Tuesday, May 24, 2011
A Quiet on the Western Front
One of the most authentic portrayals of war, All Quite, brings us to the front lines of the Great War. The author's own experience as a member of the "lost Generation" allows him deliver an account of the paradoxes found in the war experience. Look for the rich mo tiffs in this work. posts due by Sept. 2
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Hi everyone!
ReplyDeleteThis book was interesting in the fact that it was by far the darkest of the four books we read. All Quiet on the Western Front transported me to the awful conflict that trench warfare was in World War 1. I was able to see the changes in the mentality of the soldiers, to the point where young people, the hopes for the future, are reduced to little more than animals. Paul wisely states that his generation is "forlorn like children, and experienced like old men, we are crude and sorrowful and superficial - I believe we are lost" (123). This was one of the most powerful novels I have ever read, and has opened my eyes to how it must have felt for the soldiers to sacrifice so much to do so little in the end.
Remarque does a wonderful job in All Quiet on the Western Front of showing the brutality and futility that encompassed trench warfare in the Great War. His descriptions of Paul's time alone between the lines is especially powerful because it signifies his first personal contact with the enemy and finds that he truly cares for the other man's well being after he fatally wounds him. That experience changes Paul and makes him hope to one day end fighting between men. This scene, and many others like it, were definitely my favorite parts of the book.
ReplyDeleteI did not dislike much of All Quiet on the Western Front, but what I did dislike was not as to what was there but more of what was not in the novel. Remarque briefly describes the dynamic at Paul's school that led to him and his classmates enlisting at the army. The funniest part of the book is when their old schoolmaster, Kantorek, has his own tactics used against him by his former students when he reluctantly joins the army. I would have liked to have seen more detail about what led the group of students to join the army, as it would have shown us the complete transformation from excited recruit to beaten down soldier. Why do you think Remarque left that part of his work out?
The characters in All Quiet on the Western Front all are changed because of the war. When Paul comes home on leave, his interactions with his family and hometown are not the same as when he left. He sums it up best when he says that "a sense of strangeness will not leave me, I cannot feel at home amongst these things. There is my mother, there is my sister, there is my case of butterflies, and there the mahogany piano - but I am not myself there. There is a distance, a veil between us" (160). He cannot feel the way he did at home because the war has made him into a less relaxed, comfortable, and emotional being than he was before.
ReplyDeleteComing from a military family, I have seen my share of soldiers coming home from wartime and interacted with some that I don't even know well. Most of my personal interactions with the returning troops have been great, but I have noticed slight changes in the way they go about their daily lives. It is hard to believe that anybody who experiences the frequent death and destruction that war causes can come back from that experience completely unchanged. I know that the best thing we can do for our troops is to pray for their safety in battle and to then support them unconditionally when they return home. I hope that we can make it so that none of our troops ever feels alone when they need our help the most.
One passage in the book that I found particularly moving was when Paul admits that he has now been completely changed by the war.
ReplyDelete"We are not youth any longer. We don't want to take the world by storm. We are fleeing. We fly from ourselves. From our life. We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces. The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts. We are cut off from activity, from striving, from progress. We believe in such things no longer, we believe in the war." (87-88).
This passage is important to me because I feel it does the best job of symbolizing the whole novel's message of the unnecessary loss of an entire generation of men whom, even if they survived the war, were basically lost to it. All of their hopes and dreams grew weaker each day they spent fighting an unseen enemy in the trenches. Young men who should have been just learning the ways of the world were taken to the front lines to fight a war they did not fully understand against an enemy that they had no real hatred or bad feelings towards. I think that Remarque does a great job in this novel of showing war's effects on the ones who fight in it. That is the main reason I enjoyed the book.
Imagery is a crucial element to All Quiet on the Western Front. It shows the results from violent combat that takes place almost daily without much resulting from it, and the horrors that went on to shape the rest of the soldiers lives. It is rather gory, but I believe it was necessary for Remarque to bring us right into the moment that the characters are seeing. Some of the most powerful scenes show the futility of the fighting during the war, including this one:
ReplyDelete"We see men living with their skulls blown open; we see soldiers run with their two feet cut off... a lance corporal crawls a mile and a half on his hands dragging his smashed knee after him... we see men without mouths, without jaws, without faces, we find one man who has held the artery of his arm for two hours in order not to bleed to death. The sun goes down, night comes, the shells whine, life is at an end. Still the little piece of convulsed earth in which we lie is held. We have yielded no more than a few hundred yards of it as prize to the enemy. But on every yard there lies a dead man" (134-135).
Scenes like this convey the terrifying image that was seen by many a soldier during that war, and for Remarque to be able to accurately depict an image like that shows his skill at his craft, and demonstrate what an excellent work All Quiet on the Western Front is.
Please try to take this poll. I am trying something new. Link is:
ReplyDeletehttp://poll.pollcode.com/ILRB
Wow t.o that was some quick reading! Actually I read half the book yesterday on the drive home from Florida. Although I am not quite finished, Im going to assume the next 100 pages or so reflects the first part, and say this is the best book of the summer. Very rarely do we see authors completely disregard the romantic ideals most people associate with war, which is the chief reason why I like this book so far. I was happy when I found out it is told from the German point of view, because almost all war novels in English are sympathetic to the allied powers. I can't wait to finish!
ReplyDeleteHey everyone just finished the book! I can completely say now that this was the best book. The other books were good but since a soldier wrote All Quiet on the Western Front there was definitely a truth to everything written about this horrible war in the book. The depth of Paul Baumer’s thoughts held sway with me, I can’t get over how well Erich Maria Remarque wrote about Baumer’s emotions. Consistently, too, as all throughout the book we are let into Baumer’s thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI did not encounter many questionable passages in the book, but throughout, I couldn’t understand why there was so much disquiet between the enlisted volunteers and the officers in the German army. Baumer would always dread doing chores/work for the officers and resist their authority at least in his thoughts. This is how the army is structured for efficiency though, and if officers are immoral then they probably shouldn’t be put into a position of power in the first place. The pull between Himmelstoss and his subordinates was notable. Also, when in battle, Himmelstoss completely freezes in fear as written; “Quickly I jump back into the dug-out and find him with a small scratch lying in a corner pretending to be wounded. His face looks sullen. He is in a panic; he is new to it too. But it makes me mad that the young recruits should be out there and he here.
ReplyDelete“Get out!” I spit.
He does not stir, his lips quiver, his moustache twitches…” (Pg 131)
I have to say I really appreciated the reality Remarque injected into All Quiet on the Western Front. That doesn’t mean I thoroughly enjoyed the brutal descriptions, but I really respect Remarque for pulling out all the stops in his book. Many authors don’t want to discourage young people from defending their country, so they add heroic and patriotic senses into their writing, and leave out the terrified emotions soldiers constantly suffer.
ReplyDeleteAlthough small, I thought it was really cool how Remarque added that final paragraph on the last page describing what happened to Paul later on. It really provided closure for the whole story. Fathers and Sons also did a good job of summarizing at the end of the book, though a little lengthy and included minor characters.
This is one of the few books I have read where I do not have any complaints! Cover to cover this is probably one of the fastest read books for it’s page count I have read!
All Quiet on the Western Front reminds me of a book written by a Petty Officer First Class and Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, called Lone Survivor. This book details the account of operation Redwing in Afghanistan, which led to the deaths of over a dozen SEALs and other special operatives in Afghanistan. Throughout the book we are taken through Luttrell’s mindset during deployment, and not the same as lying in a rat-infested daisy cutter-torn trench for days, Marcus was taken on the most mentally and physically tasking event of his life. Just like Baumer was the last surviving member of his volunteered crew, (until killed), Luttrell was the last surviving member of his Team selected for operation Redwing. Luttrell escaped alive after evading and killing 7 Afghani assassins and taking refuge in a nearby Pushtan village.
ReplyDeleteLuttrell felt fear and despair after losing his teamates and friends, but had to overcome this misery, just like Baumer, and escape from his hunters. Throughout his evasion he suffered from acute dehydration and starvation, just like Baumer did after his recon mission.
ReplyDelete"If he had run two yards farther to the left, he might now be sitting in the trench over there and writing a fresh letter to his wife.
ReplyDeleteBut I will get no further that way; for that is the fate of all of us: if Kemmerich's leg had been six inches to the right: if Haie Westhus had bent his back three inches further forward---" (pg 222-223)
This quote definitely made an impact on me. It illustrates the randomness of war, anyone could die any day and could possibly be avoided by standing a foot away from where you would be killed. Hindsight is 20-20 though, which adds to the torment of those who watch their friends die. They think it is their fault because they could have gotten their friend to move 6 inches but did not.
I have to agree with Thomas, imagery was boss in All Quiet on the Western Front. Along the importance of imagery, the self-to-self conflict of Paul Baumer throughout the book is very powerful in itself. I think these devices go hand-in-hand but the imagery of men exploding and literally tons of bombs dropped on Baumer’s position wins as literary device. The appeal of the book stems from the battle scenes we envision, and the turmoil Baumer faces throughout his deployment. We relate to him in this way, and the author controls our emotions. I think this makes Remarque a master writer.
ReplyDeleteAll Quiet on the Western Front, filled with pain, horrifying destruction, life or death decisions, and the loss of many brothers, is written with complete honesty and allows the reader to feel the devastation of the time and the terror and apprehension of the soldiers in the trenches. Author Erich Maria Remarque, as Duke mentioned in his previous blog, leaves no details out and paints a tragic picture of the innocent men thrust into a life altering journey. Paul Baumer's young-adulthood is turned upside down when he is sent to fight in a war that he does not believe in. His hopes, dreams, and plans slip away as a loaded rifle and grimy boots are placed in his peasant hands. As a German soldier on the front line, demolition, broken bodies, and deadly explosions become a regular sight. Remarque describes the constant fight for survival that comes with every sunrise and the ache for the end of the war that never leaves these young soldiers stomachs. Soldiers, who share the same nightmares and travel the same perilous journey, form uncommon bonds which Remarque describes as "closer than lovers." The loss of a brother and the desperate fear of losing life themselves, propel these soldiers to fight savagely and at all costs in order to come out of the battle alive. All Quiet on the Western Front is filled with the stark truths of the grief and hardships that constituted World War I. Remarque holds the reader on the brink of tears for the poor, innocent men, despite the uniforms worn on their backs or the country they are fighting for, and writes a literal, heartbreaking war novel that will be forever remembered and loved by all who have read it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how Remarque contrasts the horrifying descriptions of the bloody war with the beautiful details of nature. He writes to-the-point sentences and yet fills the pages with the visions of war and the personal thoughts of Paul Baumer. I have no real criticism and thoroughly enjoyed the writing style as well as the story.
@ Duke Roach
ReplyDeleteLone Survivor is quite possibly one of the best books I've ever read, and I would recommend everyone read Marcus Luttrell's story of his journey from training to become a Navy SEAL and his tale of that fateful mission in Afghanistan and the incredible aid he was given by the Pashtun peoples that protected him from the Taliban. I wholeheartedly agree with you in that we sense the daily struggle that war involves, even in two completely different eras of combat. Reading both books and their accounts of watching comrades die has made a powerful impact on me and has helped to give me tremendous respect for every veteran, knowing the sacrifices they've freely taken to ensure our security.
