Stripped Innocence: Impact of War on Soldiers' Humanity

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In the novel All quiet on the western front by Erich Maria Remarque one of the major themes he illustrates is the effects of war on a soldier 's humanity. Paul the protagonist is a German soldier who is forced into war with his comrades that go through dehumanizing violence. War is a very horrid situation that causes soldiers like Paul to lose their innocence by stripping them from happiness and joy in life. The symbols Remarque uses to enhance this theme is Paul 's books and the potato pancakes to depict the great scar war has seared on him taking all his connections to life. Through these symbols they deepen the theme by visually depicting war’s impact on Paul. Paul’s books represent the shadow war that is casted upon Paul and his loss of innocence. This symbol helps the theme by depicting how the war locked his heart to old values by taking his innocence. The last symbol that helps the theme are the potato pancakes. The potato pancakes symbolize love and sacrifice by Paul’s mother that reveal Paul emotional state damaged by the war with his lack of happiness and gratitude. Paul’s books symbolize the shadow of war that has been casted upon him through the horrid violence. Paul’s …show more content…

War is depicted as a horrid situation that takes one 's innocence along with joy and happiness. War changes a person completely through the dehumanizing violence illustrated through Paul, a innocent young man who transformed by war into a man with everything stripped from him. The symbols that help this theme are his books and potato pancakes that both support the effect war has had on Paul by changing his views and taking all his connections to joy. The books represent the shadow war has casted while the potato pancakes mean love and blessing that gets unthanked by Paul since he lost the ability to feel in a constant state of

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