All Quiet on the Western Front Mortality Essay Example

đź“ŚCategory: All Quiet on the Western Front, Books
đź“ŚWords: 658
đź“ŚPages: 3
đź“ŚPublished: 10 April 2022

World War I, every now and then referred to as the First World War, was a violent, devastating and gruesome war which took place and covered most of Europe between 1914-1918. The significance of this Great War is that it was the biggest war anyone had ever known and it affected people all over the world. It made many people change; their way of life like their human lives, suffering, diseases, behavior etc. A veteran named “Erich Remarque" was a German veteran of this horrific conflict. After experiencing the horrors of industrial warfare, Remarque wrote what is widely considered the greatest war/historical novel, “All Quiet on the Western Front,” a fictionalization of what he experienced during this war. Based on his experiences, the book not only relays the suffering or  physical pain of the soldiers but the mental pain from all traumatic events that happened during the war. Therefore, the overall theme of the book is mortality experienced by the soldiers during war. 

The word mortality itself means the characteristic of being able to die. In this novel, the author spreads great amounts of time describing the process of dying. Eventually death becomes the greatest enemy of all. Mortality is shown in the very first chapter of AQWF. In chapter 1 (pg.8), there is a quote that reads “Under the skin the life no longer pulses, it has already pressed out the boundaries of the body. Death is working through from within. It already has command in the eyes. Here lies our comrade, Kemmerich, who a little while ago was roasting horse flesh with us and squatting in the shell-holes. He is still and yet it is not him any longer”. This cite underpins the topic in a way that Paul symbolizes passing in this minute, making it appear like an all-powerful being that wins over a body.  Paul has seen and witnessed so much death in his young life that he knows very certainly that his friend is dying. 

Another quote from the novel that supports the theme “mortality” is in chapter 7 (pg. 85). This quote reads “When a man has seen so many dead he cannot understand any longer why there should be so much anguish over a single individual. So I say rather impatiently: He died immediately. He felt absolutely nothing at all. His face was quite calm." This quote indicates that even though Paul suffered from the deaths of many of his soldiers and even though he feels deeply every time he sees a corpse, the war forced him to harden himself to feel anything. Maybe he's getting impatient with Kimmerich's mother because he might be affected by her grief. If he starts to explore his sadness, he might never get over it. This also shows some mortality.

Last but not least, another quote from the novel that supports the theme “mortality” is in chapter 9 (pg.99). This quote reads “In the branches dead men are hanging. A naked soldier is squatting in the fork of a tree, he still has his helmet on, otherwise he is entirely unclad. There is only half of him sitting up there, the top half, the legs are missing”. This quote supports the theme of mortality because the soldiers do not just witness death as a result of gun and knife wounds. This is a new kind of war with technology so powerful that one weapon can kill many men at once. Death is positively shown by this war.

World War I both transformed the modern world, taking on a major role and seeing numerous changes in its national character and policies. It impacted so many lives and made people change their behavior, especially Paul’s. In AQWF, Paul is morphed from an innocent child into a war veteran who has a new look on society. Paul used to have a carefree life where he was able to be a kid, but when he enlisted into the army it all changed. Paul became a person whose beliefs were changed because of the war. Though he lets himself grow cold and indifferent to the deaths he witnesses, Paul manages to remain human throughout the war. Therefore, these all sum up to the overall theme of AQWF which is “Mortality”.

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