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All quiet on the western front how does the author juxtapose perceptions of war against the realities of war chapter 2
Horrors of war in all quiet on the western front
Horrors of war in all quiet on the western front
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My groups theme is Alliances, and a excerpt from All Quiet on the Western Front that supported our theme for chapter 5 is “ We don't talk much, but I believe we have a more complete communion with one another than even lovers have. We are two men, two minute sparks of life; outside is the night and the circle of death. We sit on the edge of it crouching in danger, the grease drips from our hands, in our hearts we are close to one another…What does he know of me or I of him? formerly we should not have had a single thought in common--now we sit with a goose between us and feel in unison, are so intimate that we do not even speak.”. I believe that this excerpt relates to the theme of alliances because when Paul says “We sit on the edge of it crouching in danger…” it reminds me of how the countries that have formed an alliance always risk losing the war and many resources. Also, when Paul continues to say “What does he know of me …show more content…
We do not fight, we defend ourselves against annihilation. It is not against men that we fling our bombs, what do we know of men in this moment when Death is hunting us down—now, for the first time in three days we can see his face, now for the first time in three days we can oppose him; we feel a mad anger. No longer do we lie helpless, waiting on the scaffold, we can destroy and kill, to save ourselves, to save ourselves and to be revenged.” This quote relates to the alliances because the both defend themselves against any danger or threats to their country. Alliance are formed to “destroy and kill” their enemies, they aren’t trying to play any games. They want the person that their after dead or injured. An alliance is 2 countries that are together to fight a common enemy, and that exactly what soldiers do, their on big brotherhood that will never let each other go. They both stand by each other's sides and
“We did not break down, but adapted ourselves” These soldiers know that modern warfare is extremely complicated and demands knowledge and experience. They learn how the differentiate shell sounds, when to take cover, when it’s safe to take off your gas mask, how to tell shrapnel from high explosives. It is shown through the naive and inexperienced recruits that not knowing and applying this knowledge is fatal. Some soldiers call on their innermost animal instincts to allow them to kill mercilessly on the field, using the assistance of a metaphor Remarque writes “We are dead men with no feelings, who are able by some trick to keep on running and keep on killing.” Granted war is a barbaric affair, ironically sometimes the worst of conditions can bring out the best in people. This is through the form of comrade and mate ship. On the field fellow soldiers would provide mutual support for each other and create extremely tight bonds. This is shown in All Quiet on the Western Front through Paul and his tight nit platoon. Paul’s unique experience with mate ship is how especially close he is with his friend Kat. This is expressed in the recounting of when they stole and cooked a goose together. Remarque writes “We don't talk much, but I believe we have a more complete communion with one another than even lovers have.” This shows how mate ship was
Paul and I are united on the grounds of age and nothing more, yet somehow, while following him through his service in the War, I feel connected to him. After finishing the novel, I ruminated on this idea for some time and eventually came to the conclusion that the connection I feel with Paul is a mixture of empathy and envy. I empathize with him because he put down the pen and took up the rifle in service of his country, just as I would do if called upon. I envy him because he exudes the qualities of a brilliant soldier, meticulous narrator, and man of faith even in times of mortal danger, especially in times of mortal danger. In the midst of the worst bombardment he has yet to face, Paul shines his brightest by illuminating in vivid detail not only the hellish onslaught unfolding around him, but also the intr...
use nature as the judge to condemn war, along with shocking imagery, so that his
The Comradeship of War in All Quiet on the Western Front War can destroy a young man, mentally and physically. One might say that nothing good comes out of war, but in Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, there is one positive characteristic: comradeship. Paul and his friends give Himmelstoss a beating, which he deserves due to his training tactics. This starts the brotherhood of this tiny group. As explosions and gunfire sound off, a young recruit in his first battle is gun-shy and seeks reassurance in Paul's chest and arms, and Paul gently tells him that he will get used to it.
Wisdom does not always relate to how many years we have lived but rather how much we have seen in this world. In All Quiet on the Western Front and They, both Erich Maria Remarque and Siegfried Sassoon created characters who were forever changed at a young age because of what they had seen. The horrors of trench warfare force men to do unimaginable things and become numb to their surroundings symbolizing the alienation of a generation.
