All Quiet On The Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front could definitely be considered an anti-war novel. The changes the characters in the novel subjected themselves to throughout the book allow the reader to view the negative effects soldiers went through during, as well as after the war. Anti-war means that you are against the war and leaning more towards the idea of peace. This novel showed the dissatisfaction and disappointment in each character once they begun to truly understand war and battle from first-hand experience. All Quiet on the Western Front had an anti-war theme in every aspect of the book starting with the eagerness of the characters at the beginning of the war and their transformation to disappointment after the war. The description of the bloody battles, the severe causalities of the war, and the after effects on the soldiers themselves showed that the author was showing the story of WWI in a way that showed negativity towards war. By humanizing the soldiers Erich Maria Remarque allows us to understand how these young men were just like the average person fighting relentlessly for a purpose that was not even clear to them, and for little to no personal or national gain. The soldier’s ultimate goal was to survive and although they transform throughout the novel and show disappointment towards war they still had to do whatever it took in order to survive the ordeal.
At the commencing of the novel the soldiers were somewhat intrigued at the thought of going to war. Their teachers spoke to them of patriotism and war as a heroic deed in which the young boys should be eager to partake. The students were before war still naïve and had an innocent perception of war, but as the story continues we notice the transformation in the characters and their behavior. By entering actual fighting grounds and seeing the truth about what went on in battle the boys altered their view on war. Having seen so many casualties and deaths
All Quiet on the Western Front could definitely be considered an anti-war novel. The changes the characters in the novel subjected themselves to throughout the book allow the reader to view the negative effects soldiers went through during, as well as after the war. Anti-war means that you are against the war and leaning more towards the idea of peace. This novel showed the dissatisfaction and disappointment in each character once they begun to truly understand war and battle from first-hand experience. All Quiet on the Western Front had an anti-war theme in every aspect of the book starting with the eagerness of the characters at the beginning of the war and their transformation to disappointment after the war. The description of the bloody battles, the severe causalities of the war, and the after effects on the soldiers themselves showed that the author was showing the story of WWI in a way that showed negativity towards war. By humanizing the soldiers Erich Maria Remarque allows us to understand how these young men were just like the average person fighting relentlessly for a purpose that was not even clear to them, and for little to no personal or national gain. The soldier’s ultimate goal was to survive and although they transform throughout the novel and show disappointment towards war they still had to do whatever it took in order to survive the ordeal.
At the commencing of the novel the soldiers were somewhat intrigued at the thought of going to war. Their teachers spoke to them of patriotism and war as a heroic deed in which the young boys should be eager to partake. The students were before war still naïve and had an innocent perception of war, but as the story continues we notice the transformation in the characters and their behavior. By entering actual fighting grounds and seeing the truth about what went on in battle the boys altered their view on war. Having seen so many casualties and deaths
Cited: 1) Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front, trans A.W Wheen (New York: The Random House Publishing Group. 1982)