throughout this first chapter as the soldiers operate as a single unit, motivated by the same communal desires: “we were growing impatient,” “we got excited,” “we were in just the right mood.” The emotions that drive this group arise not from elevated sentiments but rather from the most fundamental animal needs. What unite the soldiers, the reader discovers, are not the head and the heart, but the stomach and the intestines—full bellies and general latrines.

In order to survive the horrors of war, Paul must perform a type of human sacrifice, eradicating his feelings and sensibilities so that all that remains is, as he puts it, a “human animal.” In Chapter Seven, Paul describes how he must distance himself from his emotions and rely solely on automatic, animal instincts. In war, that which makes a person human can cost a soldier his sanity, if not his life. As Paul puts it, emotions—the qualities that make up individual human experience—are “ornamental enough during peacetime.” A soldier must not only discard his immediate emotional reactions to survive, but he must also sever his ties to the past and plans for the future. The war becomes the focal point of his universe, and his identity before or after becomes an irrelevant distraction. The only things that matter on the battlefield are the immediate physical stimuli: blood, hunger, bullets, and pain.

The soldiers are not only animal-like in the way that they reject human emotions and live completely in the present: The violent ways they struggle for power through the exercise of brute force also make them beastly. In explaining how a seemingly subservient postman like Himmelstoss could turn into such a bully as a drill-sergeant, Paul’s friend and fellow soldier, Kat, points out that the army’s power structure brings out the animals hidden within human beings. Human civilization is just a veneer, Kat argues, and humans have more in common with the animal kingdom than they would like to admit. When he participates in viciously swarming the unsuspecting Himmelstoss, Paul himself illustrates Kat’s point by engaging in behavior more appropriate to a savage herd animal than to a rational human individual.

If, as Kat argues, it is the structure of the army that is responsible for bringing out the soldiers’ collective-minded, animal side, then perhaps armistice will enable these men to recapture their individual humanities. Yet for Paul, the prospect of armistice does not seem to promise a return to the human community. Paul imagines that any return to civilized society will be a profoundly alienating experience, one in which “men will not understand” him and in which veterans of his generation will become “superfluous.” His war experience has excluded Paul from the general civilian community, and now the only form of community he can rely on is the animalism of his fellow soldiers. As Paul voices his fear that his generation will fail to “adapt” to the civilized world, his use of Darwinian language draws a final link between the human and animal kingdoms, suggesting that war not only turns the soldier from a human individual into an animal, but that by doing so it ineradicably alters the individual’s ability to relate to other humans.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a novel that gives a graphic, realistic portrayal of the horrors of war through the narration of Paul Bäumer, a German soldier who enlists in World War I. The novel focuses on Paul’s day to day life and fight to survive while stationed in the western front while the world as he knows it seems to fall apart in front of his eyes. The novel focuses on violent conflict in its most unadulterated form, without the distortions of patriotism or heroism. Death, trauma, and the fight for survival are all consequences of war that extend from the trenches to home.

Death is the primary effect of war. Simply, violence will almost always result in loss of life. While being stationed at the front, Paul and his fellow soldiers see death every day while in the trenches, and eventually it becomes a part of day to day life. After a deadly air raid, Paul describes the gruesome landscape, “The graveyard is a mass of wreckage. Coffins and corpses lie strewn about. They have been killed once again; but each of them that was flung up saved one of us” (Remarque 70-71). The only protection the soldiers have from artelliary is the dead bodies of their recently fallen fellow soldiers. Death and burial is a ritual that many hold sacred, and war takes away that sanctity in replacement for survival. Death effects the soldiers in a unit, who have formed bonds from their time in the trenches. It also affects family members, who have sent their loved ones off to way, desperately hoping that they will come back safe. When the concept or war is brought up, death is seen as one of the most common side effects, yet one of the most devastating.

When many of the soldiers who fought in WWI enlisted, they were motivated by romantic ideals, such as honor, valiance, or patriotism. They soon come to find that such rosy ideologies cannot protect them from the sheer violence of war. When on the battlefield, there are two opposing forces, life and death. Soldiers, when in the heat of battle, must act without question, simply on base instinct. It is a matter of survival. Even if these actions are horrific, they must be done in order to stay alive. Human emotions, such as fear, horror, grief, and pity are a death sentence. Once these soldiers have made it through battle, they must face the mental repercussions of the violent acts they were forced to commit for the sake of survival. These events are traumatic and lead to psychological damage that extends for longer than the time spent in the trenches.

Trauma has long been associated with war. What was once known as “shell shock” is what we know today as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is well documented that even a short traumatic eventing has lasting consequences. When soldiers spend months in battle, horror becomes a day-to-day event. Paul describes how battles linger with the soldiers in his unit. Even after the violence is finished, soldiers remain in shock, unable to think clearly. Though the soldiers are no longer in mortal danger, the trauma that they experience stays with them past the battlefield. Paul reflects on this, stating that “We forget nothing really. But so long as we have to stay here in the field, the front-line days, when they are past, sink down in us like a stone; they are too grievous for us to be able to reflect on them at once (73).”

When Erich Maria Remarque’s first published, All Quiet on Western Front in 1929, scholars of historical medicine, and history, analyzed the effects of war on soldiers. Analyzing effects of war on individuals allowed various scholars and medical professionals to quantify war-trauma in terms of desensitization to life, and a loss of hope. Charles Hamilton Sorley’s poem, When You see Millions of the Mouthless Dead, suggests a sense of trauma experienced by soldiers inching towards mortality, and a declining emotional state. Wilfred Owen’s poem, Spring Offensive highlights literary evidence of trauma experienced by soldiers regarding sleep deprivation, war wounds, through usage of literary elements such as metaphors and imagery. Each poem and the novel has a similar theme, describing the tragedy of war on mental health.