@thomasowen
ReplyDeleteIn your first comment, you mentioned something that Paul said. That quote was one of many that really stood out to me in this book. What amazes me most is how young these men really are. While most of us will be attending college or working at in a civilian job at the age of 19 or 20, these young men are in a war, fighting for their lives. I could not imagine what it would be like to constantly live in fear, for the life of both friends and self. Unlike our generation, these boys had to grow up fast. Reading this novel was particularly interesting to me for many reasons, but this was definitely one.
@Duke Roach
ReplyDeleteI can also agree with you and Thomas Owen that the imagery is what made this book. I think anyone who read the book would agree that it is very graphic and sometimes disturbing, but as you said it is no-nonsense. Erich Maria Remarque allows readers a glimpse into what war is like, without keeping back the gruesome details. I cannot say I enjoyed reading the specific death scenes, but without them the story would not seem so tragic, and therefore real. I can say without a doubt that this novel had the best imagery out of all the books we read.
What I loved most about this book was the insight into the feelings of the soldiers and the hardships of being at war. As was indicated numerous times, war is hard. One can never know if they will be alive the next day, or if they will see their friends and fellow soldiers after the next attack. I really enjoyed the author’s portrayal of the emotions that these young men have throughout the process. At the beginning, they are more energized, and still care about things like food or women. However, as the war seems more ominous, things begin to change. Sometimes it was hard to interpret the emotions that a character had, though I think the reason behind this is that it was hard for these men to know their own emotions. On the one hand they might be sad at losing a friend, but glad to be alive. They might be scared of being killed, but still have the courage to fight. At times they were able to be normal guys, messing around like any male friends, but then the next second they would be stuck in the middle of bombings and gassings. It was interesting to me to see the development of a character who wishes to stay alive to one who desperately wants to die. War does these things to people; it changes them in many ways, and I feel this change was wonderfully portrayed.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn this novel, the life of a soldier is illuminated. Though fear and tragedy are highlighted, what I found most intriguing were the relationships that formed between the young men involved. They start out as friends; that is before they see any action. These boys grow to be more like brothers then just friends. Which of us have ever been through events so horrific as the ones these men live through? They do it together, an grow closer because of it. War and life-threatening instances turn these friends into family. I know that I, personally, do not typically live through situations such as these with my family. I can only imagine the bond it must create, and I feel the author did a fantastic job depicting this bond. By the end, when all Paul’s comrades have died, he is content in death.
ReplyDeleteRemarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front is officially my favorite summer reading book, with Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons following close behind. What I liked about this novel were the touching scenes that Remarque created. But of all the heartfelt scenes in this novel I encountered, Paul’s sympathy for Gérard Duval struck me the most.
ReplyDeleteThis was Paul’s first hand-to-hand combat in which Paul experienced taking another human being’s life face-to-face rather than an ambiguous figure from a distance. The following passage climaxes Remarque’s critical rhetoric against the war:
“Comrade, I did not want to kill you... But you were only an idea to me before, an abstraction that lived in my mind and called forth its appropriate response...I thought of your hand-grenades, of your bayonet, of your rifle; now I see your wife and your face and our fellowship. Forgive me, comrade. We always see it too late. Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony—Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy (223).”
Remarque exploits this particular scene for the reader to have a clearer understanding of the true cost of taking another human being’s life. Although every soldier has to result to an intuitively “animal instinct” to kill than to be killed, Paul realizes that the war waged by a few power-hungry people has caused men who are not enemies to kill each other. “How could you be my enemy?” Certainly, it is a mind-bothering question that will haunt Paul forever after stabbing to death a peasant and innocent-looking soldier with a wife and a daughter waiting back home.
There wasn’t much that I disliked in this novel. However, I wanted to know what happened to some of the minor characters, such as Paul’s mother, Himmelstoss, Albert Kropp, Lewandowski and the other wounded soldiers. Did they go home to their families? Did they die? In Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons, he concluded what the other minor characters had done with the rest of their lives; whereas, Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front did not. However, I felt that if Remarque had done the same style as Turgenev’s, the novel wouldn’t have been as powerful and riveting as I thought it to be. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book and I would even read it again.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a powerful and riveting novel that portrays the actual experience of the brutality of war by a generation of young men who were falsely led to fight for the ideals of patriotism and nationalism. The opening page of this all-time favorite war novel, Remarque made known to his reader his purpose: “This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of me who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.” Through the various testimonies, narration and dialogue among the dominant characters, vivid descriptions of the scenes and the settings, Remarque was able to depict the real tragedy of the war – the destruction of a whole generation of young men whose lives were completely changed by the violence and carnage of World War I. The real tragedy of the war was not merely the complete destruction of innocent lives but also very much on those men who returned home from the front completely changed and unable to function in the society and on those who lived and haunted with post-traumatic stress disorder throughout their life as evident by the paragraph in chapter 12: “Let the months and years come, they can take nothing from me, they can take nothing more. I am so alone, and so without hope that I can confront them without fear (295).” Without a doubt, Remarque impeccably executes his anti-war sentiments on this novel by writing every detail through the eyes of Paul Baumer, the protagonist. You can actually feel, taste, hear, smell, and see the actual scene as if you were right next to Paul throughout the whole story. Furthermore, the author has remarkably written a vivid account of the battle of the western front from Paul’s perspective as if he has experienced it himself. With that being said, is Remarque Paul Baumer or is he the unknown narrator of the two concluding paragraphs? “He fell in October 1918, on a day that was so quiet and still on the whole front, that the army report confined itself to the single sentence: All quiet on the Western Front. He had fallen forward and lay on the earth as through sleeping. Turning him over one saw that he could not have suffered long; his face had an expression of calm, as though almost glad the end had come.”
ReplyDeleteImagery is the dominant literary device used in this novel. Though the setting, conflict, characterization, and dialogue contributed a specific role in the making of the all-time favorite war novel, it was the imagery that brought the readers into the trenches where two opposing armies are battling for supremacy and millions of lives are lost. Remarque fills each page with suspenseful, gruesome, and tragic scenes in order for the reader to see and feel the horrors of war. The following passage displays the literary skills of the author in exploiting an unthinkable scene to persuade the readers to oppose war at all costs:
ReplyDelete“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 there, the top half, the legs are missing…Over there lies a body with nothing but a piece of the underpants on one leg and the collar of the tunic around its neck. Otherwise it is naked and the clothes are hanging up in the tree. Both arms are missing as though they had been pulled out. I discover one of them twenty yards off in a shrub” (208).
I also have another question, though irrelevant:
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know what the word “ach” means? I assumed that it was something the soldiers do to clear their throats, but it wasn’t until the end where I realized that “ach” was a real word:
“He made out is was nothing, and I said to him: ‘Don’t do anything silly, Detering.’
‘Ach, why – it’s merely that I can’t sleep—‘ “ (276).
Any ideas?
@thomasowen
ReplyDeleteI couldn’t agree more with your observations: “All Quiet on the Western Front transported me to the awful conflict that trench warfare was in World War 1.” This book also transported me back into time to World War I. Reading the pages of the novel brings me into the same trench where Paul was remorsefully watching Gerard Duval dying. I could feel the intensity that radiated from these two men – Paul’s heart pounding at the fact that he killed a man in hand-to-hand combat; Gerard Duval’s gurgling and gasps of breath due to the multiple stab wounds he sustained from the fight. Once I turned the last page of the book, I was transported back to my bedroom. All Quiet on the Western Front, in my opinion, is like a “time machine.”
However, this “time machine” couldn’t function properly without the remarkable, accurate scenes Remarque displayed. It really is a masterpiece for Remarque to be able to vividly describe the brutal and bloody scenes in the novel. He fills each page with suspenseful, gruesome, tragic scenes in order for us to really understand the devastating effects of horrific war.
Does anyone else think that All Quiet on the Western Front is like a “time machine”?
@ABaniqued
ReplyDeleteI agree 'ach' is just a clearing of the soldiers throats, although in the quote you used, it seems like the soldier used it in place of 'well', like "Well, -it's merely that I can't sleep-." I think it's just how people talked back then.
@ABaniqued
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion you were also very accurate in saying this story is like a time machine in the sense that I was absorbed into the book. I think this is due to Remarque's striking imagery. Sometimes books are boring or unrealistic and I find myself counting the pages and minutes I have been reading. This is not the case with All Quiet on the Western Front.
Hi everyone!I really felt that All Quiet on the Western Front was the best book we've read all summer. All Quiet on the Western Front has given me a whole new insight into the horrors of war. Considering the fact that war movies are a favorite genre of mine, that I could have been so moved by this story and come to understand the thoughts of a soldier in this personal way is pretty remarkable. Remarque's descriptions of the trenches and the carnage that resided in them was both interesting and terrifying. I also enjoyed how Remarque communicated Paul's dilemma. He seemed to clearly articulate how Paul's participation in the war made him "homeless" as he felt he was he was unable to return home. It seemed that the only place he could be with his thoughts was in a trench, which is right where he didn't want to be. This is something that only someone who has lived in the trenches and through the horrors of war could understand. In addition, the most interesting part of the book to me, was that All Quiet on the Western Front was written from the German point of view. This is a point of view which is so alien to Americans. In almost all other accounts of WWI that I've seen, there has only been the point of view from the allies. This view point always portrays the Germans as the enemy. In this story, the Germans had a human element and were just young boys barely out of highschool who were trying to survive to go home. All these things made All Quiet on the Western Front the best book of the summer in my eyes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am not an expert on war novels (or war in general), I have really liked All Quiet on the Western Front thus far. I especially appreciated when Paul referred to his days in boot camp and when he admits that Corporal Himmelstoss’s strict orders and intense training is what helped him survive, despite the fact that he regretted it at the time. That aspect of the story, as well as other parts in which Paul talks about how deadly and traumatizing war can be, reminds me of a movie directed by Stanley Kubrick called Full Metal Jacket.* The movie depicts the life of a Marine Corps recruit/soldier, Private “Joker”, during the Vietnam War. The first half shows him and his fellow recruits undergoing eight brutal weeks of boot camp at Parris Island. Not only were they forced to do hard physical training, but extremely vulgar and extremely offensive insults were constantly directed at them by the drill instructor, Sergeant Hartman, as well. Like Himmelstoss did to several men, Hartman singles out one recruit (not Private Joker) and works him even harder than everyone else. The second part of the film shows Private Joker’s exploits during the war itself. At the end of a battle later on in the film, just as Paul notes that his training helped him get through the battles, Private Joker acknowledges that war is a terrifying experience but that he is also no longer afraid after having gone through basic military training and after having fought in the Vietnam War. I was surprised to see so many connections between the movie and the novel, and I thought they were worth mentioning. I also think that both of the works do an excellent job of expressing how harsh war is and how demanding the life of a soldier is.
