et on the Western Front the authors tone clearly depicts the hopelessness of war. Paul Baumer toward the very end of World War I comments after losing everyone of his closest comrades that he no longer imagine life without war and death. This evident when Paul states,Shells, gas clouds, flotillas of tanks shattering, corroding, death. Dysentery, influenza, typhus scalding, choking, death. Trenches, hospitals, the common grave there are no other possibilities. (Remarque, 283)In this statement it is obvious that Paul has given up hope and can no longer mentally and emotionally keep fighting against his true identity. This idea is foreshadowed earlier in the book when Paul discovers that he no longer has the ability to communicate with individuals who have not experienced the vivid horrors of war such as, his parents who still view war as glamorous and idealistic. War takes a heavy toll on soldiers who fight in it and in these dangerous moments anybody would have gone insane. It takes a very special type of soldier to be able to handle both the psychological and physical challenges that a soldier has to face in everyday battle. A soldier such as this must be capable of handling the sight of a mutilated comrade and not immediately chatter to pieces. The author conveys this message in his extreme use of words with negative connotation such as shells, typhus, dysentery, and trenches. In this portion of the novel a great deal of emphasis is placed on the word death which is repeated several times and standing on its own it holds a great deal of negative connotations. Therefore, due to the severity of the situation and the extensive use of words with negative connotations the overall tone of the novel appeared to be very depressing or serious. This selection also demonstrates just how mythical the character of war that many individuals who have not experienced the tragedy of battle believe to be true by illustrating just how appalling an...