War trauma stems from a long exposure of unfavorable experiences affecting the psychology of individuals associated with combat. Combat has notable effects on the psychology of individuals associated with war, which can lead to desensitization and a cycle of a loss of hope or depression. Combat often involves life-threatening situations which may amplify this trauma. In Erich Maria Remarque’s, All Quiet on the Western Front, narrator Paul mentions “Distinctions, breeding, education are changed, are almost blotted out and hardly recognisable any longer” (129). As highlighted by this quote, over time individuals involved in combat become emotionally desensitized to life. Furthermore, constant fears of safety and security has lead individuals to place importance on survival, as opposed to daily life experiences. This mindset triggered from traumatic experiences can develop into an illness referred to as present-day post-traumatic stress disorder. Trauma associated with war can be also described as a sense of hopelessness. A loss of hope can be a common symptom of depression, and a variant of an experience associated with war-trauma. Indirectly, a loss of hope is tied in with depressive thoughts and a grim outlook towards the future. In the novel, Paul comments “All at once everything seems to me confused and hopeless” (page 42). Similar to All Quiet on the Western Front, Charles Hamilton Sorley’s poem provides evidence of war trauma of soldiers inching towards mortality.

When You see Millions of the Mouthless Dead, a poem by Charles Hamilton Sorley, describes evidence of war trauma. Sorley mentions in his poem, “Nor tears. Their blind eyes see not your tears flow.” Charles Hamilton Sorley is implying, due to implications of war, individuals have become emotionless. Since they are emotionless, combatants are ready to continue efforts in war without fear. As a case in point, similarities between shifting emotional thoughts are shown within this poem, and Erich Maria Remarque’s novel All Quiet on Western Front. Sorley mentions in his poem, “It is a spook. None wears the face you knew.” Charles Hamilton Sorley is referencing that soldiers involved in combat are transformed into what is a spook. A spook is in literary terms can refer to as a ghost. In essence, Sorley is making the comparison that individuals involved in war trauma have become numb to feelings, and have changed their personalities before they experienced war trauma. Furthermore, Charles Hamilton Sorley is mentions, “Nor honour. It is easy to be dead.” Sorley is describing the distinction between living and dead that cannot be made during times of war. Individuals who are in the process of war, have no other option left. They are essentially sacrificing their life for their country, and increase the likelihood of them passing away due to combat.

Wilfred Owen’s Poem, Spring Offensive, describes war trauma in the form of sleep deprivation, and war wounds. Owen states in the form of imagery, “So, soon they topped the hill, and raced together.” Sleep deprivation or exhaustion is prevalent during war-time efforts. Sleep deprivation or exhaustion can lead to a myriad of health complications, as exemplified by Wilfred Owen in his poem. Primarily, soldiers are exerting energy that is not being replenished by rest. Furthermore, short-term consequences can occur. Short-term consequences can alter diminished cognitive functioning throughout the day, or increase the probability to abuse substances such as nicotine, or other forms of drugs. As seen in All Quiet on the Western Front, soldiers heavily used nicotine-based products such as cigarettes. Furthermore, sleep deprivation can lead to various forms of anxiety or a common form of an illness amongst veterans known as, post-traumatic stress disorder. Additionally, a lack of sleep can lead to reoccurring nightmares or sleeping problems. These nightmares may continue on post-war and may require medical attention. Wilfred Owen also mentions trauma due to war wounds through literary techniques such as metaphors. For instance, Owen states, “Leapt to swift unseen bullets, or went up.” Unseen bullets in this context means that soldiers are constantly defending themselves from the unknown. These unseen bullets can be potentially devastating, as they can impair an individual. These injuries can lead to permanent wounds, as well as an invisible mental wound. Invisible mental wounds are those that stem unfavorable experiences when glancing at a war scar. This can lead to a form of war trauma, which can have severe implications on an individual. Went up in this context is used as a metaphor, and simply means, a soldier had a high chance of passing away. The fear of constantly being afraid for your life, will induce war trauma in the future.

The poems presented and the novel All Quiet on the Western Front illustrates a theme of self-identity, and tragedies of war. In the novel, the narrator Paul realizes his identity after fighting for extensive periods of time. The narrator Paul makes subtle hints that, warfare and the tragedies associated with it, does not correlate to discovering one’s identity. Rather, the tragedies of war and conflict, devalues the self-discovery process. Paul comments, “Whoever survives, his country wins. That would be much simpler and more just than this arrangement, where the wrong people do the fighting” (page 21). The narrator Paul here is highlighting the idea that, rather than to actually discover one’s true identity, war does the opposite. Charles Hamilton Sorley’s poem, touches upon the same theme. For instance, Sorley comments, “That you’ll remember. For you need to not so.” Here Sorley is indicating that there is no self-discovery in war, and rather, it deviates from the original purpose. Furthermore, he is mentioning that war tragedy occurs as deaths increase.

Overall, Erich Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, provided experiences of soldiers during a period war. Additionally, it allowed individuals analyzing the text to determine how to quantify war trauma. Charles Hamilton Sorley’s poem, When You See Millions of the Mouthless Dead, provides literary examples of war-trauma soldiers experiences as they came closer to mortality. Wilfred Owen’s poem, Spring Offensive documented literary evidence of soldiers experiencing sleep deprivation and exhaustion. All of these texts had a similar theme of self-discovery one’s identity, as well as the effects of war and trauma

Citations

1. Owen, Wilfred. “Spring Offensive by Wilfred Owen.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/57370/spring-offensive-56d23ad1f2c15.
2. Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1929.
3. Sorley, Charles Hamilton. “’When You See Millions of the Mouthless Dead’ by…” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47427/when-you-see-millions-of-the-mouthless-dead.

While in the hospital, Kemmerich “looks ghastly, yellow, and wan” from his injury, demonstrating his lack of invincibility (Remarque 18). These men are only human, and they are not strong or indestructible like iron, but rather weak from the injuries of the war. The men of World War I were exposed to the death and pain of their comrades, and saw the vulnerability of the human body and mind. While the soldiers’ bodies may be young, the gruesome experience of the war has aged their minds far beyond their years. The men are in fact the very opposite of the “Iron Youth.”