ReplyDelete*Although I have admittedly seen much of Full Metal Jacket, it is not a movie that I would recommend anyone to see. There is excessive inappropriate language (to say the least) and many very violent war scenes. Nonetheless, I thought it was interesting to observe the connections between the movie and parts of All Quiet on the Western Front.
@Megan R
ReplyDeleteI also noticed how the war transformed the thoughts and emotions of the young men throughout the book. At the beginning of the war, the men did not want to be there, yet they tried to make the most of the experience by doing other things to pass the time such as playing cards and just fooling around. As you have pointed out, there were also sections in the beginning of the book dedicated to them worrying about what food they were going to eat. However, as the war continues, they don’t think about food anymore, and they have no time for playing. They soon find themselves out in the middle of the violence and bombardment in the trench, and there is no way out. As the war progresses they become adapted to their new environment and surroundings and it rapidly becomes their new “home” without them even realizing it. They become so drawn in to the war that they don’t even think about life before the war started. Instead of worrying about what to eat or playing cards, these young men are now only thinking about how they are going to come out of the war alive. In this novel, Erich Maria Remarque truly does a tremendous job of illustrating the toll that warfare can take on a young man’s life.
@OMcHugh
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree that Paul’s internal conflict throughout the book was presented magnificently. Personally, I thought it was one of the most interesting aspects of the entire work. Although he did not want to be there, he was drawn so completely in to the war that after a while that was the only life he knew. His only choice while living in the trenches was to fight and that is exactly what he did. This quickly became his new home. Therefore, he felt completely out of place when he returned to his family on his leave.
My question is do you think Paul would have been better off if he had not gone home during his leave? Although it was good for his family to see him and to hear his voice, he did not really want to be there. He comments on how his neighborhood seems like a “foreign world” to him, and he is happier when he goes back and is reunited with his comrades. He even comments himself, “I ought never to have come on leave.” This was probably because, as I have stated above, he was so accustomed to fighting in the war that his old lifestyle became foreign to him, but I was wondering what everyone else thought?
Overall, I think All Quiet on the Western Front was a good book. It was definitely interesting in a way that none of the others were. It was difficult to read at some points because people were dying left and right. It was somewhat depressing to read a book in which practically every character dies. However, I think Erich Maria Remarque did a tremendous job in writing this book. For the most part he was able to balance out the disheartening war and deaths with other interesting, yet less dark and gloomy imagery. He even managed to add a bit of humor into this quite dismal novel. This book was also able to give me a better appreciation for how horrifying and gruesome World War 1 really was, and how many lives were changed due to trench warfare. In addition I felt more connected to this book since the author was a soldier in the war himself. The book was able to completely draw me in, as it gave me the feeling that I was there with them in the trench.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been extremely difficult for Paul to leave one of his closest friends, Albert Kropp, alone in the hospital in very poor condition. He did everything he could to stay as close to Albert as possible throughout his time of injury, and comforted him as best he could. He did not want to leave him in the hospital alone and chance saying his final goodbye, but he knew that he had to leave in order to help in the war. In a way, I can relate to this type of experience. My grandfather, who has had cancer for over three years, took a strong turn for the worse this summer and ended up in the hospital for about a month. When this happened my family and I rushed to Raleigh to see and comfort him, as the doctors said he may only live a little longer. However, we were unable to stay for the whole month as we had other things to get home for. It was particularly hard for us to leave him because we were very afraid that we may not be able to see him again. Thankfully, he was able to begin a long but somewhat stable recovery shortly after we left.
ReplyDelete“How long has it been? Weeks—months—years? Only days. We see time pass in the colourless faces of the dying, we cram food into us, we run, we throw, we shoot, we kill, we lie about, we are feeble and spent, and nothing supports us but the knowledge that there are still feebler, still more spent, still more hopeless ones who, with staring eyes, look upon us as gods that escape death many times.” (133)
ReplyDeleteThis passage really stood out to me as I was reading All Quiet on the Western Front. It describes a feeling that Paul and his comrades felt as they were fighting in the trench. Not only did a single day feel like months or years for them, but the soldiers fighting in World War 1 frequently felt as though they had nothing to live for. Fighting in the war was starting to become just a daily routine for them. Since they had seen so many go before them, it was hard for them to keep going strong, knowing that they too might die.
This passage also suggests that even in the darkest of times, you can almost always find someone in a worse situation than yourself. I find it very impressive that even in this time of deep despair and misery, Paul was still able to be optimistic and realize that although he is in a bad situation, it could be much worse. This is what gave Paul the added hope and strength to keep going. I believe that this concept is very important for everyone to understand. Many people do not realize how lucky we are to be able to have even what we consider small things in life such as food, clean drinking water, clothes, shelter, schools, and loving parents. I know that I oftentimes take things for granted, and seldom think about the people all over the world who are less fortunate than I am. This passage really reminded me of not only how lucky I am to be blessed with so many gifts, but also to be thankful for what I have, and always remember that life can almost always be worse.
@ABaniqued
ReplyDeleteI also was disappointed that Remarque did not reveal what happened to the majority of the minor characters. Although it would have added little to the story, it still would have been nice to know whether the characters died or if they were lucky enough to live and be reunited with their families. But again, I agree that the ending of All Quiet on the Western Front was an effective and fitting one for the story, and I am not sure if a conclusion like Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons would have added much for this novel. Nonetheless, I fully enjoyed this book, and there is very little I can complain about.
On a personal note, I would like to reflect on a particular event on Chapter 4, pages 71-73. A new young recruit, a “fair-headed boy,” is slowly dying of severe bleeding, secondary to fatal wounds sustained from the bombardment. The following dialogue between him and Kat penetrates my heart with overwhelming pain and pity:
ReplyDelete“I say to the youngster who looks at us fixedly: ‘We’re going for a stretcher now –’ Then he opens his mouth and whispers: ‘Stay here –’ ‘We’ll be back again soon,’ says Kat. ‘We are only getting a stretcher for you.’ We don’t know if he understands. He whimpers like a child and plucks at us: ‘Don’t go away –’Kat looks around and whispers: ‘Shouldn’t we just take a revolver and put an end to it?’” (72).
This particular question, “Shouldn’t we just take a revolver and put an end to it?”, I’ve never experienced instantly thrown into trance and ponder into this paralyzing question. Would it be ethically justified to end someone’s life painlessly, so as to end suffering? Before you give your thoughts on this mind-bothering scenario, here out Kat’s explanation why “mercy-killing” is more of a choice than an option:
“The youngster will hardly survive the carrying, and at most he will only last a few days. What he has gone through so far is nothing to what he’s in for till he dies. Now he is numb and feeling nothing. In an hour he will become one screaming bundle of intolerable pain. Every day that he can live will be a howling torture. And to whom does it matter whether he has them or not –” (72).
Would you concur with Paul’s decision: “I nod, ‘Yes, Kat, we ought to put him out of his misery’”? On the western front, where a catastrophic number of casualties are staggering, where unbearable sufferings and pain are overwhelming, “mercy-killing” is carried out humanely as possible to end someone from the agony of unbearable suffering and pain. What are your thoughts? How about a similar situation as mentioned above in a modern society, such as the sensational Terri Schiavo case and Dr. Kevorkian’s famous end-to-life treatment, do you agree or disagree that if one does have the right to live, one also does have the right to die?
In my opinion, after weighing all the pros and cons and obeying my conscience, I myself couldn’t possibly pull the trigger on that young recruit, or withhold the feeding tube on Terri Schiavo and starve her to death. But with Kevorkian’s practice of active euthanasia, I would say, let life run its own course – life is a gift and has a purpose, and death is a destiny. When Kat “has made up his mind” to put him out of misery, a group of new recruits appeared, he was neither destined to die at Kat’s hand, nor live in howling torture. Nothing is written about him afterwards, so nothing we knew what happened to him. Did he die as foretold by Kat or did he miraculously live?
"What do they expect of us if a time ever comes when the war is over? Through the years our business has been killing; - it was our first calling in life. Our knowledge of life is limited to death. What will happen afterwards? And what will come of us?" (pg 264)
ReplyDeleteA lost generation. These boys', these soldiers' lives have only been about war. All they know how to do is to fight, kill, and survive. Only twenty years old and yet their lives seem over or restricted. If they survive in the treacherous war zone, how will they live outside of it? Must they re-learn how to live away from the explosions and guns, and find a way to fit back into normal life? Normal for them has become the bloody battlefields and the dirty trenches. These tough soldiers are barely more than kids and yet they are thrust into terrifying situations and ordered to fire at people their own age, who wear a different uniform and speak a different language. They love their country and are willing to die for it, but must they die killing other peasants like them, just because they are standing on the other side of a fence or lying in an opposing trench? The politicians and leaders wish their names to be recorded in the history and school books, so they command these innocent boys to go to war. At the beginning they are naive, new, and confused. They are young. Soon, however, they grow old. "We are not youth any longer. We don't want to take the world by storm. We are fleeing. We fly from ourselves. From our life. We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces. The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts. We are cut from activity, from striving, from progress. We believe in such things no longer, we believe in the war." (pg 87-88) On the third to last page Remarque describes the loss of a generation due to World War I. He writes "And men will not understand us - for the generation that grew up before us, though it has passed these years with us already had a home and a calling; now it will return to it's old occupations, and the war will be forgotten - and the generation that has grown up after us will be strange to us and push us aside. 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 into ruin." (pg 294) The war took away the opportunity for returning to the peaceful childhood Paul came from, and though years pass, it eventually stripped him of life itself.
"She has been in bed some months now, but we did not want to write and tell you. Several doctors have been to see her. One of them said it was probably cancer again (pg162)...Late at night my mother comes into my room. She thinks I am asleep, and I pretend to be so. To talk, to stay awake with one another, it is too hard. She sits long into the night although she is in pain and often writhes (pg182) ...In the evening I spread the jam on the cakes and eat some. But I have no taste for them. So I go out to give them to the Russians. Then it occurs to me that my mother cooked them herself and that she was probably in pain as she stood before the hot stove. I put the bag back in my pack and take only two to the Russians. (pg198)"
ReplyDeleteThese quotes describe the horrible sickness and pain Paul's mother is constantly in. The cancer leaves her body tired and aching yet she endures it to put her son before herself. She sits by Paul at night and bakes him their last supplies of food so he will have something to eat. Paul saves the bread his mother baked for him; one of the only things he has left of her. He is left powerless and unable to help her get well again. Both Paul and his Mother must come to terms with the fact they may never see each other again, due to the sickness she is fighting and the danger he faces during war.
Most people have had to deal with the sickness of a family member or a friend. The frustration of not being able to cure or help them can feel worse than enduring the disease itself. There is a constant feeling of helplessness and regret while understanding you cannot take the pain away. The question of ever seeing them again, each time you leave, draws your mind away from everything you do and forces you to preserve all of the moments you have left together.
People who have dealt with someone who is sick, like Paul, hold tight to every word, or even a piece of bread, in order to take each day as it comes and hopefully win the battle in the end.
