Effects of War in All Quiet of the Western Front

In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque progressively shows the brutality of war through the eyes of soldiers claiming their innocence, and also the effects of war on the people in the home front . In this essay I will be discussing the effect of war on both the combatants and non combatants in this novel. Remarque cleverly illustrates what men at the front go through in war, he describe how quickly soldiers realise the reality of war. “We march up, moody or good-tempered soldiers – we reach the zone where the front begins and become on the instant human animals,”
In this quote, Paul describes what was going through his fellow soldiers and his mind as they enter the war. Remarque also writes that soldier in the war is being dehumanised, the word “automatons”was used to describe the soldiers suggesting that they have been turned into a robot like figure being programmed to only kill the opponent. Food is a strong theme in this novel, Remarque has illustrated significant events to show effects of war to the soldiers through the theme of food.
“We sit opposite one another, Kat and I, two soldiers in shabby coats, cooking a goose in the middle of the night. We don’t talk much, but I believe we have a more complete communion with one another than even lovers have ... The grease drips from our hands, in our hearts we are close to one another ... we sit with a goose between us and feel in unison, are so intimate that we do not even speak.” this quote suggests how important it is to connect with comrades as they are the only people you have around you, to depend on. The moment described in the quote shows a very strong relationship between Paul and Kat, it is described in a way that friendship between them is silent, unlike the war which is totally opposite. Remarque shows a very strong effect of war on the soldier and also on the family member back home, the civilians of home front. Remarque shows how Paul returning home has made