Horror of War Exposed in Erich Maria Remarques All Quiet...

Horror of War Exposed in Erich Maria Remarques All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Maria Remarques All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the greatest war novels of all time. It is a story, not of Germans, but of men, who even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war. The entire purpose of this novel is to illustrate the vivid horror and raw nature of war and to change the popular belief that war has an idealistic and romantic character. The story centers on Paul Baà ¼mer, who enlists in the German army with glowing enthusiasm. In the course of war, though, he is consumed by it and in the end is weary, broken, burnt out, rootless, and without hope (Remarque page #). Through Baà ¼mer,†¦show more content†¦In these dangerous moments, anybody would have gone mad, have deserted their post, or have fallen. it takes a special kind of soldier -- a soldier who will not go to pieces at the sight of a mutilated body -- to deal with this emotional abuse; it takes a soldier like Baumer. Baà ¼mer has grown accustomed to it. War is the cause of death like influenza and dysentery. The deaths are merely more frequent, more varied and terrible. He has rid himself of all feelings and thoughts. His emotions lie buried in the earth along with the soldiers who fell prey to them. His dullness protects him from going mad at the sight of a slaughtered comrade or butchered friend. He wants to live at all costs so every expression of his life must serve one purpose and one purpose only, preservation of existence, and he is absolutely focused on that (page #). The cost of life is the death of his emotions; his survival depends on it. Every shell that falls, every shot that fires, a soldier must face the possible certainty of death. To Baumer, death carries hand grenades, a bayonet and a rifle to take away what he has long protected -- his life. Whenever he looks into the eyes of an enemy soldier, he does not see a man, but sees death staring back at him. He has no choice; the enemy cannot and will not coexist with him. ItShow MoreRelated Comparing Irony of War in Dulce et Decorum, Regeneration, and Quiet on the Western Front1165 Words   |  5 PagesIrony of War Exposed in Dulce et Decorum, Regeneration, and Quiet on the Western Front    Many of the young officers who fought in the Great War enlisted in the army with glowing enthusiasm, believing that war was played in fancy uniforms with shiny swords. They considered war as a noble task, an exuberant journey filled with honor and glory. Yet, after a short period on the front, they discovered that they had been disillusioned by the war: fighting earned them nothing but hopelessness, deathRead MoreAnalysis Of All Quiet On The Western Front 1884 Words   |  8 PagesAPE, Per 5 10 January 2015 War in All Quiet on the Western Front World War one was a war of severe tribulation. resulting in over 50 million deaths, it was one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. Known as the â€Å"Western Front†, the border of Germany and France was the site to some of the bloodiest battles of the war. There are very few novels that truly exemplify the events that took place along this front. Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Displays important themesRead MoreAll Quiet On The Western Front2085 Words   |  9 PagesThis essay will consider the different effects created by Erich Maria Remarque in his novel All Quiet on the Western Front. As a writer, Remarque unknowingly left his novel open to readers with completely different perspectives, and to various forms of criticism. This undoubtedly meant that every single reader had been affected by the novel in many different ways which unfortunately for Remarque may have been an effect that he never intended. This essay is divided int o 5 main sections. Firstly it