Throughout time, when borders between different countries were established, differences among nationalities were often more accentuated than the similarities; however, when war erupts, differences become more obscure. Both Erich Maria Remarque and John McCrae highlight the ways war draws attention more to commonalities among the soldiers and men from different nationalities than differences. Erich Maria Remarque in All Quiet on the Western Front and John McCrae in the poem “In Flanders Fields”, emphasize that combat brings out similar core human characteristics among the soldiers, stressing that people are essentially the same, even if separated by opposing sides of war. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque stresses that, through war,
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The poem “In Flanders Field” is written through the perspective of dead soldiers, who narrate the whole poem, as McCrae writes “We are the Dead. Short days ago/ We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, / Loved and were loved, and no we lie/ In Flanders fields” (McCrae 6-9). These lines explain the life that the dead soldiers had in common before the war as they all saw the sun rise and set, and loved and were loved. This poem never specifically specifies the nationality of the dead soldiers who narrate the poet. This creates a broad perspective as it gives voices to any soldiers in war, regardless of their nationality; furthermore, since the soldiers that these lines represent shared a common a past life, it presents a similarity among soldiers of different nations, since the narrator of the poem can be any nationality, as all have experienced love and sunrise and sunset. McCrae often puts an emphasis on the anaphora of using the word “we”. By repeating “we”, McCrae is able to create a voice for all the soldiers among war; furthermore, since many soldiers, not just one, discuss the experiences that they have had before the war, the use of “we” presents the similarities among many soldiers’ past lives as they discuss identical encounters. The concept of differences among nationalities is blurred …show more content…
When Paul and his fellow comrades discuss why the war started and whose fault it was, his friend, Kropp realizes that ‘“It’s queer, when one thinks about it…we are here to protect our fatherland. And the French are over there to protect their fatherland. Now who’s in the right…but our professors and parson and newspapers say that we are the only ones that are right, and let’s hope so; -but the French professors and parsons and newspapers say that the right is on their side now what about that’” (Remarque 203-204). Kropp explains that often, when something occurs in Germany to cause men to join the war effort, it often occurs in France, Germany’s enemy, too. The innocence of believing in their professors and parsons as well as believing that they are reliable creates the innocence of a child that these soldiers shared as they still trusted the words of those they believed are supposedly older and wiser. This epistrophe of “professors and parsons and newspapers” and “protect their fatherland” represents that these soldiers who have joined, no matter the nationality, were all naïve before the war since many of these soldiers joined, not because they wanted to kill, but because all of their professors, parsons, and newspapers told them that their country was right and that they
The poem “In Flanders Field” is written through the perspective of dead soldiers, who narrate the whole poem, as McCrae writes “We are the Dead. Short days ago/ We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, / Loved and were loved, and no we lie/ In Flanders fields” (McCrae 6-9). These lines explain the life that the dead soldiers had in common before the war as they all saw the sun rise and set, and loved and were loved. This poem never specifically specifies the nationality of the dead soldiers who narrate the poet. This creates a broad perspective as it gives voices to any soldiers in war, regardless of their nationality; furthermore, since the soldiers that these lines represent shared a common a past life, it presents a similarity among soldiers of different nations, since the narrator of the poem can be any nationality, as all have experienced love and sunrise and sunset. McCrae often puts an emphasis on the anaphora of using the word “we”. By repeating “we”, McCrae is able to create a voice for all the soldiers among war; furthermore, since many soldiers, not just one, discuss the experiences that they have had before the war, the use of “we” presents the similarities among many soldiers’ past lives as they discuss identical encounters. The concept of differences among nationalities is blurred …show more content…
When Paul and his fellow comrades discuss why the war started and whose fault it was, his friend, Kropp realizes that ‘“It’s queer, when one thinks about it…we are here to protect our fatherland. And the French are over there to protect their fatherland. Now who’s in the right…but our professors and parson and newspapers say that we are the only ones that are right, and let’s hope so; -but the French professors and parsons and newspapers say that the right is on their side now what about that’” (Remarque 203-204). Kropp explains that often, when something occurs in Germany to cause men to join the war effort, it often occurs in France, Germany’s enemy, too. The innocence of believing in their professors and parsons as well as believing that they are reliable creates the innocence of a child that these soldiers shared as they still trusted the words of those they believed are supposedly older and wiser. This epistrophe of “professors and parsons and newspapers” and “protect their fatherland” represents that these soldiers who have joined, no matter the nationality, were all naïve before the war since many of these soldiers joined, not because they wanted to kill, but because all of their professors, parsons, and newspapers told them that their country was right and that they