All Quiet On The Western Front: Not the Typical War Story Essay

Not the Typical War Story

The typical war story is most commonly about the courageous and brave actions of soldiers who defeated the enemy and returned home an unscathed hero. However, Erich Maria Remarque knows firsthand the harsh realities of war from serving in World War I. In his novel All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque did not romanticize the war he depicted the physical, mental, and emotional hardships of the soldiers. It is obvious that Remarque wrote this from an anti-war perspective, living through war himself his motive for this book to inform future generations of the true cost of war. Remarque articulates his anti-war message by portraying the brutality of war, and the negative effect it has on a generation.

Remarque makes a clear point that war is not a commodity for men to become hero but rather brutal and unrelenting. He describes many scenes that portray the bloody horrors of war. The most obvious example is when Paul is walking around the hospital and describes the injuries that soldiers suffer from and he says, a hospital alone shows what war is (Remarque 263). This very blatant observation demonstrates Remarques point that war is simply gruesome. However, even though Remarque often points out the brutal blood bath that a battle can bring he also describes how cruel the army can be when they arent fighting anyone. When Paul and his friends are discussing how vicious superior officers such as Himmelstoss can be Kat explains how that came to be, man is essentially a beastthe army is based on that; one man must always have power over the other. A non-com, can torment a private, a lieutenant a non-com, a captain a lieutenant, until he goes mad, (Remarque 44). Kat describes the never ending cycle of abusive punishment that comes from a commanding officer making a man vengeful and in turn brutal to those he is superior to. This makes the army almost unbearable for the soldiers, but that is not the only issue the soldiers face.

Throughout the whole book Remarque talks about the ramifications this war will have on those who are fighting it. From the very beginning, in the preface he talks about, a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war, Remarque is describing the soldiers who returned home from the war but could not go back to normal life after experiencing that kind of horror. Paul is a part of a lost generation because like he said, The war swept us away. For the others, the older men, it is but an interruption. They are able to think beyond it. We, however, have been gripped by it and do not know what the end may be. We know only that in some strange and melancholy way we have become a waste land, (Remarque 20). His generation doesnt know anything other than war, the ones who are older have a life to go back to but Paul and his comrades worry about what will happen to them once they return. Paul thinks that, now if we go back we will be weary, broken, burnt out, rootless, and without hope. We will not be able to find our way anymore, (Remarque 294). Paul fears that once his generation returns they will have nothing to do or to look forward to, they have wasted all their energy on the war having nothing left for them when they go home.

Remarques All Quite on the Western Front not only defined a generation but preserved its lessons for future generations to learn from for years to come. Remarque clearly pointed out the faults of war and it is a greater cost than what its worth. He makes his point by depicting the brutality of war, and the negative ramifications it has on a whole generation.

Works Cited

Remarque, Erich M. All Quiet on the Western Front. New York: Ballantine Books, 1982. N. pag. Print.