Literary Techniques In All Quiet On The Western Front

The novel “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque Translated from the German by A. W. WHEEN FAWCETT CREST offers a realistic depiction of World War I from the perspective of a soldier named Paul Baumer. The story follows Paul and other soldiers through battles in trenches, military hospitals, and many other locations. Paul observes and experiences the effect war has on individuals as well as the horrors of war. Remarque uses realism and different literary devices to communicate his message and story, and the harsh reality of the day to day experience of war.

There are many different authority figures in Pauls life such as his teacher Kantorek and his father all seem to have failed him in different ways. The first quote is from Kantorek. “There were thousands of Kantoreks, all of whom were convinced that they were acting for the best—in a way that cost them nothing. And that is why they let us down so badly. For us lads of eighteen they ought to have been mediators and guides to the world of maturity, the world of work, of duty, of culture, of progress—to the future…The idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in our minds with a greater insight and a more humane wisdom. But the first death we saw shattered this belief. We had to recognize that our generation was more to be trusted than theirs.” Kantorek pressured his students to enlist in the army and inspired them with nationalist rhetoric. Paul and his friends had trusted Kantorek because to them he appeared cultured and civilized, but what they found most persuasive about him was the “idea of authority” that he represented. Interestingly, Paul notes that it was members of the
By showing the incompetence of authority figures, brutal, phycological effects, etc. Remarque keeps reminding us no matter what war is brutal and nasty, especially for the young soldiers who