No one can dispute the fact that imagery is one of the most important factors of this book. Each page is overflowing with descriptions of everything Paul Baumer sees, thinks, hears, or feels. The senses are used to bring the varying emotions of the characters and traumatizing visions of war to life. Remarque contrasts the confusion of battle, the anguish of losing a friend, the beauty of nature, and pity for the enemy. All scenes are described with color and emotion yet they produce completely different images. For example:
ReplyDelete"Now the stems gleam purest white, and between them airy and silken, hangs the pastel-green of the leaves; the next moment all changes to opalescent blue, as the shivering breezes pass down from the heights and touch the green lightly away; and again in one place it deepens almost to black as a cloud passes over the sun. And this shadow moves like a ghost through the dim trunks and rides far out over the moor to the sky - then the birches stand out again like gay patches of autumn-tinted leaves."
This scene's beautiful depiction with the colorful phrases can be contrasted with the desperation at being confined in a cramped room with a battle raging outside, described in the following quotation:
"Night again. We are deadened by the strain - a deadly tension that scrapes along one's spine like a gapped knife. Our legs refuse to move, our hands tremble, our bodies are a thin skin stretched painfully over repressed madness, over an almost irresistible, bursting roar. We have neither flesh nor muscles any longer, we dare not look at one another for fear of some miscalculable thing. So we shut our teeth - it will end - it will end - it will end - perhaps we will come through."
Both quotations create vivid pictures, with perfect clarity. The imagery through simple, direct phrases, bring this book alive.
Hello everyone! I believe, as many of you feel, All Quiet On The Western Front was the most fascinating out of the summer reading books. Although being short, this book had depth and really focused on characterization as well as setting. I felt that Remarque wrote this book so that the reader felt as if they were along on this journey of hardships and death with the Second Company. I felt a comradeship with each man, and it was genuinely sad when they died. Perhaps the most upsetting moment was when the brave veteran Katczinsky died.
ReplyDelete"On the way without my my having noticed it, Kat has caught a splinter in the head. There is just one little hole, it must have been very tiny, stray splinter. But it has sufficed. Kat is dead." (Pg. 291)
In all honesty I cried during this passage. The way Remarque wrote each character, as you got to know there hopes and dreams for after the war, there family life, and the extent of their brotherly bond, it was as if a good friend had passed.
@Lgant,Megan R
ReplyDeleteI agree about the importance of imagery in this novel. To bring up Megan's point, I think it is important to have imagery to show the insight feelings of the soldiers. Due to the imagery in this novel we can all feel and see what Paul, Muller, Tjadan, Kat, and the others experience. I think a very good example of this is when Paul had stabbed Gerard Duval and he is talking to his corpse.
" 'Comrade, I did not want to kill you. If you jumped in here again, I would not do it, if you would be sensible too. But you were only an idea to me before, an abstraction that lived in my mind and called forth its appropriate response. It was that abstraction I stabbed. But now, for the first time, I see you are a man like me. I thought of your hand-grenades, of your bayonet, of your rifle;now I see your wifee and your face of fellowship. Forgive me, comrade. We always see it too late. Why do they never tell s that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that qw have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony- Forgive me comrade; how could you be by enemy? If we threw away these rifles and this uniform you would be my brother jsut like Kay and ALbert. Take twenty years of my life, comrade, abd stand up-take more, for I do not now what I can even attempt to do with it now." (pg. 223)
I love this paragraph for a few main reasons. The first is that this paints a clear picture of Paul's sorrow. He is in a pain and regret for killing this man. He is looking back at why he was so wrong. The language is so descriptive of his emotions that I can see the scene and each look upon his face. The other reason this stands out is because of what Paul realizes in this trench. That this "enemy" is just like him in a way. This is such a mature realization. The fact that these people who have been killing his friends are just like him, they have a family and friends and are fighting for what is right in their own country, it is amazing!
Hi Everyone!
ReplyDeleteI loved All Quiet on the Western Front. It was by far the best book this summer! I loved the way Remarque could take you to the time and place of the book with his words and feel what was happening. Once I got into the book, I couldn't put it down until the end. The way Remarque portrayed the characters throughout the book, i felt like I knew them and as Lucy said, when Kat died, I cried too. It is almost as if you are friends with the characters and feel for them through the story.
I am sure that imegery was key in the war novel. The imagery helps you know the soldiers' feelings and experiences in the war. It also helps set up settings in which the soldiers are and what they are thinking, feeling, and doing. On every page you learn so much more about each character.
ReplyDeleteAs Loren said, the passages in the book create such vivid images in your mind and explain the scenes, thoughts, and feelings of everyone so perfectly. From this book i would say Remarque is a great writer of a wonderful book and would not hesitate to read this book again or another from him.
"Oh, this turning back again! We reach the shelter of the reservesand yearn to creep in and dissappear;-but instead we must turn round again and plunge into the horror. If we were not automata at the moment we would continue lying there, exhausted, and without will. But we are swept forward again, powerless, madly savage and raging; we will kill, for they are still our mortal enemies, their rifles and bombbs are aimed at us, and if we don't destroy them, they will destroy us." (Remarque 115)
ReplyDeleteThis passage shows how the soldiers seem to feel as thought they are robots, automata, and must continue to fight for their lives even though they can just take shelter. they have to continue to fight in the horror of the killing and the shooting. They need to destroy the enemy first, if not, then they will be destroyed.
I like this passage because you see a thought of the soldiers. Of course they don't want to fight but I think in the rage and confusion of battle they are compelled to. They fight for their lives so they can come out a survivor.
One question i have about the book is about the last paragrapg of the story..."He fell in October 1918, on a day that was so quiet and still on the whole front..." Is it referring to Paul Baumer dying in war or what? I'm pretty sure that is right but I just want to clarify...
ReplyDeleteThanks !!
Hey Everyone!
ReplyDeleteI just finished All Quiet on the Western Front last night, and I must say this was my favorite book on our Summer reading list. This novel gave me a different perspective on World War 1. Before when I thought of this time period all I considered were the hardships of the Allied troops and thought nothing of the young German soldiers dedicating their lives to their country.
I think the author is a very talented writer, but I sometimes found his descriptions repetitive. Especially during the barrages, I couldn't help myself from skimming a few paragraphs to try to find the action.
All in all, I thought this work was excellent. It included many detailed accounts that could only be written by a man with exceptional literary talent and first hand experience.
How do the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq compare to the trench warfare of World War I described in All Quiet on the Western Front?
ReplyDeleteMany things have changed, regarding how wars are fought and the conditions of soldiers, since World War I in 1918. The servicemen and women, who fight for the United States today, joined the military voluntarily with knowledge that they may be sent to war, as opposed to the German soldiers who were given no alternative during WWI. The young German men were conscripted into the army much like many of the American soldiers during the World Wars and Vietnam. The living standards of present day soldiers compared to those of the starving, dirty German soldiers of WWI, are significantly improved. Equipment, communications, and weapons are enhanced. One of the most important achievements since WWI is the improvement of medical care. Today doctors and surgeons save thousands compared to the experimenting doctors described in the book.
Battles, today, are fought without trenches and use strategic and tactical methods of fighting in order to annihilate the enemy. Face to face confrontation happens less frequently and opposing armies do not line up to fire at one another. Advanced weapons such as shoulder-fired missiles, night vision goggles, and drones allow people to obliterate a target from great distances and without eye-contact. Today, our soldiers and marines are constantly exposed to IEDs that can kill or maim indiscriminately. Weapons such as IEDs continue to border on the barbaric, much like the use of gas in WWI. Paul describes the yellowish mustard gas creeping along the ground towards him and having to quickly put on a gas mask to avoid being exposed and dying slowly due to lack of air. Gas masks have been updated and enhanced in order to accommodate the new types of gasses that are not only invisible and odorless, but are more deadly. When American forces entered Iraq, they expected and planned for gas attacks from Hussein. However, American forces today are prohibited from deploring gas as an offensive weapon.
War tactics since World War I have changed and evolved from trench warfare and bayonets, to outmaneuvering the enemy and killing hundreds at a time using explosive devices dropped by aircraft or propelled from submarines. All war is treacherous and deadly, but the way of fighting and rules of engagement have evolved in the seventy years that have passed making it more deadly but with less direct contact. Can anyone else think of other ways the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq compare to World War I?
@ ABaniqued
ReplyDelete"Remarque exploits this particular scene for the reader to have a clearer understanding of the true cost of taking another human being’s life. Although every soldier has to result to an intuitively “animal instinct” to kill than to be killed, Paul realizes that the war waged by a few power-hungry people has caused men who are not enemies to kill each other. “How could you be my enemy?” Certainly, it is a mind-bothering question that will haunt Paul forever after stabbing to death a peasant and innocent-looking soldier with a wife and a daughter waiting back home."
I agree Paul felt guilt after stabbing a peasant so similar to himself. During the hours he was forced to lie with the dying man next to him, Paul vowed to write to the man's family or even visit them. However, another important part of the scene was as the time passed, the unwavering guilt began to subside, and after he was finally rescued Paul realized despite his intentions he would not fulfill the promise. This was the first time Paul understood every man he shot from afar was just like the one dying next to him, and he could not possibly write nor visit the families of every soldier he killed.
The guilt Paul felt after killing a peasant like himself and the indifference to fighting the war at all, is a microcosm of most of the soldiers battling in the opposing armies. The majority of the men on the front lines, the ones firing the weapons and the people having to look the enemy in the eye, with murder on their conscience, do not understand the full meaning or the political purpose of the war. Conflict is everywhere, not just on the battlefield, but in the minds of men.
@Lgant
ReplyDeleteI agree that today's wars are fought with more precision, especially if you are from the United States. We have a huge array of explosives and skilled servicemen/women. Especially in the war in Afghanistan, our enemies are not as well equipped as us. This is good and bad. They are constantly being bombarded by precise airstrikes because they have minimal defenses. However, they use immoral and deceptive tactics to prolong their defeat. IED's are dangerous since we are on the offensive and on the move, and IED's can be partially hidden to take out our soldiers. Although we try to win the hearts and minds of the civilians, some Afghan people are still sympathetic to Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, which is exactly what happened in Lone Survivor. When Marcus Luttrell's team of SEALs found some Afghan goatherds, they were forced to let them go because of Geneva Convention laws against killing civilians. They knew full well there was a chance the goatherds would tell nearby terrorists, which is exactly what happened. An overwhelming force of terrorists ambushed them on their position and killed all SEALs in the group except Marcus Luttrell. My point is, war has definitely changed over the years.
@ Virginia
ReplyDeleteThat last paragraph of the book does refer to Paul, and in my opinion that is the 'happiest' ending that Paul could have hoped for. Because he had witnessed the horrors of the trenches and was forced to live with the guilt of killing a man, Paul was unable to return home and have a normal happy life, his innocence had been robbed by the war. He also couldn't have any happiness in the trenches, he had witnessed all of his friends from home that he had fought with die besides him. I think that the way Paul went was the best way he could have, "he had fallen forward and lay on the earth as if sleeping", that is the most peaceful way he could have died, no guns, no fighting, just slipping into death as tho he was taking a nap.
