War Dehumanization in All Quiet on The Western Front
War Dehumanization
“If you think of humanity as one large body, then war is like suicide, or at best, self mutilation”( Jerome Crabb). Paul Bäumer, the protagonist of All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque fulfills his understanding of Jerome Crabb’s quote after experiencing everything war has to offer. In the novel, Paul truly experiences what being in war can physically and mentally do to not only a man, but their families as well. It is apparent that Erich Maria Remarque had Paul Bäumer face various horrifying situations while at the front to make a powerful statement against war and everything associated with it. Throughout the book, Remarque uses implicit statements to help prove his argument in a myriad of ways. The statements Remarque includes in the novel cohere with one another to show that war dehumanizes the soldiers who choose to enlist into it. Through the implicit language and arguments used, the dehumanization effect war brought upon the soldiers is illustrated as an unbreakable force that takes no pity on the soldiers at the front. It greatly affects the soldiers physically, mentally, and even psychologically. Erich Maria Remarque shows that war has a dehumanizing effect on the men even to the point of being compared to savages by using point of view, literary devices and imagery.
By applying the points of view of the distinct characters in his novel, Remarque is able to implicitly make the argument that war dehumanizes the soldiers in every way possible. Because of the usage of point of view, the argument trying to be proven is seen through a clearer outlook since a single character’s personality does not affect the argument of war dehumanizing the men. Conventional human characteristics, for example the significance of education, have seemed to be lost completely due to war. When discussion arises between Paul and his comrades about their aspirations after war, the men come to realize that they have forgotten most of what
“If you think of humanity as one large body, then war is like suicide, or at best, self mutilation”( Jerome Crabb). Paul Bäumer, the protagonist of All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque fulfills his understanding of Jerome Crabb’s quote after experiencing everything war has to offer. In the novel, Paul truly experiences what being in war can physically and mentally do to not only a man, but their families as well. It is apparent that Erich Maria Remarque had Paul Bäumer face various horrifying situations while at the front to make a powerful statement against war and everything associated with it. Throughout the book, Remarque uses implicit statements to help prove his argument in a myriad of ways. The statements Remarque includes in the novel cohere with one another to show that war dehumanizes the soldiers who choose to enlist into it. Through the implicit language and arguments used, the dehumanization effect war brought upon the soldiers is illustrated as an unbreakable force that takes no pity on the soldiers at the front. It greatly affects the soldiers physically, mentally, and even psychologically. Erich Maria Remarque shows that war has a dehumanizing effect on the men even to the point of being compared to savages by using point of view, literary devices and imagery.
By applying the points of view of the distinct characters in his novel, Remarque is able to implicitly make the argument that war dehumanizes the soldiers in every way possible. Because of the usage of point of view, the argument trying to be proven is seen through a clearer outlook since a single character’s personality does not affect the argument of war dehumanizing the men. Conventional human characteristics, for example the significance of education, have seemed to be lost completely due to war. When discussion arises between Paul and his comrades about their aspirations after war, the men come to realize that they have forgotten most of what