Paul believes that comradeship is the finest thing to arise from the war, because without it, the isolation and loneliness may become too great to survive. Paul explains that soldiers became “hard, suspicious, pitiless, vicious, [and] tough” during the difficult and miserable training, but that this shared misery also develops a sense of comradeship (Remarque 29). For the men in World War I, it is impossible to survive the horrors of the war alone, and camaraderie is absolutely necessary.

While it is true that Paul and his friends are young, they refer to themselves as “stone-age veterans” because they have been exposed to the horror of the war, which has aged them beyond their years. For Paul and his friends, being “quartered in a small, dark factory” with “nothing to be had” is nothing new, because they have adapted to the conditions of the war; but for the new recruits, this is not the case (Remarque 39). They don’t truly understand what the war entails, because the only way to know is to experience it.

As they approach the front, the men begin to realize the severity and danger of their situation, and become “instant human animals,” concentrating on simply staying alive one more day (Remarque 56). They have physically prepared for the challenges they will face at the front, but the mental willpower they need is unimaginable, and they focus solely on preserving their own lives. They transition from being playful, teenage boys to being fierce, focused men. This change is absolutely necessary, because without focus and determination, they will die.

For the 19 year-old men, the war consumes their entire lives. Kropp doesn’t “think [they’ll] ever go back” to “peace-time” because he can no longer imagine what it’s like (Remarque 81). Paul and his comrades entered the war just as they were entering adulthood, eliminating their opportunity to explore a peaceful world as men. They can’t envision that the war will end and that eventually, their normal lives will resume. Fighting the war has become their sole purpose. On the other hand, the older men who are in the war, such as Katzinsky, have a completely different experience. They will “go back to their jobs because they had them already” and continue providing for their families (Remarque 80). For the eldest men, the war is merely a pause in their lives, and their mindset is to serve their time and return to normal living; whereas the young adults cannot imagine a time without the war because they have never experienced adulthood without it.

During an attack, the soldiers “become wild beasts” who “destroy and kill” in order to “defend [themselves] against annihilation” (Remarque 103). The men are stripped of their humanity, as their only task is to survive the attack. They cannot afford to think about anything other than merely staying alive, because otherwise they could die in an instant.

While away from home, Paul detaches himself from his family and the outside world to focus on the war, and when he comes back to his mother, “there is a distance, a veil between [them]” (Remarque 142). Returning home only causes pain for both his mother and himself. Paul is distressed knowing that he was not there for his mother when she was sick, and only realizes this once he comes home. While on the front, he is able to suppress all of his emotions, but when he comes back, he is forced to face them. Paul is also in agony knowing that he will leave his family again and go back to the war, a horrid and dangerous place. The transition between war and home-life is more difficult than remaining away from family altogether.

When Paul receives potato-cakes that his mother, who has cancer, cooked herself, he realizes that she “was probably in pain as she stood before the hot stove” in order to make them (Remarque 174). Paul is devastated that he cannot be there for his mother, because of his commitment to the war. He has suppressed all of his emotions during the war, making it hard for him to feel grief. Paul feels alienated from his family, but receiving the potato cakes is a reminder of his inability to provide for his family while away at war.

Paul explains that Duval, the enemy soldier, was “only an idea . . . an abstraction that lived in [his] mind” before he stabbed him (Remarque 195). Later, he realizes that this man was equivalent to him, with a family and a life that could have been lived to its fullest if Paul hadn’t ended it. This realization causes him to understand the lack of humanity in war. Soldiers are taught to kill or be killed; there is no room for mercy or grief within war. Duval’s death ties all of this together for Paul.

“Bombardment, barrage, curtain-fire, gas, tanks, machine-guns hand grenade ––words, words but they hold the horror of the world,” Remarque, E.M. (1929) All Quiet on the Western Front. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque was published in 1929 in Germany. The novel tells the story of Paul Baumer and his friends’ treacherous journey in the war which starts with them getting influenced to enlist into the war and them realizing that war/death is all that they know. My detailed understanding of context has influenced my response to the cruelty of gas, the innocence of youth, and the effects of war on soldiers.

My detailed perception of the context has influenced my response to gas. I didn’t know how terrifying and horrible gas is. With my new perception of the context I see that gas killed multiple people in horrible ways. There were 4 main gases used in world war 1 (tear gas, Chlorine, mustard gas, and phosgene) in total around 90,000 soldiers were killed by gas, and 185,000 were injured from gas. Of those 90 000 soldiers 85% were killed by phosgene. Symptoms of phosgene exposure are coughing, watery eyes, blurred vision, shortness of breath, nausea, and death. “My lungs are tight, they breathe always the same hot, used up air, the veins on my temples are swollen. I feel I am suffocating,” Remarque, E.M. (1929) All Quiet on the Western Front. At this moment in time in the novel, the German soldiers are getting gassed and this is how Paul Baumer reacts. This quote shows how excruciating the effects of gas is. My detailed understanding of the context has influenced my response to gas.

My detailed knowledge of the context has influenced my response to the innocence of youth. I now know that numerous young soldiers fought in the war and that most of them died, got injured, or would be scared. All Quiet on the Western Front is an example of how fragile innocence is and how it can be corrupted. Paul and his friends are only teenagers just out of school but fought in the war. Since they were so young compared to other soldiers, they didn’t have much of a childhood or anything to look forward to when ’they get out of war’ because their life had only just begun. In Britain it is estimated that 250,000 soldiers under the age of 18 fought in the first world war. Of those around 10% of them died and the rest of them would be scarred for life. “Youth! We are none of us more than twenty years old. But young? Youth? That is long ago. We are old folk,” Remarque, E.M. (1929) All Quiet on the Western Front. They have experienced so much death and horror from war that even though they are young they act older than they are. “All the older men are linked up with their previous life. They have wives, children, occupations, and interests, they have a background which is so strong that the war cannot obliterate it,” Remarque, E.M. (1929) All Quiet on the Western Front. They feel that when you are older and join the war you have lived and therefore have something to cling onto when in the front. Whereas they are young and have not done too much and have not much to cling onto. “We young men of twenty, however, have only our parents, and some, perhaps, a girl,” Remarque, E.M. (1929) All Quiet on the Western Front. The innocence of Paul and his classmates is corrupted by Kantorek (their schoolteacher) and the older generation, who encourages them to enroll in the war. ‘But the first death we saw shattered this belief. We had to recognize that our generation was more to be trusted than theirs…. The first bombardment showed us our mistake, and under it the world as they had taught it to us broke in pieces,” Remarque, E.M. (1929) All Quiet on the Western Front. At school Kantorek was a respected authority figure so to see that he had manipulated them was so wrong. “The idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in our minds with a greater insight and a more humane wisdom,” Remarque, E.M. (1929) All Quiet on the Western Front. Knowing how the war affected underage soldiers made me feel sorry for what Paul and his classmates went through.