The most important literary device used in All Quiet on the Western Front was characterization. The ethical amd moral dilema the young soldiers' face throughout the book was very interesting to me. The soldiers always had and internal struggle on many different issues. For example,should I take my wounded friend's shoes now or should I wait for him to die first, should I help these new replacements survive the night or should I just let them die, which inevitably is going to happen, or should I write to the wife of the soldier whom I just murdered are just a few examples of the moral issues that Paul and his comrades faced in the trenches. What else is interesting about the characters is watching them grow from the innocent young boys they were when they left their homes to the hardened soldiers that they became in the trenches. The authors focus on the development of the characters leaves the reader with something to think about.
ReplyDelete"All Quiet on the Western Front" was a very interesting novel. I learned much about World War I from a viewpoint that is rarely examined: the individual soldier on the opposing side. There were many aspects of this book that I really liked, but there were also aspects of the book that I did not like.
ReplyDeleteOne aspect of the book that I liked were the characters. They seemed very real, and I could tell that they must have been based on people that Remarque knew. Out of all the characters in the book, my favorite was Kat. He possessed many of the qualities that one looks for in friends. He was thoughtful and very loyal. Out of all the deaths in the book, I was most saddened by his. I also enjoyed reading about many of the other characters such as Tjaden, Albert, and Himmelstoss.
Another aspect of the book that I liked was its reflective tone. Paul thoughts are very deep on war, morality, and how his generation will be different from past and future generations. This was a book that made me think.
I did not enjoy all of the violence that was prominent in this book. War is horrific, which was made very apparent. Wounds were discussed in great detail. At one point, it was even mentioned how bloody bits of flesh were blown into the trenches. Because Remarque was gifted in his descriptive abilities, I found these sorts of passages especially disturbing.
"All Quiet on the Western Front" is a fascinating read, unlike any book that I have ever read. It gave me insight into a time, place, and perspective that I am not very familiar with. In the future, I would be interested to read more novels about this war from many different perspectives.
@Duke Roach
ReplyDeleteI found one of your early comments on the officers versus enlistees to be very interesting. You questioned why immoral, inefficient, and somewhat cowardly men would be put into positions of authority. I think this is a very interesting question that holds no distinct answer. However, I think instances of this abound in everyday life. Many of our government officials including congressmen and governors have engaged in scandalous behavior. Maybe, like Himelstoss, they feel that because of their authoritative position, they can get away with these behaviors. However, in reality, all should be held accountable to the law. Does anyone else have any thought on this?
"Albert expresses it: 'The war has ruined us for everything.'
ReplyDeleteHe is right. We are not youth any longer. We don't want to take the world by storm. We are fleeing. We fly from ourselves. From our life. We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces. The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts. We are cut off from activity, from striving, from progress. We believe in such things no longer, we believe in war." (pages 87-88)
This passage summarizes the conflict that these young soldiers are forced to face. They have lost themselves in the war. This passage seems to highlight the sadness that comes from this. These soldiers are no longer happy boys, but serious men. Their whole outlook on life has changed to the point that they no longer care about their former ideals. They have lost faith in everyone and everything including themselves. I think this is one of the worst effects of the war. These men are almost like ghosts of their former selves.
I think this passage is very important. It explains many of the characters' actions such as their ability to kill without thinking, the soldiers' ability to keep fighting, and Paul's inability to enjoy his leave time. It shows how lost these men are. This passage shows how tragic war is. So many people are hurt, both mentally and physically.
@Lgant and Duke Roach
ReplyDeleteYou are both right when you say how much warfare has changed in only the past 100 or so years. I also have a couple more examples of differences between warfare of World War I and today's warfare.
One of the most important differences is the presence of women in the military. In the past, the role of women in warfare was to serve as nurses. Now, women can fight on the front lines and do all sorts of other types of service.
Another difference is the type of doctors that are in the military. Now instead of just surgeons and general doctors, we have a vast array of doctors, such as dentists and psychologists! These doctors are all very experienced in their respective fields.
Conditions of life in the military, although still not luxurious, have greatly improved. Soldiers attached to military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan are fed hot meals, and are properly equipped. They also are sometimes given USO concerts by appreciative artists, a far cry from the entertainment that Paul and his friends hoped to experience.
I think all of these changes have been positive. And, because soldiers are not drafted, we have people fighting for us who truly want to protect us, and are willing to risk their lives every single day.
My dad, a naval officer, was deployed to Iraq for nine months a few years ago. I missed him very much, and it was hard not having him around. I also know it was hard for him, to be thousands of miles away, in a dangerous part of the world, and to be separated from his whole family. When my dad got home, I was very excited to have him back. My family tried to do special things to show how happy we were to have him back, such as making his favorite dinners.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the reactions that Paul's mother and sister had when he got home. They were very excited to have him back and treasured every moment that they spent with him, even when they weren't talking or doing anything special. They made an effort to give him the best food that they had.
It is very hard for families to be separated, especially if they are deployed to a dangerous, faraway place. Like Paul's mother did for him, we should pray for the health and safety of all the soldiers who fight to protect our freedom.
In All Quiet on the Western Front, I could relate to Paul Baumer as he left the war on leave. When I read the chapters on Paul's homecoming, I interpreted his reaction as disappointed. Paul saw that even the town he was raised in couldn't escape the hardships of war. Paul returned home to find that his family had very little food, and that his mother was slowly dying of cancer. I think that when you miss something for such a long time, like Paul missed home, you build it up to be something better than it actually is.
ReplyDeleteReading about Paul's leave reminded me of returning home from 3 week summer camp. Although coming home was great, the minute I got back I had to begin summer schoolwork. Not to be negative, but both of these instances reminded me that no matter where you are, nothing is perfect.
Something that I found off-putting about All Quiet on the Western Front was how some of the characters didn't have unique personalities. While reading this book it was difficult for me to grasp the group dynamic, because I felt like I didn't know the characters that well. I really wish the author had gone into a little more detail in describing his characters that had so much potential. Anyone else agree?
ReplyDelete@ thomasowen
ReplyDeleteI think the reason Remarque left that particular transformation out was because, although it was relevant to the story, it wasn’t relevant to the message he was trying to portray. It would have been nice to see why these men enlisted, but as I went throughout the book, I noticed something. It seems as though they joined not only because of the school master’s urging but because they really didn’t understand the concept of warfare. World War 1 had a new concept to fighting. The gas, the bombs, the planes, these were all relatively new. You see towards the end of the book that the new recruits have no clue what to expect. They are scared and untrained. Most died and they all were young and had dreams. I have to say I really did enjoy this book. Although not a book with a fairy tale ending, it got the writer’s message across. War is ugly and devastating. It ruins lives and separates loved ones from their families
The passage I found most important was:
ReplyDelete“I bite into my pillow. I grasp the iron rods of my bed with my fists. I ought never to have come here. Out there I was indifferent and often hopeless---I will never be able to be so again. I was a soldier, and now I am nothing but an agony for myself, for my mother, for everything that is so comfortless and without end. I ought never to have come on leave.” (Page 185)
This passage shows that soldiers struggle with their emotions and try to use being emotionally detached as protection against the horrors they see every day. Paul described himself as “indifferent and often hopeless,” but seeing his mother sick in bed and his sister so excited to see him made the emotions he had successfully suppressed come flooding back. When Paul first walked in the door, he cried. His emotional barrier was broken. In this passage, you see how the flood of emotions have taken a toll on him. He bites his pillow and squeezes his headboard. That, in my mind, shows his futile attempt to withhold his emotions once again. Paul has realized things won’t be the same when he returns to the front line.
My dad served in the Army for 21 years. He missed a lot of my childhood because of deployments. He has been all over the world and has many great stories. However, he doesn’t talk about the bad things that he saw. My mom told me a story from my first Christmas. My dad was deployed in Bosnia at the time. One day while he was out with his driver, Milan, they were shot at by snipers. They both made it home intact but the truck was pretty damaged. His commanding officer sent him home for Christmas. When we arrived at our annual family party, he was sitting under a tree with a bow on his head. My mom cried. All military families miss their loved ones and pray that they come home safely, and as you know this doesn’t always happen.
I grew up as an Army Brat and I’m proud of it. The men who serve our country risk their lives so that I have the freedoms that people take for granted every day. World War I was a horrible war, and not much good came out of it. Germany was left broken, with a huge war debt. Germany’s debt was a key factor in the rise of Hitler, which led to World War II and the Holocaust.
Remarque brought a great message into his book and it still gets passed on every time someone reads anyone of his books. We have all heard the expression "War is Hell," but Remarque shows us what that expression really means. I
I really enjoyed this book. I like Remarque’s ability to bring emotions felt by the characters to life. His descriptions of the battles were extremely well written and he wrote about a topic that people sometimes brush off because they are unable to understand the horror of it.
ReplyDeleteHis writing resonated with a feeling of personal experience, and after doing some research, I discovered he had actually fought in World War I and was injured five times.
War, for some people, is just a news story. They don’t understand the impact war has on soldiers, their families and the world in general. The only thing I did not like in the book was the death of Katczinsky. I really liked his character and what he brought to the book. The number of deaths in this story shows how fast life can be taken away and how important it is to live in the present moment.
The literary device that I thought was most important to "All Quiet on the Western Front" was characterization. Remarque brought to life many different characters in a way that was unmatched to any other book that I have ever read. These characters had relationships that mimicked real life relationships and feelings that were reflective of many people of many generations. I found many characters to be interesting, but there are a few that really stood out to me. These characters Paul, Himmelstoss, and Katczinsky.
ReplyDeletePaul was a very reflective character. He is able to express deep thoughts and convictions that are incredibly deep and articulate. I think as a character, Paul grows the most. At the beginning of the book he is more immature and kills because he is told to and for survival, without questioning what he is doing. By the middle of the book, he starts to realize what the war truly is: having innocent men kill each other in the name of troubled countries. He starts to even have sympathy for the enemy, giving Russian prisoners cigarettes and interacting through music with them. By the end of the book, Paul realizes the cruelty of war when he kills a man by stabbing him. Paul has many thoughts as the man is dying:
" 'No, no,' I whisper.
The eyes follow me. I am powerless to moves so long as they are there.
Then his hand slips slowly form his breast, only a little bit, it sinks just a few inches, but this movement breaks the power of the eyes. I bend forward, shake my head and whisper: 'No, no, no,' I raise one hand, I must show him that I want to help him, I stroke his forehead." (page 219)
This scene shows Paul's true opinions on war: that it is savage and cruel. Paul changed incredibly throughout the book, becoming a different man than he was in the beginning.
To me, Himmelstoss was the most interesting and unpredictable character. He could be unnecessarily tough but then cowardly. I think the best example of Himmelstoss's cowardly behavior occurs during a battle:
"When we run out again, although I am very excited, I suddenly think: 'Where's Himmelstoss?' Quickly I jump back into the dug-out and find him with a small scratch lying in a corner pretending to be wounded. His face looks sullen. He is in a panic; he is new to it too. But it makes me mad that the young recruits should be out there and he here."(page 131)
Himmelstoss is an example of how many people are in real life: tough on the outside, but in actuality, just as sensitive and scared as anyone else.
