All Quiet On The Western Front: An Analysis

In his World War One novel All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque describes the horrors of life on the front line. The novel focuses on the lives of several twenty year old German boys. Under the false promise of honor and glory, they were persuaded by their schoolmaster Kantorek to join the army. Through the perspective of Paul, one of the boys, readers learn that he believes his generation’s future is hopeless because of the war. Paul and his friends, Albert, Muller, and Leer, often talk about what will become of them after the war. For example, one day, Paul and his friends are discussing how they are often called the “Iron Youth.” This causes Paul to begin thinking about the older generation, and how different they are from the young men at war. He thinks, “They [The older generation] have wives, children, occupations, and interests, …show more content…
However, this time they are joking around, asking what each of them would do if the war ended. Even though they are joking, Paul really starts to wonder deeply about what these men have lost. He realizes “We are not youth any longer. We don’t want to take the world by storm… we were eighteen and had just begun to love life and the world; and we had it shot to pieces… We are cut of from activity, from striving, from progress. We believe in such things no longer. We believe in the war.” Paul understands that war strips away a person’s personality. How can they improve and love their lives, if all they know is death and destruction? Paul is explaining that the difference between the generations is that the older generation had their youth. They moved out of the house, got married, started a job, and enjoyed one of the most important times in their lives. These men have lost that. After the war they are expected to jump right back into reality, and somehow have the same drive and spirit they had before. However, Paul knows that this is just not