My understanding of the context has influenced my response to how the war affects the soldiers. With my new knowledge of world war 1 I know that around 8 million soldiers died and around 21 million soldiers got injured. Of the 40+ million soldiers around 12% of them died or got killed. Soldiers have seen death daily whether it would be from the opposition or a mate. All the death that they face disturbs them mentally. The chances of getting injured were 36%. “But every soldier believes in Chance and trusts his luck,” Remarque, E.M. (1929) All Quiet on the Western Front. The soldiers know that they might die and that it could happen any day by chance. “they can take nothing from me, they can take nothing more. I am so alone, and so without hope that I can confront them without fear,” Remarque, E.M. (1929) All Quiet on the Western Front. The war has taken everything from Paul he has nothing left, all his friend has died. Through Paul’s emotions I symptomize with soldiers and what they go through.

The cruelty of war is shown throughout this novel. Erich Maria Remarque’s novel questions why we even go to war because of how inhuman it is to kill another human. My comprehensive perception of the context of All Quiet on the Western Front impacts my response to the cruelty of gas, the innocence of youth, and the effects of war on soldiers.

All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel by Erich Remarque, a German war veteran, that describes the intense physical and mental stress German soldiers were exposed to during World War I and the change back to civilian life after returning home. All Quiet on the Western Front was not like any other novel about war; it was brutality truthful about what war was really like for the soldiers. The novel completely changed mankind’s understanding of military conflict with its catastrophic levels of violence, battles that last for months, and the gruesome new technology evolving, such as machine guns, poison gas, and trenches. Paul, the narrator of the novel, primarily speaks in the first person plural as he describes the experience of the soldiers around him. He switches to first-person singular as he tells the readers his own thoughts and feelings towards the war. After Paul’s death, the novel switches to an unnamed narrator in the third person. In the following paragraphs I will be discuss the details of World War I, some of the physical stress soldiers were exposed to, and what it was like for the soldiers to return home.

World War I began on July 28, 1914 and lasted until November 11, 1918, slightly over four years. This war, described as “the war to end all wars”, was a war between the allied powers and the central powers. The allied powers were the United States, Japan, Great Britain, France, Russia, Romania, and Italy. The major central power countries were Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. The war began after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. War ended when Germany signed an armistice, a treaty for peace and no more fighting, that had been arranged by Britain and France.

During the Great War soldiers experience very powerful physical and mental stress like witnessing death, fearing for their own life, mood swings, losing a close friend or valued leader, etc. Soldiers were subject to constant physical danger, as they could literally be shot or blown to pieces at any moment. Even though soldiers faced more physical stress during the war there was still mental stress. They were forced to live in disturbing circumstances— in filth, waterlogged ditches full of rodents and decaying bodies. They would frequently go without food and sleep, good clothing, and adequate medical care.

Remarque describes the overall effect of these conditions as an overload of terror and misery. The only way for the soldiers to make it through the war was to remove themselves from their feelings, bury their emotions, and tolerate the conditions of their lives. Erich Remarque said it best with the quote, “At school nobody ever taught us how to light a cigarette in a storm of rain, nor how a fire could be made with wet wood-nor that it is best to stick a bayonet in the belly because there it doesn’t get jammed, as it does in the ribs.” This quote does an amazing job demonstrating what condition the soldiers’ mind were in. Paul, for an example, becomes incapable of picturing a future without the war and unable to remember how he felt in the past. A quote from All Quiet on the Western Front that stood out the most was, “Our thoughts are clay, they are molded with the changes of the days; – when we are resting, they are good; under fire, they are dead. Fields of craters within and without.” It is so powerful and describes how the war adjusted the soldiers’ minds and how they have adjusted their minds to make all the wrongs involved with war seem like they are okay. Their imagination is like the battle ground around them, filled with holes and destroyed.

As a result of All Quiet on the Western Front being narrator among the soldiers fighting on the front, its focus is the damaging effect that war has on the soldiers who fight. After war was over many soldiers experienced PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, when they returned to their family and friends. Soldiers can have a hard time adjusting to life outside of the war. What the soldiers experienced is best explained by what Army veteran, Daniel Somers, said, “I am left with nothing. Too trapped in a war to be at peace, too damaged to be at war.” It is best to make sure the soldier knows they’re not alone and that there are countless ways to deal with cope with the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

At the end of the novel, almost all the major characters had died, symbolizing the war’s overwhelming effect on the generation of young men who were forced to fight. All Quiet on the Western Front did remarkable job unfolding the awful cruelty of war on the soldiers and their families. While novels before All Quiet on the Western Front tended to make war sound romantic by highlighting thoughts such as glory, honor, adventure, and loyalty to their country. In the previous paragraphs I discussed more information about World War I, the conditions for the war, and what soldiers and their families experience when they come home from war.