Katczinsky, or Kat, was very caring. He looked out for his friends and fellow soldiers. One example of this is when Kat looks for and gets food for his friends. Kat, however, is closest to Paul, who he is always there for. He reassures Paul that he is not a bad person after killing the French soldier. Paul mentions that he has a bond with Kat that is deeper than the bond of two lovers. When Kat dies, Paul seems to lose the will to live. Kat was a very powerful presence in the story, and although he did not say much, it is apparent through his actions that he is a good soldier, friend, and person.
Characterization was very important to this novel. Although some of the battles seemed to run together, the characters never did. Remarque did an excellent job of presenting characters that are memorable and unique, who present such depth that it is hard to believe that they are fiction.
I had a couple quick questions that I hope someone knows the answer to!
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know the first names of many of the characters? Paul Baumer and Albert seem to be the only characters addressed by their first names. Haie Westhus is the only character who was addressed by both first and last name. I don't remember many characters (Kemmerich, Leer, Tjaden, etc.) ever having their first names mentioned. Did anyone come across the full names of these men?
My other question is: which of Paul's friends came from his class, and which friends did he meet through the war?
I think that imagery is the most important literary device. Remarque's depiction of war is so vivid and so realistic, and since he himself was a German soldier in World War I, it just makes the story even more believable.
ReplyDeleteHere are some examples of the book's outstanding examples of imagery and some of my favorite parts of the book in general:
There seemed to be a lasting tension throughout the book where the reader knew that Paul or one of his close friends could be wounded or killed at any moment in time. For instance, Haie Westhus's death in one sense predictable, but on the other hand, so unexpected. Like in an actual battle, one could go from a strong and experienced soldier to a casualty in the blink of an eye. In addition, there was no time for Paul to feel sorry for his fellow comrades who died right in front of him. For if he had stopped for only a second to mourn the loss of a friend, he too would be blown to smithereens. That might have been the most painful part of all... knowing that the soldiers had to be forgotten for the time being.
The actions of the new recruits are also very believable aspects of the book. They seemed so oblivious and unsure of themselves. They were so scared and naive that many of them were driven to the point of insanity. Then, their insanity would cause them to do stupid things, and many of them died. (e.g. the claustrophobic soldier in Chapter 6, who flees from the safety of the dugout and is killed immediately out in the open battlefield.) I personally could have seen myself going crazy if I had just left civilian life, been rushed through basic training, and was then thrust onto the front lines of an army. I'm sure Remarque saw the behavior of such recruits firsthand in battle, but his ability to portray it to the reader was fantastic.
Many times it is mentioned that war has become Paul's whole life. He eats, sleeps, thinks, and dreams about nothing but war. The war has also made him mature so quickly. When he came into the army, it seemed like he was still an innocent kid, but after having been in battle, he has suddenly had to leave his childhood behind and become a man. When he returns home, he tries to fondly look back on his memories as a young boy, but he simply cannot. War is all that his life revolves around. He has become fully consumed by war, and there is no turning back. Even if he survived and lived for another seventy years, he knew that war would constantly be on his mind. That is so true, and Remarque’s storytelling ability helped me better understand why many soldiers often come home from Iraq or Afghanistan today feeling so very depressed.
One part I don't like about the book is the soldiers' hatred of Himmelstoss (at least until he apologizes and starts cooking for them). Aside from Tjaden, I don't believe any of them had a legitimate reason to have a grudge on him. Although they might seem like the quintessential loud, obnoxious, pains in the neck, I think that drill instructors deserve more respect than they get. They actually want the best for their recruits. In fact, if they stopped yelling and trying to motivate them, they would not get as much out of their training. They would not be prepared for war! Himmelstoss and other drill instructors are often depicted as the bad guys in literature, film, and by actual recruits. However, I don't think they should be treated that way, and people should acknowledge that they are only hard on soldiers to ensure that they won't fail in battle.
ReplyDelete@OMcHugh
ReplyDeleteI agree that the last paragraph is, in fact, referring to Paul. I also agree that this was the way he seemed to want it. All of his friends were gone, and he seemed to have little left to fight for. The war, to him, seemed as if it would not end, and he had few left to fight with. He seemed to have given up hope, and instead decided to give himself for his country, but even more so for his friends who fell before him.
@Michael Coyle
ReplyDeleteI agree the character of Himmelstoss may have received a lot of unfair hatred, but I see it in a bit different way than you described. It seems to me these young men who are fighting so hard and risking their lives need someone to direct their anger towards. They are so young, and they are giving so much of themselves to the war. I do understand and even agree with your point that they would not be able to fight had Himmelstoss not been harsh and instructed them. Still, I feel as though the men just need a face to hate, even if it is not really that person who deserves their hatred.
@thomasowen
ReplyDelete"We are not youth any longer. We don't want to take the world by storm. We are fleeing. We fly from ourselves. From our life. We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces. The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts. We are cut off from activity, from striving, from progress. We believe in such things no longer, we believe in the war." (87-88).
I know Thomas already posted this comment, but I, too, felt this was a very important quote. It describes the loss and sacrifices these boys and their families had to make as a result of the war. Not only will very few return home from this war, when they do it will be nothing like it was before. They have given up the life they thought they would live to go to this war. Their innocence and independence has been taken. The dreams they previously had are gone. They can no longer wish to get a certain job, or even at this time raise a family. Without their total focus on the war, they could very easily die. Even with total focus, they can die. This quote seems so important to the novel mainly because it highlights the fact that this generation will not be the same as the previous. While the previous generation had the chance to believe in a good life, these young men, as the quote says, can only believe in the war. It is their only reality.
When Paul went home on leave, it seemed he was uncomfortable in his own home. If not uncomfortable, at least hesitant to express his own feelings. He does not want his mother to know of the troubles he has faced. Paul has difficulties even dealing with his father, who wishes to know of the war.
ReplyDelete"He wants me to tell him about the front; he is curious in a way that I find stupid and distressing; I no longer have any real contact with him. There is nothing he likes more than just hearing about it. I realize he does not know that a man cannot talk of such things; I would do it willingly, but it is too dangerous for me to put these things into words. I am afraid they might then become gigantic and I be no longer able to master them" (165).
Paul has to keep his experiences to himself not only to protect his mother, but also himself. Neither of his parents can understand the war. His mother, even though interested in her son, could not actually handle the truth about the war. In all likelihood, his father could not really handle it either, he just has no idea how bad it really was. I cannot imagine for Paul how this must have been. Being so close to his family in person, as he probably wished many times, yet so separated emotionally. Again, this is one of the many sacrifices the boys of the times made in going to war. They learned to live differently and expect different things out of their daily lives. His parents could not understand this, and Paul does not know how he can express it to them.
This is probably another of the reasons the boys developed such strong relationships with each other; they had nobody else.
Of all the passages, this particular one: "It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by war" (preface), explains Remarque's desire to explore the mental and emotional anguish of battle rather than the physical act of warfare. Remarque alludes here specifically to the destructions that permeate the human spirit of this generation of men, "the Iron Youth," who fought in World War I. Furthermore, he devotes an extensive narrative to those dying and to the guilt of the living young soldiers as they experienced helplessness and hopelessness at the front line or at home. Paul Baumer, who is the central protagonist and narrator, is a survivor not only of the trauma of war but of the trauma of being a survivor when so many others have perished. In "All Quiet on the Western Front," Paul is the last survivor to die. As the narrative draws near its conclusion, the final words of the narrative are spoken by an unnamed narrator who reports his death. As writers often turn intuitively to writing as a way of confronting and surviving trauma suffered in their own lives, I do believe that the unknown narrator is no other than Erich Maria Remarque whose "original" name was Erick Paul Remark - the son of Peter Franz Remark, a printer, and Anna Maria Remark.
ReplyDeleteAs many have said before me, imagery , and with it symbolism, was very much the most important literary used. Although the obvious uses are the intense military action going on around Paul, with bombs dropping and people running around without heads, there is also peaceful imagery, too. For example, the river that Paul swims across to meet the ladies at their house is, in fact, a boundary between the "good" world and the fighting one. Rivers represent places where life can be sustained, where plants can grow, and are typically associated with good times- a sharp contrast to the war Paul is fighting in.
ReplyDelete@CMea
ReplyDeleteYou are right- several of the people in All Quiet are only referred to by their surnames. Kemmerich, however, is referred to as Franz when he is in the hospital... other than that, characters such as Leer, Detering, Tjaden, and Müller are not even given first names.
For your second question, his old classmates included Müller, Kemmerich, Behm, Leer, Mittelstaedt, and Kropp. There are probably others, but those were the only ones I could find.
@EMorrison
ReplyDeleteIn response to your question about the characters' personalities (or lack thereof), I agree that the characters weren't all that interesting, but I think Paul gives a reason as to why in the book. He says that war has transformed them completely. They are no longer sophisticated humans. They have turned into animals just trying to survive. Paul mentions how that he no longer likes poetry, and he says that the times he spent with his family seem like distant memories. Aside from that, here are some examples of times when the soldiers showed some of their personality:
Paul is the most compassionate of the group. While at the training camp, he was very sad when he passed by the Russian prisoners. He thought that they were normal, friendly men who were unwillingly forced to enemies with the Germans, because the leaders of the two aforementioned countries declared war on one another. He was also devastated when he killed the French soldier, Gerard Duval. He realized that he had to or else he would have been the dead man, but he felt so sorry for his wife and daughter after he killed him. He just wishes the war would end so no more men like Duval would be killed.
Tjaden seems to be the most rebellious and courageous of the group. He obviously hated Himmelstoss the most, and I'm sure that nobody else in the group would have had the guts to "moon" him. (Excuse my crudity, but I can't think of a better term.)
Katczinsky is the leader of the group, but not for any particular reason. It is likely because he's the oldest in the group, and he also seems to be one of the wisest and most clever (along with Kropp). He also proves to be the sneakiest when he convinces Paul to go with him to steal a goose, which they later cook and eat together.
As a group, they are very loyal to each other. They trust one another and respect one another. They also feel for each other. They are all going through the same troubles and are just trying to come out alive. I also think that the possibility of one of them dying in battle at any moment made them all the more closer.
@Duke Roach
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you about Remarque's focus on the brutality of war as opposed to the heroic deeds of soldiers. I have nothing but respect and gratitude for our nation's military. However, many war stories seem to show the strength and power of the "good guys" and the weakness of the "bad guys." In the end, the good guys usually win decisively and are exalted by their country. All Quiet on the Western Front, on the other hand, shows the Germans as a bunch of normal young men risking their lives against an army full of other "average Joes" from France.
Modern war movies such as 300 (2007) are all about the Spartans and their incredible army, but this book instead is a highly believable story of what war is truly like in the eyes of a soldier.