The two classic war novels ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ by Erich Maria Remarque and ‘Catch 22’ by Joseph Heller both provide a graphic insight into the life of soldiers serving their country in the historic world wars. One distinct theme of interest found in both books, is the way in which war has physically and mentally re-shaped the characters. Remarque creates the character Paul Baümer, a young soldier who exposes anxiety and PTSD (commonly known as Shellshock) through his accounts of WW1’s German army. ‘Catch 22’ however, is written in the third person and omnisciently explores insanity and bureaucracy in an American Bombardier Squadron through its utter lack of logic. The two novels use their structure, characters, symbolism and setting to make a spectacle of the way war re-shapes the soldiers.
Vernon Kroft once said, “War changes everything. The world is never the same after a war. Any war. There are holes… missing parts… The best you can do is pick up the pieces that are left and start to build again. It’ll never be the way it was before.” War is detrimental to the world and leaves it in shambles. Nothing escapes the terror that war strikes in the world. In Erich Maria Remarque 's book All Quiet on the Western Front the ramifications caused by World War I become detrimental to nature. Paul Bäumer, a German soldier, experiences the horror because of the war and he realizes that the natural world is disastrously affected. Throughout the story nature condemns war and its malicious acts. The repetition of nature as a motif portrays war as vile. Through Paul 's experiences he comes to
In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Remarque, Remarque uses comradeship throughout the book to create a theme to show how difficult the war was with countless deaths. Paul experiences comradeship various times throughout this novel. During Kemmerich’s death and Kat and Paul’s feast are times when he experiences comradeship the most.
In chapter six of the book All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque symbolism is mentioned everywhere. Symbolism can be interpreted differently and it can mean different things depending on the person. Some important symbols in chapter six are the rats. The rats are fat and Paul mentions seeing them crawling all over the battlefield and all over the fallen bodies of fellow soldiers “we call them corps rats (102).” These rats could be a symbol of defeat because they like to feed off the dead bodies on the battlefield and it reminds them of all the men they have lost. The rats could also be a symbol of disease and plague. They could even be associated with life. They are one of the only living beings left on the battlefield after
A group of soldiers connect as they experience the same events during their journey during the events and period of war. In All Quiet on the Western Front, the guys are depending on one another to support and handle the difficult moments together. As Paul returns to the front once again, most of the members of the army have experienced death during his leave. Paul and the rest of the group is experiencing war single-handed yet again as more people are lost in the troop. Paul describes how the group feels by saying, “Everyone is so, not only ourselves here-- the things that existed before no longer valid, and one practically knows them no more… It is as though formerly we were coins of different provinces; and now we are melted down, and all
...solely as, “All quiet on the Western Front,” (296) adds an even deeper sense of situational irony. A day that is termed “all quiet” is a day that does not include any fighting; Paul’s death occurred on a day that there was no battling, and the way in which he died is also not defined. The sudden deaths of both these characters are the ultimate examples of the situational irony that is prevalent throughout the novel.
“The Bushmen are primitive and naturally so, but we are primitive in an artificial sense, and by virtue of the utmost effort” (274). This quote written by Erich Maria Remarque in All Quiet on the Western Front calls attention to the division and inhumanity of the masses in the first World War. Ordinary people hated others that were across a non-physical border because they were convinced that they were the enemy. However, Paul argues that the people who the soldiers are killing are not the enemies. The enemies are the people who don’t risk their lives on the battlefield yet think they can make decisions about a war where thousands are brutally killed everyday. The concept of nationalism is a prime example of the values and misconceptions of European people at the start of the 20th century.
People who have actually been through war know how horrible it is. Society on the other hand, while it believes it knows the horrors of war, can never understand or sympathize with a soldier’s situation. The only people who can understand war is those who have been through it so they can often feel alone if they are out of the military. Paul cannot even give a straight answer to his own father about his dad’s inquiries about war. Paul’s dad does not understand that people who have been in the war can in no way truly express the horrible things that that have seen and experienced. Nor can Paul fit in with the society who does not understand him. Paul and so many others were brought into the war so young that they know of nothing else other than war. Paul held these views on society as he said, “We will be superfluous even to ourselves, we will grow older, a few will adapt themselves, some others will merely submit, and most will be bewildered;-the years will pass by and in the end we shall fall in to ruin.
World War I had a great effect on the lives of Paul Baumer and the young men of his generation. These boys’ lives were dramatically changed by the war, and “even though they may have escaped its shells, [they] were destroyed by the war” (preface). In Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul Baumer and the rest of his generation feel separated from the other men, lose their innocence, and experience comradeship as a result of the war.
The author's main theme centers not only on the loss of innocence experienced by Paul and his comrades, but the loss of an entire generation to the war. Paul may be a German, but he may just as easily be French, English, or American. The soldiers of all nations watched their co...