Works Cited

1. Remarque, Erich. “All Quiet on the Western Front.” All Quiet on the Western Front, 1928 https://explainallquietonthewesternfront.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/7/2/24722875/all_quiet_on_the_western_front.pdf

Introduction

World War One broke up in the year of 1914, many soldiers were killed on the front-line of the battlefield. War took many lives away from their family and friends, taking away young soldiers’ dreams and leaving them no choice but to keep fighting in the war. Thus, some soldiers decided to write diaries during wartime to reflect their lives on the battlefield, and what war actually meant to them. During the period of time after World War One and before World War Two, there are two famous war-based novelists who write about their experiences and their perceptions of war. Both novelists described the war from totally different standpoints and perspectives, representing their own ideas and determinations. The two novels written by them were considered as famous novels based on World War One by many people. The two authors of the novels have different perceptions of World War One, as Ernst Jünger who was a pro-war front-line lieutenant during World War One that wrote the novel “The Storm of Steel”, and Erick Maria Remarque who was a young soldier fighting war at the front line for the first time that wrote the novel “All Quiet on the Western Front”. Both novels have distinguished perspectives, therefore, it is important to analyze the significance and outlook of both novels to understand the perspective of both authors. Remarque and Jünger were both writing their novels to influence the public and reflect their own experiences during World War One. The purpose of this paper is to describe the emotional state and demonstrate how a soldier is interpreting World War One, as well as determining which of the novel was written more rights during that period of time.

The Storm of Steel

First of all, In the novel “The Storm of Steel”, Jünger was a front-line lieutenant who knew the purpose of fighting during the war. Jünger described his experience on how he leads the team and fought the enemy at the front line during the First World War from a diary perspective. As rhetoric writing is not common in military soldiers, Jünger demonstrated his writing skill in this novel. His diary has highly regarded his heroic point of view, the value pursued by Jünger is epic heroism on himself, fighting for his country of Germany. As Jünger considered, the atmosphere of intense in war is amazing, as all soldiers considered themselves as superhuman and death lost its meaning and lives are determined by the country. (Jünger, 254)

Beyond heroism, Ernst Jünger’s emotion in response to war and enemies is relatively simple, sometimes he is showing anger and hatred, however, these emotions are only impulses on specific situations. For example, once in his story, he stated, as he pointed a revolver at the British soldiers on the battle. The British soldier took a picture from his arms and gave it to him for preservation. After seeing this action Jünger restrained his action and ground his teeth while forced down his anger and walking away. Jünger might have demonstrated himself as a cruel Lieutenant on his novel, but his action showed his anger is not the whole emotion, he would also feel like a normal person. (Jünger, 256)

Ernst Jünger is full of praise for war and conflict, but also contains a contrast of peaceful life. It seems that in the minds of the soldiers who are full of German revival thoughts, only the life of violence and war are the only condition for one’s survival. Jünger’s thoughts are holding a heroic aesthetic to the war, he considered to die for his country if he has to. (Jünger, 318-319) This novel demonstrates the relevance of being a real German soldier, showing the toughest, as Jünger would rather die in the war than to surrender, showing the spirit of the German army.

Compared with many styles of literary works, ‘The storm of Steel’ is more realistic in a certain sense, without writing over-dramatic stories. But what was interesting about this novel is that the most unusual thing like heroic, attitudes and academic style goes beyond many people’s impressions from an ordinary soldier. He’s writing would include dramatic description, for example, describing a soldier being bombed as “A dish-shaped helmet was sent spinning high in the air”. (Jünger, 258) While experiencing the brutal war, carrying out serious and abstract thinking, Jünger maintained an academic thinking and narrative style in such an environment. Being able to write a novel in such dramatic detail is truly an honors for him being a lieutenant.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Erick Maria Remarque’s novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” has a general perception of a young front-line soldier stepping on the battlefield for the first time. Remarque reflected based on the young soldiers’ individual thinking and their curiosity towards the war. The novel is written from the narrative first-person point of view. Remarque did not use his own name but instead uses a soldier named Paul, as the entire novel reflected based on what Paul saw and heard. The novel described the simple concept of informing that the front-line young soldiers simply were not meant to be there, but they have no determination and no idea what they are fighting for. Remarque described how painful living in the trenches was like with rats, mould bread and lack of supplies causing many soldiers to have illusion and mental breakdown. (Remarque, 89-95). Remarque demonstrates from the perspective of soldiers who are just fighting the war for the sake of fighting the war. The physical torture and trauma suffered by ordinary soldiers in the war, on the frontline battlefield and realizing the brutality that was brought by war.

Erick Maria Remarque describes the heavy war in an influential way, accuses killing in war and showing his desire for life, while demonstrating his objection on World War I to a philosophical standpoint using poetic words. Rather than fighting to conquer the enemy, many soldiers fight for the purpose of not getting killed. As when the German soldiers get out of the trenches to fight the french soldiers, many soldiers lost their emotions as they would kill any enemies that appeared in front of them. “If your own father came over with them you would not hesitate to fling a bomb at him.” (Remarque, 100) This quote describes the French Soldiers as them, it means that even if the soldier’s father come and attempting to kill him, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill him back. This showed the dehumanization of soldiers from the war, and war has pushed them beyond their moral bottom line.

As described by Erick Maria Remarque, some important events happened when Paul got home from war for the first time. As when he realized that ever since he came back from war, his mom care of him a lot more than what he’s dad does, who always just asks how it was like fighting at the front line. Paul’s mom was the only one that cares about him and considers him looking good in civilian clothes. Meanwhile, his dad is more patriotic and asked him to wear his uniform so he can show off visiting his acquaintances. As well, the father also cares only about the pride of being a soldier and the war. (Remarque, 142) As Paul also encountered his German master and a major general, German master judged him on his thinking, while he ran into a major general without a greeting of salute to him. The major general was humiliating Paul for losing his manners and respect. Paul was forced to apologize, but deep inside Paul, he thought that front-line soldiers should be honored and shown with a welcome by the public, but instead, he was getting treated like he should have won the war, he should be still fighting at the front-line. (Remarque, 141-142)

When Paul finally get back to the army, many of the other soldiers gathered around to think about the purpose of fighting in the war. This little plot on the novel demonstrated by Erick Maria Remarque was somewhat ironic as the soldiers imagined that the German leader Kaiser Wilhelm II would look much stronger or bigger than they are. (Remarque, 173-177) Some soldiers thought that the war is beneficial, while some think that war is not necessary, some even think that war is only created by some people. This demonstrates the different perspectives of soldiers and how soldiers are innocent and clueless about what they are fighting for.