@CMea
ReplyDelete"My other question is: which of Paul's friends came from his class, and which friends did he meet through the war?"
To quickly answer your question, on page three Paul states that Albert Kropp, Muller, Leer, and himself all joined from the same class as volunteers for war.
One literary device that I think is crucial in All Quiet on the Western Front is the setting. Every different location that Paul Baumer traveled to, he showed us a different perspective of the war and the people it affected. For example, while he was on leave, he showed us the lives of the civilians, and when he guarded the Russian prisoners he gave us a glimpse of their bleak lives in captivation. Each varying time and place in the book, sheds more light on the complex situations Paul experiences.
ReplyDeleteWhat I enjoyed most about this book was its lack of sugarcoating the war. In many books I've read, the details of war are often limited to saying that there were simply "gruesome sights", and leave it at that. In All Quiet, the terms are more graphic, giving the reader a taste of what war is really like. "We see men living with their skulls blown open; we see soldiers run with their two feet cut off, they stagger on their splintered stumps into the next shell-hole; a lance-corporal crawls a mile and a half dragging his smashed knee after him... we see men without jaws, without faces..." (134). I can understand why the recruits would be vomiting and going crazy- I would not be able to stand such sights either.
ReplyDelete“Comrade, I did not want to kill you. If you jumped in here again, I would not do it, if you would be sensible too. But you were only an idea to me before, an abstraction that lived in my mind and called forth its appropriate response. It was that abstraction that I stabbed. But now, for the first time, I see you are a man like me. I thought of your hand-grenades, of your bayonet, of your rifle; now I see your wife and your face and our fellowship. Forgive me, comrade. We always see it too late.”(Pg. 223)
ReplyDeleteThis is my favorite part of the book. This is where Paul realizes that the ‘enemy’ is nothing more than men his age with wives and kids and mothers worrying about them. Paul sees himself in the soldier he just murdered and he is unable to look at the war the same way again. This part of the book also confuses me, how can Paul possibly go back to fighting the in the war after seeing “the enemy” in this light? If it were me, I don’t think I would be able to go back to killing someone whom I have discovered is essentially me in another uniform. I wonder what makes the soldier move forward in a situation like that. Is it the basic instinct to live, essentially the “kill or be killed” mentality that motivates someone after that sort of reflection? Perhaps it is the same drive that compels them to become soldiers in the first place.
"It is easy to understand what he cries. At first he called only for help-- the second night he must have had delirium, he talked with his wife and children, we often detected the name Elise. To-day he merely weeps. By evening the voice dwindles to a croaking. But it persists still through the night," page 125, All Quiet on the Western Front
ReplyDeleteI think that this passage is important because as the missing soldier dies, he reminded me of a soldier's perspective of war throughout his years of service. First the man calls for help, like a new recruit who relies on the knowledge of the more experienced soldiers. Then the man comforts himself with thoughts of home, similar to the troops listening about each others lives before the war to keep their spirits up. As the soldier begins to weep, I thought of Paul in the trenches with the French printer. When he starts to see the enemy as people like himself, he begins to reconsider his motivation for fighting. Finally, as the man is dying his voice and will to live slowly dwindle; like a soldier resigning himself to a life of war.
@EMorrison
ReplyDeleteI also felt that none of the supporting characters besides Kat were all that memorable. I think that Remarque wanted the story to focus on Paul and used Kat to serve as a mentor for him while placing the rest of the focus on the fact that many of the men who fought and died in the war weren't really all that memorable either. The book's main purpose was to tell the story of all the nameless soldiers who sacrificed themselves in a war which they did not fully understand. The passages about the new recruits going insane and dying quickly due to their lack of training were especially powerful for me.
The following passage is from when Paul arrives at his home when he is on leave.
ReplyDelete"Upstairs a door rattles, someone is looking over the railing. It is the kitchen door that was opened, they were cooking potato-cakes, the whole house reeks of it, and today of course is Saturday; that will be my sister leaning over. For A moment I am shy and lower my head, then I take off my helmet and look up; yes, it is my eldest sister. 'Paul' she cries,'Paul---' She pulls open a door and calls:'Mother, mother, Paul is here." (157)
My dad is in the Navy, and usually goes on deployment for anywhere from 9 months to a year and a half. If he came home unexpectedly, as Paul did, I would have immediately rushed down and given him a hug. After the above passage ends, Paul's sister doesn't show any sign of affection- her only emotions are surprise, and after Paul starts acting strangely, concern. did anyone else find this strange, or perhaps have a possible explanation/ way for this to be explained? Maybe the author just did not feel like focusing on the sister-brother reunion, but just move forward to the mother-son reunion?
@JP Ryan
ReplyDeleteI can understand Paul's sister's reaction completely. I have heard the analogy that the return of a loved on from war is in some ways similar to the stages of grief. Granted, some of these are a stretch, but the concept is sound, I think...
First comes a form of denial--they find it difficult to believe that their loved one is home.
After the initial rush wears off, there is often a sense of frustration or anger. I saw my mother struggle with this on a couple of occasions. While my father was away, everything in the house was run her way--she was completely in charge. With his return, another authority was in the house and this can cause some friction.
The third phase, bargaining, manifests itself in the renegotiation of family roles and responsibilities
Phase four, depression, is really just an expression of the fatigue that occurs in both adults as they attempt to regain normalcy, especially when one of them (the returnee) has been through an experience that has changed him (or her) forever, but about which it is difficult, if not impossible, to talk yet.
Finally, Acceptance, represents a return to a "new" normalcy for the family. Nothing can ever be the same again, but, hopefully, a new state of accord can be reached within the household dynamic.
Now, this is a lot more than Paul's sister demonstrated during his visit. However, it does serve as a point of reference as to why the family of a returning soldier, especially one who has been engaged in the close fighting of the trench warfare of WWI, or battling terrorists in the mountains of Afghanistan, might experience something other than unbridled joy at their return.
When Paul is caught in the trench and kills Duval, he makes a vow to track down Duval's family after the war and try to make amends.
ReplyDeleteTo me, this sounds a lot like the reaction of people who are involved in a car crash in which someone else dies, but they survive. It seems pretty common to hear about how the survivor feels guilty for surviving and attempts, in some way to make it up to the family of the person killed.
However, it seems to me that in a war scenario, this is not particularly realistic (although understandable).
I wonder whether Paul’s resolve to find Duval’s family would have remained firm had he survived. I think that the constant pounding of warfare, and the potential of other similar incidents would have caused Paul to abandon his vow.
What does everyone else think? Would Paul have really tried to find Duval’s family, or would he have let it slip to the side as a foolish notion--something too hard to actually do?
I can really relate to this short passage, which describes how Paul’s mother is unhappy as she counts down the days until her son has to leave:
ReplyDelete“My mother watches me silently; I know she counts the days; every morning she is sad. It is one day less” (179).
Most of my family lives in the Philippines. I have visited them only three times in my life, and each time I visit it’s harder for me to say goodbye. I really love my relatives and I enjoy every moment that I spend with them. I vividly remember my last trip to the Philippines in 2008 as if it weren’t that long ago. We stayed there for about a month. I remember counting down the weeks, and eventually, days, until we had to leave. I even remember crying the day before we left because I knew that I would miss my family so much. When we arrived in America, I had a somewhat empty feeling inside of me for a while. It’s always hard for me to say goodbye to people, especially my relatives, who live so far away. Today, thanks to technology, I’ve been keeping in touch with everyone through the phone and online. At the same time, however, it’s just not the same as physically being near them and being able to talk to them in person. Hopefully I will get to visit them again next summer!
“Bombardment, barrage, curtain-fire, mines, gas, tanks, machine-guns, hand-grenades—words, words, but they hold the horror of the world” (132).
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a particularly important passage. They say that actions speak louder than words; indeed, I believe this is true. I was not bothered by looking at those words on that page. However, when I thought about the actions that are associated with those words, I realized the hardships and horrors that soldiers have to go through. Then again, thinking about these horrors just isn’t the same as actually experiencing them.
The word “bombardment” alone might not mean a whole lot to some people, but to others it is a frightful thing because they’ve experienced it themselves and they know what it truly is. Although the descriptions and words in this novel help us to imagine what the horrors of World War I were really like, it doesn’t compare to actually experiencing the terror in that moment. Personally, if I had fought in World War I, I probably would have ended up completely traumatized by the experience. It is hard to imagine anyone not being forever changed by being surrounded by such horrifying things like battles, sickness, and death. That being said, I really respect those who fight for and thus sacrifice themselves for our country.
@SMcShea
ReplyDeleteAlthough I agree that it was nice for his family to see him again, I think that it would have been better if Paul didn’t go home during his leave. Although it didn’t seem like it, I think Paul was happy to be home, even if it seemed like such an unfamiliar place to him. As you said, he was so used to fighting and seeing brutal images during the war that the serene atmosphere of his home became completely foreign to him. I believe it was particularly hard for him to enjoy the time he spent there because he knew that he would have to leave it all behind again and go back to his dangerous lifestyle eventually. Moreover, he was also uncomfortable because he didn’t know what fate he would meet when he returned to the front and was sad to think that there was a possibility that he wouldn’t be able to go back to the comfort of his own home. I believe Paul had mixed feelings about coming home and reuniting with his family: on the one hand, I also believe he was glad to be home and reunited with his family; on the other hand, he wasn’t because he knew that, when the time came, it would be hard to part with his family, especially his mother, and that the reminder of the peace and tranquility at home would make everything seem all the more brutal back on the battlefield.
@ EMorrison
ReplyDeleteI think the author described the characters very well. While he didn't spend pages upon pages of text describing the intimate details of each character, he allowed us to see their personalities by showing us the way they acted throughout the work and in some of the most horrific situations possible. It is said that adversity brings out the real character of a person, and Remarque used this notion with great success.
By using a more subtle approach to providing insight into each characters persona, he allowed us (forced us, really) to get to know them intimately without interrupting the flow of the main story line. This not only makes the book easier to read (in my opinion), but really helps him to convey his message even more effectively.
As most of you have said, a chief literary device utilized in All Quiet on the Western Front would definitely have to be imagery. Remarque does a fine job of describing things with eloquent detail, especially during battle scenes. In this book, imagery really helped us to imagine the kinds of things that the soldiers in World War I actually saw and what they might have felt. Although the entire book is filled with brilliant images, one of the passages that stood out to me was this:
ReplyDelete“We see men living with their skulls blown open; we see soldiers run with their two feet cut off, they stagger on their splintered stumps into the next shell-hole; a lance-corporal crawls a mile and a half on his hands dragging his smashed knee after him; another goes to the dressing station and over his clasped hands bulge his intestines; we see men without mouths, without jaws, without faces; we find one man who has held the artery of his arm in his teeth for two hours in order not to bleed to death. The sun goes down, night comes, the shells whine, life is at an end” (134).
This passage moved me because the descriptions of those poor soldiers are so upsetting—I probably would have cried if I had seen them in person. It makes me sad to think that those kinds of things may have actually happened to those men in the war.
