Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front is an example of how history can be interpreted through a first-person view. The strategies of war discussed in the novel explore various sides of humanity. At its core, war is an extreme form of nationalism. Finally, the novel explores how war shaped pre and post European society. All Quiet on the Western Front shows that Germany would do whatever it took to win, no matter the consequence.
During wartime Germany, the expectation was that the war would be a short one. This could be a reason why that many young people were recruited. However, it ended up lasting for four years and costing millions of lives. In the novel, many of the characters, including the main character Paul, died by the end. Before his death, one can see that the war shaped Paul from an innocent schoolboy into a stern soldier. “We march up, moody or good-tempered soldiers – we reach the zone where the front begins and become on the instant human animals.” This quote shows that war forced soldiers to act aggressive, but they were still aware they were just boys. (Remarque, pg). Another thing to note about recruitment was that if you didn’t join the war, you were considered untrue to your country. (Humanity/identity)
Paul’s teacher, Kantorek, was that one that urged …show more content…
His mother, Victoria, was loyal to her English roots, even though she was the Empress of Germany. His mother didn’t show much affection for him because he was disabled. He later grew up hating England, and would become loyal to Germany instead. His careless tactics led to the army not supporting him, which would not be helpful for the German cause. But in the novel, the soldiers realize why they don’t support him. "Then what exactly is the war for?" asks Tjaden. Kat shrugs his shoulders. ‘There must be some people to whom the war is useful.’ ‘Well, I'm not one of them," grins Tjaden. ‘Not you, nor anybody else

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Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front