Erick Maria Remarque has personal experience of war, so he demonstrated his writing so well in this novel. By showing the thinking from the individuals, the war not only destroyed the people who were hit by the gunfire, but even the survivors were spared. War will destroy everything, that’s the message is sending. People can only give up thinking and learn to survive in the war. As the title of the novel is “All Quiet on the Western Front”, but realistically, it is an ironic symbol. All quiet on the western front as to meaning, it is normal to have chaos like gunfire bombs from front-line, it is a very common situation on a daily basis, therefore, ‘all quiet’ to mean ‘all as usual’.

Comparing the Two Novels

By analyzing both Erick Maria Remarque’s and Ernst Jünger’s novel, it is clear that both authors were reflecting World War One from different perceptions. Remarque describes the individual thoughts of all soldiers, such as the confusions that the soldier has towards the war. What is the purpose of fighting? Why are sacrificing our lives? Where are the peace and freedom? As well Remarque indicated perception from other people who are not fighting at the front line, such as the father of Paul, showing off Paul in his uniform, the Major General who humiliated him. Jünger’s novel was also written from the perspective of a front-line soldier but as a lieutenant. He fought the English soldiers while showing a detailed description of how the war was fought, reinforcing a positive influence on the other soldiers.

Compared to Paul on Erick Maria Remarque’s novel, Ernst Jünger has much braver personnel. Jünger knew clearly what he is fighting for while killing the enemy, as well, he described the clear state that the brave soldiers faced daily. Soldiers in Remarque’s novel are fighting for no purpose while soldiers in Jünger’s novel are fighting for the honour of the country. Also, the way two authors describe starvation is different. Remarque would describe from a narrative perspective, demonstrating what he saw and bring the reader into the environment of him. While Jünger would write like a novelist, making comparisons like “For four long years, in torn coats and worse fed than a Chinese coolie.” (Jünger, 268) As in terms of the similarity of both novels, Paul and Jünger went back to the war after their first attempt to go home, this shown the narrative expression of the endless war, as all soldiers were expected to have already been home before Christmas of 1914. Furthermore, Jünger’s book can also be justified as a representation of a peer group in war, while Remarque’s book represents more of the individual role.

By evaluating both novels, Ernst Jünger seems to have an advantage in terms of presenting a positive point of view, influencing the German population and reinforcing he’s bravery. But on the other end, Erich Maria Remarque is also considered to be brave for his attempt to write an anti-war novel during the time of period. As normally, German soldiers who fought in the war coming home alive would be pleased to receive honour and cheers from the public, they would be seen as warriors who succeed. However, Remarque wrote the novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” to spread the negative side of war and reinforce anti-war ideology concepts for the populations in German. This action would lead to obvious discourage to the younger generation to fight in the war knowing how dangerous it was. It would have seen by the German population as a betrayal action. It takes a lot of courage for Remarque to have written types of novels like this. Therefore, Remarque can also be considered just as brave as Jünger, Jünger was brave for fighting in the war, while Remarque was brave through his persuasion on his novel.

Conclusion

Overall, after analyzed the significant and outlook for both “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “The Storm of Steel” while reflecting the concepts shown by both authors, it is concluded that both authors are extraordinary. Both authors to their novels were written from a different perspective demonstrated World War One in general, and how it was impacting the population in German. Ernst Jünger’s “The Storm of Steel” would have likely to encourage more German population to fight for their country, knowing the bravery of Jünger during the War. It can be seen as a significant influence on the German nation especially knowing that the novel was written based on a real story. Although Erick Maria Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” is a fictional novel, it demonstrated that the author wanted to spread the idea of the brutality of war on an anti-war position. By narrating the novel from a soldier’s perspective allowed the readers to feel like they are experiencing the same feelings and nervousness as Paul does. “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “The Storm of Steel” cannot be distinguished based on which was the more righteous one, since they both presented two different ideas and it is up to the interpretation of the readers.

The historical-fiction novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque describes the atrocities of World War I from the perspective of the Germans. The war started in 1914 and lasted till 1918, nationalism being a large contributor towards the starting of this war. Across these 4 years there was a casualty count of over 40 million. The slaughter and destruction was so great that it was branded as “the war to end all wars.” In 1917, The author was drafted into this atrocious war at the age of 18. With the experience he gained, he sought to highlight the atrocities of the war, many of which are seemingly compiled into this novel. Through the eyes of Paul Bäumer, the audience witnesses much of the author’s personal experiences. This includes the horrible conditions of the trenches, the extreme lack of food, and the mass amounts of casualties. However, on a deeper level, the author is commenting on the issue of nationalism in society. This is shown through the use of literary devices such as irony, imagery, and dialogue.

Among other literary devices, irony best demonstrates the issue of nationalism. This is first shown when Paul recalls his past as a student, “… He used to glare at us through his spectacles and say in a moving voice: ‘Won’t you join up, Comrades’ … Strange to say, Behm was one of the first to fall” (Remarque 11, 12). This quote displays Kantorek as he attempts to influence his students into joining the war effort. This proves ironic because as the scene unfolds, the audience learns that Joseph Behm, the only unwilling student in which Kantorek recruited, is one of the first of the second company to die, what brings Behm into the war is the reason for his death. Despite Behm being quite hesitant to join the war effort, he is pressured into believing that it is almost traitorous to his country to not join the war effort. “But he did allow himself to be persuaded, otherwise he would have been ostracized” (11). This demonstrates the issue of nationalism, as it is being used here as a tool to recruit much of the populace towards the awful cause that is the war, and in Behm’s case, force those who are unwilling to join.

Because of the deaths of their classmates, Paul and his friends learn to distrust Kantorek and nationalists alike. This is shown when the author states, “Yes, that’s the way they think, these hundred thousand Kantoreks! Iron Youth! Youth! We are none of us more than twenty years old. But young? Youth? That is long ago. We are old folk” (18). This depicts the scene in which the group of young men humor the letter Kantorek has sent referring to his students as the iron youth. Paul displays his hatred towards Kantorek as he brands all nationalists as Kantorek, the one that had prodded them into joining the war effort. In addition, the quote shows the hardships that has been brought upon Paul due to the war, in which they were tricked into joining, believing that it would demonstrate their nationalism, as he laughs at being called young believing that he has experienced enough to be considered an old man. But, Irony is not the only literary device used to display the problem of nationalism.

