Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front

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“All’s Quiet on the Western Front” is a novel, written by Erich Maria Remarque, about the experiences of German soldiers during WWI. The main character and narrator is a nineteen year named Paul. Paul and several of his classmates joined the army after many speeches in school regarding patriotism. Once surviving ten weeks of intense training for the army, they no longer believed that war is glorious or honorable and began to live their lives in constant terror. These young men observed on the front lines of men being blown apart or their limbs being torn from their bodies. Paul, in particular, decided he must rely on his animal instincts in order to survive. He begins to ponder why war makes enemies of people who have never had a grudge…show more content…
The only love and loyalty that they feel is the relationship that they share with each other and other soldiers. The soldiers are true comrades and have a unique understanding that needs no words. They realize that they are no longer fighting for their country, but they are now fighting for their own life. They are angered that less than thirty men decided for them that they had to shoot, kill and torture one another, and millions of people were sacrificed. War is about kill or be killed. As the war progresses, Paul’s friends are killed in combat one by one. By the fall of 1918, Paul is the only one of his circle of friends left. He reflects that by the time the war ends, he will not know what to do, as all he knows is war. Paul is unable to relate to his family as the war has made it impossible for him to confront his feelings of loss, fear and grief. He also knows that his pre-war life doesn’t have any meaning anymore, that his only identity now is that of being a soldier. It was while Paul was in the hospital for a wounded arm and broken leg that he decides that the hospital is the best place to learn about war. He concerns himself about what will happen to his generation at the end of the
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