Storm of Steel

A Glorified Trench War “No finer death in all the world than…’ Anything to participate, not to have to stay at home.” This quote is an example of Junger’s view on the war. Does Storm of Steel Glorify War? Yes. Compared to other accounts of World War I, such as the film “All quiet on the Western Front,” Storm of Steel does seem to somewhat promote the war. Junger seems to glorify war by being a hero for participating in it. On the other hand, the film “All Quiet on the Western Front,” completely shows the was as a horrible thing, with a very sad and horrible ending. Junger starts off with talking about the war being the best place to be. He says that anything beats being stuck at home in boredom. This was the best way to get away from home that would be seen as a good thing. “Grown up in an age of security, we shared the yearning for danger, for the experience of the extraordinary…. Surely the war would supply us with what we wanted; the great the overwhelming, the hallowed experience. Junger talks about this as to why he joined the war; for a sense of the unknown and for an unexpected life. Joining the war would give him all of the things he wanted as would it would give anyone else. He presents the war to seem like anyone that joins the war would experience the same feelings that he has had when he joined the war. He starts off with what he thinks are positive aspects of joining the war, but there are negative side to the war. “Distance to the heart, forever nigh!,” says a mossy stone of a fallen soldier. It continues, “Heroes’ deeds and heroes’ graves, Old and new you here may see. How the Empire was created, How the Empire was preserved. Junger makes it out to seem that these stones signified what he was now: a hero. He was out there in the trenches daily, fighting, losing soldiers that have fought next to him, but going through this made him a hero in his eyes. Soldiers who have died for their country are heroes. This is one of his hidden tactics he uses that seems to promote the war. Dying is just one aspect of the war that they saw every day, but battling daily was also part of the soldiers’ daily lives.
Junger talks about the various battles of the war as just another day, “Oh I don’t want to get up yet, I’m sure they will be finished soon,” says Junger about being warned of the enemy shooting once again. He blows it off like it is just part of everything when he should show some sigh of fear. Junger makes it out to be no big deal; there is no need to get up. He waits until the shooting has gone on for a while to get then get up. Death and shooting were just part of being a soldier. “He was as brave as a young lion…,” he says about a soldier that had fallen as his death being a brave act. Junger saw death in a different way than other authors whom wrote about the events of the war.
“If a man falls, he’s left to lie. No one can help. No one knows if he’ll return alive. Everyday were attacked, but they won’t get through. Everyone knows this is about life and death”, says Junger. This demonstrated that death was a part of the war for the soldiers of World War I. All Quiet on the Western Front demonstrates death as a tragedy, even though it can happen to a guy stopping to draw something that he found significant. Storm of Steel’s, on the other hand, author demonstrated death as a triumph rather than a tragedy. “It’s men like that that you need for fighting.” He glorifies death saying only a “man” can go through this, or it seems like that is what he is trying to get at. Today it would translate like it you don’t succeed, you’re not a man.
“Often enough I have seen wounded men dreaming in a world of their own, taking no further part in the noise of the battle, the summit of human passions all around them; and I may say I know something of how they must have felt.” When he was wounded he tells of his experience through the experience and the feeling he is having. He was greatly wounded lying there weak, when they were suddenly attacked. He finds the strength and “sucks it up”, rising up to fight. He was fearless through this whole experience and surviving when the odds were against him, even though surviving another day was amazing. The video played in class demonstrated this, by another day being a blessing and always fearing that you would not live. Storm of Steel did not exactly show this part of the war.
Junger’s accounts of the war seem to make the war out to be a good thing for society. He uses the courageous acts he goes through to hype up the negative sides to the war. Heroic acts were all he seemed to describe throughout the novel. The videos that were presented in class presented the war conditions in a horrible way that nobody would ever think to go through.
In conclusion, the novel Storm of Steel glorifies war by the way Junger presents his experiences as a soldier fighting through the war. It is a way to go from an ordinary life to a life of glory and the unexpected. He sees the war as a man being a hero for fighting in it. Death is just a part of the war and only a true man can go through it, drawing men in. The other pieces on the war seem to do the complete opposite of the novel by Junger. They show the was as being a negative experience and how the war was a bad experience for the soldiers, with nothing that was really positive for them. Storm of Steel does seem to glorify the war.

Works Cited
Junger, Ernst. Storm of Steel. 2004. Penguin Books
Podcast. Professor Richardson. All Quiet on the Western Front. March 21, 26, 2013.

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[ 1 ]. Junger, Ernst. Storm of Steel. Penguin Books. 2004. Pg. 5.
[ 2 ]. Junger, Ernst. Storm of Steel. Penguin Books. 2004. Pg. 5
[ 3 ]. Junger, Ernst. Storm of Steel. Penguin Books. 2004. Pg. 190.
[ 4 ]. Junger, Ernst. Storm of Steel. Penguin Books. 2004. Pg. 143.
[ 5 ]. Junger Ernst. Storm of Steel. Penguin Books. 2004. Pg. 92.
[ 6 ]. Class, Professor Richardson. All Quiet on the Western Front. Podcast. March 21, 26, 2013
[ 7 ]. Junger Ernst. Storm of Steel. Penguin Books. 2004. Pg. 92
[ 8 ]. Junger Ernst. Storm of Steel. Penguin Books. 2004. Pg. 283.

Cited: Junger, Ernst. Storm of Steel. 2004. Penguin Books Podcast [ 2 ]. Junger, Ernst. Storm of Steel. Penguin Books. 2004. Pg. 5 [ 3 ] [ 4 ]. Junger, Ernst. Storm of Steel. Penguin Books. 2004. Pg. 143. [ 5 ]. Junger Ernst. Storm of Steel. Penguin Books. 2004. Pg. 92. [ 6 ]. Class, Professor Richardson. All Quiet on the Western Front. Podcast. March 21, 26, 2013 [ 7 ] [ 8 ]. Junger Ernst. Storm of Steel. Penguin Books. 2004. Pg. 283.