Imagery also helps to display the issue of nationalism. This is first seen when the author writes, “We were still crammed full of vague ideas which gave to life, and to the war also an ideal and almost romantic character… We recognized that what matters is not the mind but the boot brush, not intelligence but the system, not freedom but drill” (21, 22). This scene depicts Paul recalling his past life and how naive he once was. What is stated here by the author helps to instill the image in the audience’s head that everything Paul previously knew is now seemingly insignificant. In addition, it seems as if this scene teaches Paul and his friends to believe that true patriotism comes in the form of blind submission as he is forced to relinquish his freedom. This displays how nationalism is exploitable as Paul and the other students at the academy naively joined the war effort, only on the premise that it would display their patriotism, without considering the possible atrocities of the war. Because of this false premise, Paul and the rest of the students at the academy are lured into the war and are now forced to suffer the consequences as they experience their previous way of life be ripped away.

Once more, imagery is used to display the issue of nationalism. Imagery is used during the scene with the Russian prisoners when the author states, “They have faces that make one think–honest peasant faces… They look just as kindly as our own peasants in Friesland” (190). This scene depicts Paul humanizing the enemy Russian prisoners, comparing them to German peasants. The imagery present in this scene helps to depict the enemy Russians as no different from any German displaying Paul’s lack of nationalism as he begins to grow increasingly tired of the war. The author seems to be stating, through Paul humanizing the enemy Russian prisoners, that nationalism is harmful as it has brainwashed many into viewing the enemy as sub-human. The author then goes on to state, “A word of command has made these silent figures our enemies; a word of command might transform them into our friends” (193, 194). This demonstrates the lie that is nationalism, as many have been brainwashed into thinking that it is an expression of one’s pride for their country to mercilessly kill the enemy. However, this quote goes to show that the war is just unnecessary sacrifice as this dispute could simply be resolved through an agreement.

Through dialogue, the audience is able to learn how nationalism is exploitable. This becomes apparent when the author writes, “… ‘we are here to protect our fatherland. And the French are over there to protect their fatherland. Now who’s in the right’” (203). During this scene, Paul and his friends discuss which country is truly in the right. However, Paul states that maybe both countries are right, possibly both are wrong. Thus, displaying the conflicting ideology that is nationalism as everyone is led to believe that they hold the correct stance in the war. “… ‘our professors and parson and newspapers say that we are the only ones that are right… but the French professors and parsons and newspapers say that the right is on their side” (203, 204). This leads the group of young men to turn their heads toward the political powers behind the war as they begin to realize that the war is ploy for the people in power’s own personal gain, “… every full grown emperor requires at least one war, otherwise he would not become famous… We didn’t want the war… and yet half the world is in it all the same” (206). This displays the idiocy of nationalism as it assumes that a country and its people are a single entity, it requires that the citizen place the interests of the country over their own or another country.

It seems that the author is commenting of the issue of nationalism in a society. This is shown through irony through the manipulation of Behm, imagery through the loss of rights and humanizing of the enemy, and through dialogue as Paul and his friends reason that political leaders play off of nationalistic ideals for their own personal gain. Through the commenting on the issue of nationalism, it appears that the author reveals to the audience, parts of the nature of our species. He seems to believe that as a whole, the human race is oblivious, blindly following a leader without question. Through the exposing of this human flaw, the author attempts to reform, attempting to rid of this blind submission.

In the novel, ‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’ by Erich Maria Remarque, the author uses the character, Paul Baumer, to convey critiques of the military structure, and decisions. ‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’ is a novel about a young soldier named Paul who was enlisted at a young age to fight for his country, and later on, turned into a hardened veteran. Often, novelists romanticize what war was like, and how the war affected the soldiers psychologically, but in ‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’ Remarque implicates his knowledge of being a German soldier fighting on the front.

During World War 1, Paul Baumer, and his fellow soldiers enlist into the War voluntarily, after hearing patriotic and honoring speeches from his teacher Kantorek. Paul and his fellow soldiers later realize that it was a mistake believing the war was honorable, and live in constant terror. The young volunteer discerns that to feel less guilt and resentment he has to preserve his humanity. The basic necessities of a person are what count the most. The following states, ‘I stay to finish my last four pancakes; twice I have to drop to the floor;– after all, it means four pancakes more, and they are my favorite dish’ (Paul Baumer 236.) Maintaining self-worth during World War 1 is very important for Paul because distinguishing between believing that he is a good person or a bad person depends on his mentality. Though it is tough for Paul Baumer to surmount the things he has seen, he becomes a ‘human animal,’ which relies on human instinct, and survival. Paul struggles with detaching completely via war, and his family. The following states, ‘Parting from my friend Albert Kropp was very hard. But a man gets used to that sort of thing in the army’ (Paul Baumer 269.) The author uses this quote to make the reader understand how the war affected Paul Baumer.

Throughout World War 1, Paul Baumer’s mentality changes. When Muller; one of Paul’s friends asks the others what they would do if it was peacetime again, Paul believes otherwise. Albert Kropp states, ‘The war has ruined us for everything’ (Albert Kropp 87.) Paul Baumer continues to say, ‘We are cut off from activity, from striving, from progress. We believe in such things no longer, we believe in the war’ (Paul Baumer 88.) Before Paul enlisted in the war, he had his plans formulated, but since then Paul has mentally changed. The war has affected him greatly to the point of him believing that life has nothing to offer him after the war. Another time Paul Baumer changes his mind is when Paul and Mueller come from visiting Kimmerich in the hospital. Since Kemmerich’s leg was amputated, Mueller recognizes that he could put good use to the boots. Paul states, ‘Wha have lost all sense of other considerations because they are artificial. Only the facts are real and important for us’ (Paul Baumer 21.) Paul and his fellow soldiers have to change the way they think if they are going to survive the war. They cannot afford to put their emotions in the way. By being in the war, it has brainwashed Paul to think that ‘artificial,’ things such as thoughts, ideas, and emotions don’t matter, and to think that only facts are going to keep him alive.

