Literary Critique: All Quiet On The Western Front

Literary Critique: All Quiet On The Western Front

In the book All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque illustrates the picture of World War I to the reader. This book is the story of Paul Baumer, who with his classmates recruits in the German Army of World War I. This anti-war novel is an excellent book because through the experiences of Paul Baumer, I am able to actually feel like I’m in the war. It is a very useful piece of literature, which increases the readers’ knowledge on how the war affected the people at the time setting. By reading this book, one is drawn into the actual events of the war, and can feel the abyss of death. I believe this piece is very well written. It is entirely simple, lacking any bias remarks, or false patriotism. In this book, Remarque just gives the reader the impression of the war. His great details and way of wording things is incredible. In this book, Remarque is able to portray the nightmare on European battlefields.
Paul Baumer, along with other classmates is recruited into the German Army for WWI. The story is told through this character. These young men are trained for the war. Their many experiences are described throughout the book. Many of Paul’s fellow army men do not survive. After the loss of Paul’s closest friends,
returning to the front was hard for him. The days were getting cold and one by one he watched his friends die. The hardest loss was that of Kat. After Kat had been shot, Paul had to carry Kat to the nearest first-aid station a few miles away. Kat was the last of Paul's friends to die in the war. Then, in October of 1918, Paul is killed on a quiet day shortly before the armistice ends the war.
As mentioned previously, the story is told from Paul’s point of view. This view of his is parallel to that of Remarque’s. Remarque’s characterization of paul and the other soldiers is intended to convey information and instruction to the reader. For example the way these characters are described instructs the reader in the needless suffering and loss brought on by war. The author makes a point about military leaders through one of the characters. Kropp notes about rise in rank, “As sure as they get a stripe or a star they become different men, just as though they’d swallowed concrete” (43). Kat mentions that military life brings out the worst in men, particularly the abuse of power over lesser men. This is a significant part that the author adds into the book because it illustrates a metaphor of the greater powers wanting to attack the weaker countries to gain more power; imperialism, which is one of the main causes of the war. In chapter 4, one of the most dramatic in the book, it depicts the way Paul reacts to the intense fighting along the western front. As Remarque’s most emphasized explanation of how war reduces combatants to simple survival skills, the chapter depicts reminders of humanitarianism and compassion quickly returns, impelling the men to help the other wounded and dying men.
In chapter 5, one can see examples of Remarque’s wartime humor. For example in Haie’s description of lice marked by red crosses on their heads. (79) In the end of the book, Paul’s final words, “I am so alone”, (295) summarize the treachery of the war, an insidious indefinite feeling of debility which removes all ties with life, leaving and an empty, dehumanized shell which bears no will to live. Thus in this anti-war novel, Remarque narrates the tragedy of war in graphic detail, recalling all the inhumane tragedies and environmental parodies that occurred. Not only does he describe the devastation of the German troops but he also details the horror inflicted upon the French and the Russians.
In this book, the author is starkly telling the story of World War I. His main goal in this anti-novel is to bring the reader into the atmosphere of WWI so that he can feel the tragedies and experience the events of WWI. Remarque lacks any bugle calls, flag waving, or untrue patriotism. In the authors comment in the beginning of the book, he states as well that, “this book is neither to be an accusation nor a confession…” Hence, Remarque is avoiding discussing any causes of the war. His main objective is to bring about the effects of the war, and what young soldiers went through while fighting in this nightmare on the European battlefields.

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