War: The Good, Bad, and Ugly (All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque Book Analysis)

📌Category: All Quiet on the Western Front, Books
📌Words: 846
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 14 June 2021

Have you ever wondered what a war can do both mentally and physically to it’s soldiers? In the story , All Quiet on the Western Front, the author, ‎Erich Maria Remarque uses imagery, Comradeship, and the destruction of a generation to illustrate the many ways that men are injured on both the inside and outside. 

Remarque illustrates how men develop close bonds during the war through staying positive in the middle of complete chaos, staying consistent with each other, and allowing themselves to be vulnerable through all of the times of depression. Consistency is very common with the soldiers mentioned in the book because while surviving in the trenches, they did everything together. The men ate, protected their food, killed lice, and rested together for 24 hours a day. “A word of command has made these silent figures our enemies; a word of command might transform them into our friends”.This sentence is mentioned by Paul is talking to himself after being captured by enemy soldiers. Pure positivity is shown through the men using dark humor to cope with the fact that they may not make it out alive. Paul reflects “It’s all rot that they put in the war-news about the good humour of the troops, how they are arranging dances almost before they are out of the front-line. We don’t act like that because we are in good humour: we are in good humour because otherwise we should go to pieces.” When he notices what the media is posting to the rest of the population at home as they continue to sell them the happier and more cheerful version of war rather than the truth.

They walk by the coffins that were made for them and instead of being sad or upset, the men joke about how they don't want them and to send them home in a sack. Vulnerability is discussed when the men begin to build trust and share their dreams.When Paul first returns to his family doorstep he mutters these words: “ I can go no further—mother, mother, Paul is here. I lean against the wall and grip my helmet and rifle. I hold them as tight as I can, but I cannot take another step, the staircase fades before my eyes, I support myself with the butt of my rifle against my feet and clench my teeth fiercely, but I cannot speak a word, my sister’s call has made me powerless”. This quote shows how powerless he is in his emotions. This can also be seen when they are sitting and sharing what they hope to do after the war is over. In conclusion, Remarque illustrates how men develop close knit relationships through staying positive, being vulnerable, and being consistent.

 In all quiet on the western front, the author's purpose for using rhetorical devices was to draw the reader into what life for soldiers was: difficult. The author states “every man lies glued behind a mound”. In this evidence, one could infer that the author wanted to show the reader that they are constantly fighting to stay alive.in another line, the author remarks that one of the characters yells “take cover”. This statement shows that the soldiers are never “safe”. In the next paragraph, the author states in the point of view of a soldier “No pain. Still that does not reassure me: wounds don’t hurt till afterwards” this statement shows that even when a soldier is injured they continue to fight for their beliefs. The author uses the evidence above to draw the reader into what the reality of being a soldier really is. 

Remarque shows how war damages soldiers not only on a physical level but a mental one as well by using keywords that could have multiple meanings in the story. On page 294, Remarque states in four ways how soldiers are injured mentally. In the story, he states that the soldiers that are fighting in the war have “No aims”. He says this because the men who are coming home know that they will not have anything to do and the words “no aims” means that the men will have no goals for going home because there is nothing there for them. On that same page he also says that the men will be without “a home and a calling” and that society will “push [them] aside”. By mentioning this, Remarque is trying to show that even if the men do survive, when they return, they will have nowhere to go, nobody to be with, and nothing to do in their everyday lives that have been altered by the deep state of war trauma. In the end, Remarque is illustrating the way that mental and physical damage can interfere with a soldier's life once they come back from the war. 

 In conclusion, Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, uses the topics of imagery, comradeship, and the destruction of a generation to illustrate the many ways that war can influence soldiers’ lives mentally and physically during and after a war. By using imagery, he shows details that may not have been noticed without. When using Comradeship, Remarque shows the bonds that help the men through the war. Finally, by showing the destruction of a generation, Remarque shows the way society affects the soldiers mentally. All of these topics are important because they show how the world as a whole should be more accepting to soldiers who have put their lives on the line.

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