Dehumanization In All Quiet On The Western Front

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In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque’s anti-war novel, and Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi’s own graphic memoir, Paul Baumer and Marji live in unfavorable environments, permanently shaping their beliefs and identities. During World War I, Paul fights on the Western Front where the war dehumanizes him. Before Baumer serves in the cruel war, he is blinded by the glory he is told he will receive by entering Germany’s army. However, after months of witnessing inhumanely killed soldiers and deadly living conditions, Paul realizes that war is senseless, only causing unnecessary suffering and destruction. When Paul instinctively stabs a French soldier, he mourns for the dying Frenchman, “‘It was that abstraction I stabbed. But now,

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