“All Quiet on the Western Front”
In the novel “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Eric Maria Remarque depicts the psychological changes undergone by the soldiers during World War I. Paul is the protagonist of this novel, and it seems that the harshness of war changed his perspective of life drastically. The exposure of Paul and his friends to all the horrifying pictures of death and brutalities during war ultimately led to the loss of their innocence. With the loss of their innocence came the painful reality of how destructive a war can be. The war has completely overthrown their emotions and when one of their comrades died a small fragment of their person faded away too. In order to survive the soldiers detached themselves from their thoughts, emotions, and sense of identity. Consequently, all their hopes and dreams collapsed, making them unable to imagine a life without war and sufferings. The author's main theme emphasizes not only on the loss of innocence, but on the destructiveness of war too. …show more content…
However, as the boys experienced the reality of war they developed a cynical reaction towards patriotism and nationalism. They didn’t see enlisting in the army as a patriotic act anymore. All the zealous speeches about the patriotic fervor, which their schoolmaster Kantorek once told them, became empty phrases and lies. As Paul describes “The first bombardment showed us our mistake, and under it the world as they had taught it to us broke in pieces.”(7) Paul emphasizes on how the older generation deceived the younger generation by convincing them to give up their lives for the false impression that they were fighting for honor and
In the novel “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Eric Maria Remarque depicts the psychological changes undergone by the soldiers during World War I. Paul is the protagonist of this novel, and it seems that the harshness of war changed his perspective of life drastically. The exposure of Paul and his friends to all the horrifying pictures of death and brutalities during war ultimately led to the loss of their innocence. With the loss of their innocence came the painful reality of how destructive a war can be. The war has completely overthrown their emotions and when one of their comrades died a small fragment of their person faded away too. In order to survive the soldiers detached themselves from their thoughts, emotions, and sense of identity. Consequently, all their hopes and dreams collapsed, making them unable to imagine a life without war and sufferings. The author's main theme emphasizes not only on the loss of innocence, but on the destructiveness of war too. …show more content…
However, as the boys experienced the reality of war they developed a cynical reaction towards patriotism and nationalism. They didn’t see enlisting in the army as a patriotic act anymore. All the zealous speeches about the patriotic fervor, which their schoolmaster Kantorek once told them, became empty phrases and lies. As Paul describes “The first bombardment showed us our mistake, and under it the world as they had taught it to us broke in pieces.”(7) Paul emphasizes on how the older generation deceived the younger generation by convincing them to give up their lives for the false impression that they were fighting for honor and