Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the
greatest war novels of all time. It is a story, not of Germans, but of
men, who even though they may have escaped shells, were
destroyed by the war. The entire purpose of this novel is to
illustrate the vivid horror and raw nature of war and to change the
popular belief that war is an idealistic and romantic character. The
story centers on Paul Baümer, who enlists in the German army with
glowing enthusiasm. But in the course of war, he is consumed by it
and in the end is "weary, broken, burnt out, rootless, and without
hope." Through Baümer, Remarque examines how war makes man
inhuman. He uses excellent words and phrases to describe crucial
details to this theme. "The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in
our hearts." Baümer and his classmates who enlisted into the army
see the true reality of the war. They enter the war fresh from school,
knowing nothing except the environment of hopeful youth and......
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Approximate Pages: 4 (260 words per double-spaced page) |