The most difficult moment for Paul is when he faces a French soldier. This was truly a tragic moment that changed Paul’s perspective of war. The language that Remarque uses is so simple and yet very touching. The sentences in this chapter are particularly “short and bring out the constant sense of fear and the threat of death that accompany battle; longer ones are employed for the self-analysis that Paul undergoes” (Hutchinson 60). The whole idea of war and patriotism falls into questioning. The moment of resentment and fear makes Paul insane. He does not want to kill his enemy and yet he does not want to be killed. The very cause of the war that they both were fighting for is because of politicians. Paul sees destruction of humanity and a
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Such strong, elevated style in the language made this novel stand out across the years and gain fame among the many literary works about war. Remarque’s intelligent work made him an enemy to the Nazis. Remarque speaks the truth and the harsh realities of wars. All Quiet on the Western Front “would then become the account of the First World War, an absolute and total account” (Tighe 52). Paul narrates the story to us except the very last few lines is told by an unnamed narrator who finishes up the …show more content…
Remarque uses various literary devices in different contexts and situations. These show Remarque’s mastery of the language. The use of metaphor is almost in every page of the novel. For example, Remarque writes about Paul contemplating, “we know only that in some strange and melancholy way we have become a waste land” (Remarque 20). Also Remarque uses simile in several occasions. When Paul and his fellow soldiers had a second bombardment, he describes it: “When a shell lands in the trench we note how the hollow, furious blast is like a blow from the paw of a raging beast of prey” (106). Sometimes Remarque throws humorous descriptions such as when he describes his arms: “My arms have grown wings and I 'm almost afraid of going up into the sky, as though I held a couple of captive balloons in my fists” (92). Paul here is trying “to make joke out of despair” (Hutchinson
Such strong, elevated style in the language made this novel stand out across the years and gain fame among the many literary works about war. Remarque’s intelligent work made him an enemy to the Nazis. Remarque speaks the truth and the harsh realities of wars. All Quiet on the Western Front “would then become the account of the First World War, an absolute and total account” (Tighe 52). Paul narrates the story to us except the very last few lines is told by an unnamed narrator who finishes up the …show more content…
Remarque uses various literary devices in different contexts and situations. These show Remarque’s mastery of the language. The use of metaphor is almost in every page of the novel. For example, Remarque writes about Paul contemplating, “we know only that in some strange and melancholy way we have become a waste land” (Remarque 20). Also Remarque uses simile in several occasions. When Paul and his fellow soldiers had a second bombardment, he describes it: “When a shell lands in the trench we note how the hollow, furious blast is like a blow from the paw of a raging beast of prey” (106). Sometimes Remarque throws humorous descriptions such as when he describes his arms: “My arms have grown wings and I 'm almost afraid of going up into the sky, as though I held a couple of captive balloons in my fists” (92). Paul here is trying “to make joke out of despair” (Hutchinson