Contrary to the common belief towards war at the time, Gandhi once commented, “I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary, the evil it does is permanent.” Gandhi alludes that violence is not the answer to conflicts. Though war may seem to be for a just cause in the short term, it only encourages violence in the future and eventually leads to permanent negative consequences. From 1914 to 1918, World War I demonstrated the unfortunate repercussions of warfare that began when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. This seemingly insignificant conflict soon spread rapidly and eventually Russia, France, Great Britain, and Germany were all drawn into the war, predominantly because of their involvement
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Witnessing gruesome deaths during war that cause the masking of one’s humanity are some of the many horrific repercussions caused by enlisting in the army. Throughout the book All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul continuously changes his viewpoint towards the war after witnessing innumerable brutalities. While Paul and the rest of his quadrant are defending themselves against their attackers, they hear the cries of wounded horses, which are “unendurable. It is the moaning of the world, it is the martyred creation, wild with anger, filled with terror, and groaning […] between heaven and earth it rolls on immeasurably” (Remarque 63). As the author illustrates the crying of horses as “unendurable”, it displays that though soldiers are experienced in the battlefront, the animals’ pain still deeply affects them. Listening to the horses’ agony distresses the men in Paul’s quadrant. As the passage continues, Paul uses the word “martyred” to define these dying horses. Remarque specifically chooses this word to allude to horses being a necessary sacrifice in battle. This suggests that humans and animals alike, though they may have no personal connection in the war, are forced to be involved. The additional personification of the world as “moaning” in this quote due to the sadness of war signifies how suffering is not limited to the battlefield, but spread worldwide. When Paul describes the wounded cries of horses as “roll[ing]” between “heaven and earth”, it implies that these animals are prevented from dying. Heaven represents a safe haven for creatures after life on earth; however these horses are torturously stuck in a place between life and death. Soldiers constantly witness scenes like this, and many willingly give up their humanity in order to endure the suffering forced upon them and prevent themselves from insanity. Later
Witnessing gruesome deaths during war that cause the masking of one’s humanity are some of the many horrific repercussions caused by enlisting in the army. Throughout the book All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul continuously changes his viewpoint towards the war after witnessing innumerable brutalities. While Paul and the rest of his quadrant are defending themselves against their attackers, they hear the cries of wounded horses, which are “unendurable. It is the moaning of the world, it is the martyred creation, wild with anger, filled with terror, and groaning […] between heaven and earth it rolls on immeasurably” (Remarque 63). As the author illustrates the crying of horses as “unendurable”, it displays that though soldiers are experienced in the battlefront, the animals’ pain still deeply affects them. Listening to the horses’ agony distresses the men in Paul’s quadrant. As the passage continues, Paul uses the word “martyred” to define these dying horses. Remarque specifically chooses this word to allude to horses being a necessary sacrifice in battle. This suggests that humans and animals alike, though they may have no personal connection in the war, are forced to be involved. The additional personification of the world as “moaning” in this quote due to the sadness of war signifies how suffering is not limited to the battlefield, but spread worldwide. When Paul describes the wounded cries of horses as “roll[ing]” between “heaven and earth”, it implies that these animals are prevented from dying. Heaven represents a safe haven for creatures after life on earth; however these horses are torturously stuck in a place between life and death. Soldiers constantly witness scenes like this, and many willingly give up their humanity in order to endure the suffering forced upon them and prevent themselves from insanity. Later