All Quiet on the Western Front: Alienation
According to the Webster's New World College Dictionary, alienation is 1.
Separation, aversion, aberration. 2. Estrangement or detachment. 3. Mental
derangement; insanity.
The theme of All Quiet on the Western Front is about how World War I
destroyed a generation of young men. It has taken from them the last of their
childhood years, it has destroyed their faith in their elders, it has taught
them an individual life is meaningless--and all it has given in return is the
ability to appreciate basic physical pleasures. According to Paul, though, the
men haven't entirely lost human sensitivity: they're not as callous as they
appeared in Chapter 1, wolfing down their dead companions' rations. It's just
that they must pretend to forget the dead; otherwise they would go mad.
Remarque includes discussions among Paul's group, and Paul's own
thoughts while he observes Russian prisoners of war (Chapters 3, 8, 9) to show......
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Approximate Word Count: 646
Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |