Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • Free Essays • My Term Papers • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Book Reports all quiet on the western front all quiet on the western front All Quiet on the Western Front, written by Erich Maria Remarque is a first hand experience account of the war. The horror of the war and Remarque's own terrifying experiences and memories would certainly have effected what he wrote. All Quiet on the Western Front was published in March 1929, London. The late publication of the novel may have been due to the grief and trauma that Remarque experienced in the war. All Quite on the Western Front was written for the millions of men who fought for their countries. Remarque's intent, is to recount the pain and misery that the soldiers experienced during the war and to acknowledge their remarkable courage. Remarque does not mention any specific country or nationality in his book, in order for all soldiers to be identified as a whole, they all had the same goals and experienced the same fears, regardless of their nationality. “ A generation of men… who were destroyed by war” Remarque's comment would have been prompted by his own experiences of war and how he, like all soldiers were a generation destroyed by patriarchy, they fought for the love of their country. “Even though they have escaped its shells, (they) were destroyed by war.” Remarque means that they may have escaped the battle physically, but emotionally they are unable to escape the horror and the lasting effects of the brutality of war. Paul and Kat were two characters in the novel that represented the typical 20th century soldier. They dealt with malnourished and dealt with disease and death everyday, like most soldiers they had to come to terms with life at war and in the trenches. The soldiers changed a great deal, each day they had to become stronger and stronger as the war became more brutal. Comrade companionship is the one thing that kept the soldiers from falling completely apart. They strongly relied on one another to help them when injured, mentally and physically. They helped eachother by cooperating and sharing food. The soldier’s minds were re-adjusted due to the war and they knew that fate was in their own hands and the hands of their comrades. Paul felt truly at home on the front. He was seen as somewhat of a hero. He had a very difficult time readjusting when he was injured and sent home. He felt somewhat estranged from his friends and family. People’s ignorance about the front annoyed Paul and as much as he hoped things could return to the way they were, he knew they never would. I believe this would have been the same for a number of soldiers, especially those who were there for the duration of the war. They experienced so much, that they returned home as different people. Remarque makes the front ‘come alive’ by his use of emotive language. His cleverly illustrated writing brings the front alive. “The front is a cage where we await fearfully whatever may happen”; it is descriptions like this that bring the novel to life. The front turned the soldiers into instant beasts due to the tormenting visions and mental anguish they felt, knowing that at any stage their life may end. They were forces to kill like beasts, sometimes in the most brutal of ways, so as to stay alive. Soldiers endured the war by keeping their minds off the actual terror of it all. Just as Remarque said, “ terror can be endured as long as man simply ducks: - but it kills if a man thinks about it.” Soldiers tried to refrain from falling into a ‘shell shocked’ state by trying to keep a positive view and a sense of humor about it all. Things such as gas masks and other apparatus were also used for survival. World war one was about the leaders. The soldiers were just tools to achieve ground, the leaders took no part in the actual war and this is what made the soldiers and Remarque so bitter and angry, it was not the soldiers war, nor their battle, it was a battle between leaders and they were being slaughtered for the sake of a small piece of land. All Quiet on the Western Front may have had reasonable aspects, on account of they’re being no countries mentioned and the feeling that all soldiers were equal regardless of their nationality. However, war is not reasonable, nor balanced. A novel about war cannot necessarily be reasoned. War is a pointless, barbaric act. How anyone could justify war is incomprehensible; we have seen the effects time and time again. War divides communities and countries, and often does not achieve anything but pain and anguish. Bibliography: Word Count: 780
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