Warm front

Millions of young men have gone through life-altering experiences in their time in World War I. In Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul Bäumer, a 19-year-old German soldier, narrates his personal memoirs of this war. As he is forced to mature from a young boy to an experienced warrior in order to survive, Paul is left permanently scarred from the throes of war and his attitude towards life is forever changed. Paul is used as an example for all of the young soldiers…

Paul Baumer is the main character and narrator of All Quiet on the Western Front. He joins the war, partly because of his teacher Kantorek, who stressed the importance of joining the war, and partly because of the propaganda of the war, telling him to join. He becomes friends with the members of his squad. At the end of the book, all of Paul’s friends die and Paul is last surviving members of his squad. After realizing the effects the war has on his humanity and his future, Paul soon dies.…

Remarque wrote this novel as a therapeutic way of coping with the effects of World War I on him (Wagner 117). World War I left Remarque feeling alone and at loss of his self-identity. The horrifying experiences Remarque endured shattered his life; and because he went straight into the war after graduating high school, he had no past life to return back home to (Yearley 2136). Remarque felt as if though writing All Quiet would soothe away all they pain World War I left on him. The purpose of…

What is Patriotism? Patriotism is the love of one's country over all things. None of the young soldiers in All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Remarque, are painted as patriots. Instead they are instruments of elected or appointed politicians who use their own stilted sense of patriotism to encourage young men to then give their lives to defend the country. In this setting, acts of patriotic heroism are thus made pathetic because they are made for no positive outcome. Remarque’s use of…

in World War I and experiencing the horrors that war makes you go through. In the beginning, you are a happy, normal soldier and at the end, you become damaged and traumatized. This is what Paul Baumer had to go through in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. Paul Baumer was your average nineteen-year-old who enjoyed the little things in life. His life changed when he was sent to the trenches to go fight in World War I. When Paul was going to the trenches to go fight, he…

Thousands of people join our military and risk their lives to fight for their country. After many years of fighting in war soldiers are no longer who they used to be. When they return home they are looked at, treated badly, and are not given the treatment needed to recover. The struggles and obstacles these veterans face on their journey home and once they arrive forever face. In the epic poem, Odyssey by Homer, it shows the obstacles a soldier has to face on their journey. Odysseus and his men…

Sheers’ poem Mametz Wood is based on the 38th Welsh Division soldiers who were sent to fight in France when they unexpectedly died in Mametz Wood, as the Germans were prepared to kill on the other side of Mametz Wood. The Battle of Somme began. This was a singular part of World War I and killed 4000 people. This battle took place between 7-12th 1916. By using language features such as oxymoron, metaphor and plosive alliteration, Sheers can convey the impact and violence of war that these…

German army, and ensuring his personal survival and the survival of his best friends, throughout the course of Erich Marie Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front. At home, Paul is unable to return to the comfort of his life before the war, but in battle, he must force himself through basic orders. Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front demonstrates how total war creates internal struggle within those who must fight in it. On the battlefield, Paul must force himself into compliance with…

From 1914-1918, one of the bloodiest wars in all of human history waged on. Erich Maria Remarque illustrates this reality in All Quiet on the Western Front. The novel follows a young soldier, Paul and his journey from a naive schoolboy to a hardened, experienced soldier, this change is seen quite drastically through the novel. Change is something that is unavoidable, especially in times of war. In Paul Baumer, this change is seen in his changing emotional connection to the war and his views…

The 1930 film begins with German citizens discussing the war and interacting with a mail carrier named Himmelstoss who states is soon to join the war effort. A soldiers march through the town as Kantorek, a teacher in his classroom, passionately persuades his students to join the war effort, describing serving one’s country as the highest honor and stating his assumption that the war will end soon. Several students stand and declare their eagerness to join, and the professor enthusiastically…