In addition to including gruesomely disturbing images included in this book, Remarque also did an excellent job of describing more peaceful settings, such as Paul’s home. Here is a passage that describes Paul’s room:
“In my room behind the table stands a brown leather sofa. I sit down on it.
On the walls are pinned countless pictures that I once used to cut out of the newspapers. In between are drawings and postcards that have pleased me. In the corner is a small iron stove. Against the wall opposite stand the book-shelves with my books" (169, 170).
This passage reflects the peaceful youth that Paul had to leave behind after he went to war. The fairly “normal” description of this place in Paul’s past really contrasts with the unnatural and harsh images that are in the rest of the book.
“Modern trench-warfare demands knowledge and experience; a man must have a feeling for the contours of the ground, an ear for the sound and character of the shells, must be able to decide beforehand where they will drop, how they will burst, and how to shelter from them” (129).
ReplyDeleteThis was a passage that I could somewhat relate to through my experience in dance. Over the years, I’ve learned that dance is much more than just moving around. When you dance, you should pay attention to the music that is accompanying you. You shouldn’t just hear the song as you move around, but really listen and feel the music as you match your movements to the rhythm and beats. You should also be aware of your surroundings, especially if you are dancing with other people. Furthermore, you should be constantly counting the beats in your head so that you stay together with other dancers and with the music.
Overall, I really enjoyed All Quiet on the Western Front and it’s my favorite out of all of the books we’ve read this summer. What I really like about this book is how personal it is, due to the fact that it’s written in first person. Also, the fact that Erich Maria Remarque actually fought as a German soldier himself during World War I made the descriptions in this book very realistic and believable. Remarque narrates this story as Paul Baumer, revealing what World War I might have been like through the eyes of one young German soldier. Furthermore, through this very personal narration, I was better able to understand the hardships, thoughts, and emotions that any soldier may have.
ReplyDeleteThere wasn’t anything in this book that I particularly disliked. However, I guess some of the brutal scenes, such as the numerous descriptions of the injured soldiers, were a little disturbing to read about and imagine. Nevertheless, this is a war novel, so these descriptions weren’t shocking to me. In fact, I’m glad that Remarque included these descriptions because they made the story all the more realistic.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere were a couple of questions that came up for me as I read the book.
ReplyDeleteFirst, if Paul had survived the end of the war, and he could get back to living his life as he had left it, what kind of occupation would he want? Does anyone have any ideas?
I also wondered: is most of what is described in the book what Remarque himself felt during the war? Is Paul a reflection of Remarque, in terms of his thoughts and feelings while he was fighting and also when returning home? Are even other aspects of their lives the same, such as their families’ and friends' personalities and even their ability to play the piano?
Hey everyone!
ReplyDeleteAll Quiet on the Western Front was, by far, my favorite book of the summer. I found it very interesting and it was as if the reader had an insight of the men who fought in the war and their struggles.
My favorite part of All Quiet on the Western Front was that the reader felt as if they were along side the soldiers for the war. Also, we had an insight on their lives before the war and during it.
The part of this book that I disliked was that there was a lot of death in it. Even though I knew that this was to be expected since it is a book about war it still shocked me how much these men had to go through and the losses that they all had to undergo.
My only question from this book was:
How were these men able to function with that little sleep and food?
The literary device that I found important to the telling of this story was characterization. The characters in this book were so individualized and had their own personalities, which I found really interesting to read about. Some were much more resourceful than others and they all had different ways of dealing with the war.
ReplyDelete“Every time it is the same. We start out for the front plain soldiers, either cheerful or gloomy: then come the first gun-emplacements and every word of our speech has a new ring.”
ReplyDeleteI think this passage explains how war changes a person and makes them appreciate certain things. However, war can also change a person for the worse and shut them down due to the horrible things that they have seen and had to do.” (pg. 54)
The personal connection that I felt with this book was that my great grandfather enlisted in the army during World War II when he was just 17 years old. He would have had to go through something very similar to what these men went through during World War I. When I read this book I kept thinking that he would have had to go through things similar to this and I am so happy that he made it out alive and well. Thankfully the war did not make him depressed or traumatized.
ReplyDelete@CPoblete
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about your reaction to the horrors of this war and the things that these soldiers had to go through. After reading this book I also have a new respect for veterans and all those who are fighting in the war now.
Hello Everyone!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed All Quiet on the Western Front. From the books that we have read thus far, this one has been my favorite. I love how graphic this book is and how it shows the reality of war. I t does not show war as stories do with the heroes that never get harmed; rather, it shows the brutality and ugliness of the war. I also liked how we got to see into the life of a soldier and look at the world through his eyes. The protagonist was not too biased so we could make our own opinions about what we thought about the war. Paul did not like the war, but he gave us all the facts to put somewhat of a picture together about war. I did not dislike anything about the book. I am writing this because I truly did enjoy the whole book. Does anyone else feel the same way? The book did get graphic at some times but that is what kept me interested. I really did love this book and it has become my all time favorite. I understand that some people probably do not like the book so could you give me a few reasons why? I would like to see the book from others perspectives.
A connection to a personal experience that I have is when one of my friends told me about her fiancé. Her fiancé went away to Afghanistan. This is a scary position to be in and she told me how she was nervous whether he was safe or not. She only got calls from him every six months and this made her nervous. In this story I bet Paul’s parents felt this way because they only new about him when he returned home. They probably felt more nervous because they never had word from Paul. I believe both of these experiences are nerve racking and they all probably experienced the emotion of anxiety.
ReplyDeleteThe passage that I have chosen is, “In the dirty twilight lies a leg clean torn off; the boot is quite whole, I take that all in at a glance” (Page 70). I have a few passages that are a little more graphic but this one seems to get the point across. The author in writing this book wishes to shine a light upon the atrocities of war. I feel this is one of the passages that proclaims this message. The others may be too graphic; even reading them makes me shiver. I believe that the way that the author, Remarque, told the story was necessary and a great way to inform people about what actually happens during war.
ReplyDeleteI believe an important literary device used in this story is imagery. A passage from the story that supports this is, “We see men living with their skulls blown open; we see soldiers run with their two feet cut off, they stagger on their splintered stumps into the next shell-hole; a lance corporal crawls a mile and a half on his hands dragging his smashed knee after him; another goes to the dressing station and over his clasped hands bulge his intestines; we see men without mouths, without jaws, without faces; we found one man who has held the artery of his arm in his teeth for two hours in order not to bleed to death” (Page 134). This whole book uses gory imagery to describe war. This passage was one of the extreme ones but that is how you understand how imagery is so important in this book. Remarque uses imagery to paint a picture of war into your head that will stay there.
ReplyDelete@ thomasowen
ReplyDeleteI believe that Remarque left out extensive parts about before the war because that was not the focus of him writing the book. He wished to enlighten people about the brutality of World War 1. The parts about before the war were more of a filler in the book and, of course, kept the reader interested. I enjoyed the part about territorial Kantorek also but I also understand why the author only gave us a glimpse of it. Does anyone disagree?
@EMorrison
ReplyDeleteI think that you are right that they lacked unique personality but that did not bother me much. I personally enjoyed the very explicit imagery in this book. I have never read something that has enlightened me to war more. As I said before, I believe that the author’s purpose was to shine a light on the atrocities of war so, therefore; more information on the characters would have taken away from his purpose. Those are just my thoughts.
Imagery was certainly a very crucial literary device utilized in this work. The imagery in this book is what suggests a picture of what the soldiers saw and experienced during World War 1, making the book so believable and real. The vibrant passages and details give each reader the feeling that they are actually there on the western front witnessing each action in the book. It allows us to truly understand what each of the characters feel and experience as they change throughout the story. In addition, imagery is what gives this book its suspense along with its gruesome and detailed scenes. The following passage is an example of the imagery that is so masterfully used by Remarque in this novel:
ReplyDelete“A shell crashes. Almost immediately two others. And then it begins in earnest. A bombardment. Machine-guns rattle. Now there is nothing for it but to stay lying low. Apparently an attack is coming. Everywhere the rockets shoot up. Unceasing.
Suddenly I hear the barrage lift. At once I slip down into the water, my helmet on the nape of my neck and my mouth just clear so that I can get a breath of air.
I lie motionless;—somewhere something clanks, it stamps and stumbles nearer—all my nerves become taut and icy.” (214)
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ReplyDeleteOne last question I had was this: In war, is euthanasia really that common? Paul ponders killing a wounded man to end his pain and misery several times, and I wonder if that's truly the case with most soldiers. As soon as they see a man suffering terribly, is "mercy killing" him the first thought that comes to their mind? Do they even think about taking the suffering man to safety, like Forrest did in the movie "Forrest Gump"?
ReplyDeleteI could most relate to Paul when he looks back at his memories as a child. He wishes that they would still be important to him, but as the war progresses, he gradually starts forgetting about them. It was difficult for him to accept that those times have past and that it war is the only thing that matters anymore.
ReplyDeleteI always look back fondly on my days as a child, but it makes me sad to know that I'm only getting older and will never have those days back again. Whenever I feel stressed or disappointed, I'll think back to my childhood and wish I could have a life like that again... where the biggest trial I'd face in a day is spilling a glass of milk.
To close, I'll also give my final rankings for the summer reading books:
ReplyDelete1. A Tale of Two Cities
2. All Quiet on the Western Front
3. The Decameron
4. Fathers and Sons
@JP Ryan
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your observation about the imagery of the book. The fact that each instance was written by someone with first hand knowledge was poignant. Did you guys know that this novel gave such detailed descriptions about the horrors of war that the Nazi's came after the author, Remarque? They wanted to keep up the glamorous depiction of war the way Paul's schoolteacher did. The Nazi's also burned and banned this book. Remarque had to flee the country; his sister refused to depart so the Nazi's beheaded her using a guillotine. Yes, they actually did. If you don't believe me here are the links to the articles online:
http://www.executedtoday.com/2008/12/16/1943-elfriede-scholz-erich-maria-remarques-sister/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Maria_Remarque
"I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another. I see that the keenest brains of the world invent weapons and words to make it yet more refined and enduring. And all men of my age, here and over there, throughout the whole world see these things; all my generation is experiencing these things with me." (p. 263).
ReplyDeleteI think this a meaningful passage because it seems that Paul has become completely depressed at this point. He was horrified by war moments after he stepped on the battlefield. He had admitted that fighting had become his whole life. However, once he gets wounded, it all plummets completely downhill. He is a lonely, sad individual. When he thinks of life, he thinks of "despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality." Most twenty-year-olds would say the word "life" and think of freedom, adventure, pleasure, and happiness. I think that that quote is very sad, and it makes the reader sympathize with Paul. Worse, he begins to think that nobody his own age is happy; that everyone he knows is a miserable person consumed by war, just like him.
Paul also starts to fear war for another reason. He is not afraid of being killed. If anything, death would be a big relief. He would get out of the hell that is war and get an opportunity to go to Heaven. What he is scared of now is the thought of him and his friends getting severely wounded, but surviving and possibly having to fight some more later on.
That is why I think he looked so calm when he died in the end.