The effect on him caused him to alter his humanity during the war, which allowed him to be able to become the human animal he essentially needed to be to survive during the battle.

Coming from a time when the Vietnam war was as it were fair wrapping up, however, the bad dream of the Cold War appeared to be moving theatres, from the blanketed greys of central Europe to the ruddy aridity of the Centre East, All Quiet on the Western Front (1979) could be a convenient antiwar film, directed by Delbert Mann and maybe a change of a prior 1930’s adjustment of the novel by Erich Maria Remarque, which Nolan utilized as research material for his most later film, Dunkirk.

All Quiet on the Western Front brings the war up close and while not a lot of relish. It’s the story of War I, as told from the perspective of a German officer, Peter Baumer.

The story is, in any case, way more telling of the activity inside the film. It is the story of a youthful man who is educated to believe that he’s battling for one thing noble, that he’s so doing the correct factor by getting to war since he is protective of his nation, he is delivering radiance to his family, and he is taking associate interest inside the extraordinary battle of his times. This may be the old-school discernment of war that maligned the first war. It absolutely was a war battled with the subsequent war’s weapons and also the final war’s strategies, by men who had never seen a war of this scale, to them, it was the Great War. They thought that they’d be domestic by Christmas, in most cases. None of them were ready or were able to tell that they might see the foremost monumental butcher of mankind known to all of human history up to its purpose. It would have been peculiar to them to say that there would indeed be a part 2. Such is what makes the film thus compelling to the fashionable cluster of onlookers of the days, the daringness of youth, juvenilia, to simply accept that they might be ready to tolerate their childhood undamaged by war, to return domestic as their fathers had from past wars with no enduring results. Mann oversees the first war because of the surprising conclusion to childhood that Europe experienced as a result of repulsions.

Inside this story, the misfortune of guiltlessness is gone with by humor differentiated near the atrocious, wherever din is emphasized by the quiet that takes once, wherever very little faces are highlighted by exploding grand scales. The film is directly monochromatic and inconceivably vibrant, that is to mention that Mann because it was employments color once it’s very important, jointly with the film’s varied representations whereby Baumer wounds a French trooper, wearing blue. His tone contrasts against the dim soil he passes on up against, the dim soil that is almost vague from the color of Baumer’s claimed uniform. It’s at this minute inside the film, not the first major crazy punch that Mann pulls to understand the cluster of onlookers, that the denigration of soul starts for Baumer, once the skepticism that might plague the subsequent war starts to line in. Maybe it is usually aforesaid that this is often once the Germans misplaced, once they began to understand they were battling a war, not their claim.

At that time, the setting and photography should be talked about. Mann barely squanders a scene: everyone thinks towards the fervid development of the story, which turns in fact on the on-screen characters within the film. For this matter, Mann decides to center not only on the activity inside the film but on the person’s faces, utilizing them because the action, is the center of the film. Nolan, in Dunkirk, borrows this attribute intensely, and there’s a nice reason for it. Within the thick of the turmoil of war, Mann presses out through turbulent, wide visuals went with spiraling ensembles of blasts, shouts, and a moderate score scarcely listened to the least bit through the film, it’s the faces of men stigmatizing into youngsters, causation chills on the skin of the watcher. associate exceptional occasion happens ahead of time the in film once one in all the troopers, Detering (played by Ewan Stewart), howls “SHOOT THEM!” as he observes steeds run through the dim hellscape of a city afire. Mann waits on his confront, which extends into fearful reshapings because the blasting flicker in his eyes passes on beneath tears that choke his confront and choke his shouts. This differentiated with an extended shot of the steeds neighing and dashing against the scenery of blazes. It’s a precise and vomited find that brings the watcher vicariously into the minute to furthermore be full of such a find. With this impact alone, and also the varied others he utilizes throughout the film, Mann oversees to form associate all-inclusiveness that is needed during a film regarding war.

All Quiet on the Western Front is associate inconceivably superior TV movie, however, it’s still a TV movie. The film is 2 and 0.5 hours long, and it looks like it. Whereas the film moves on at the same pace for the first 3 acts (and yes, they’re acts), act four (which brings Peter home) drags. It feels rather like the film required to conclude here, however it doesn’t. Instep, the watcher is cleared out craving for to induce back to the war the maximum amount as Diminish is. Possibly, it’s since I did drop snoozing in short amid this section, it looks like a problem, but really, Mann doesn’t alter the tranquility of homelife with the war exceptionally well. It’s also calm and thus weighs the film down. sometimes not because it was a factor there is a sure mental confusion within the film or so language.

Most of the time, inside the inspiration, signs are in German since the film, you know, takes place on the Western Front and a few of the time in Germany. However, Mann decides it’s elementary to incorporate French speakers inside the film, sans subtitles. He mashes this beside scenes wherever the “Germans” are endeavoring to speak with the French speakers, and also the watcher is created to suspend their mental rejection into acceptive that the on-screen characters are very much talking German. This was 1979, however, I don’t grasp just in case that pardons what’s untidy filmmaking. In 2009, Quentin Tarantino’s Ignoble Basterds managed to interrupt the director’s box workplace records, despite an excellent cut price of the film being subtitled, whereas the foremost script was written in French and German (within the script, since the movie maker is not any bilingual, he composes all the discourse in English, demonstrating in parentheticals wherever the discourse have to be compelled to be during a various dialect). The blame might furthermore get on the portion of the reality that it was furthermore a TV motion picture; a dramatic discharge might have taken the chance.

These 2 options of the film do not make the film any less agreeable, by any implies. The 1979 All Quiet on the Western Front continues to be an exquisite film. It’ll need my perspective the primary film to come to a decision just in case it’s of prevailing quality, however, Mann’s adaptation is, at the exceptionally slightest, an interesting film to place on amid the top of the week once things are perhaps moderate. At best, it’s an excellent film about war.