Throughout Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, vivid images of gruesome animal instincts and the innocent animals’ lives ending are illustrated for the reader repeatedly. Remarque indicates that for a soldier’s survival in battle they must cease sanity and rely solely on primitive instinct. This notion of animal instincts leads soldiers to be less like a human being with rational thoughts. The protagonist, Paul Bäumer, believes he is a “human animal,” and similarly, soldiers who survive multiple attacks think the same. Battle has wounded many, and throughout the novel the reader is given a chance…
Phil Klay’s Redeployment tells the stories of different American Veterans experiences as they fought in Iraq and as they attempt to return to a “normal” civilian lifestyle. Each of these soldiers faces the realities of war that cause them to change the way they see the world and how they fit into it. As they return home and begin to interact with people outside of the war, Klay describes the difficulties they face as they try to adjust to a “normal” life after months of deployment. Klay bring awareness to the stories of these veterans as they return home as a means to critique society’s lack of understanding on the struggles of veterans as they transition back into civilian lives.…
Imagine being situated in World War One behind the German Frontlines what would should a person do to stay alive and to stay well enough to survive another day in war? Erich Maria Remarque, the author of the realistic war novel All Quiet on the Western Front . All Quiet on the Western Front categorizes itself as “The greatest war novel of all time” so the genre of the book is realistic fiction and a war novel. The book depicts a story of young adults that enlist in the army and fights for the german frontlines while in war many of them die and their friends and family have to grief over their lost. Erich Maria Remarque's novel main focuses is on “affected war on soldier”. “Affected war on soldier” is one of the most important theme in Remarque’s…
In Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul Bäumer and his generation feel separated from the rest of the world. These boys’ lives were drastically changed by the war, and “even though they may have escaped its shells, they were destroyed by the war,” (Remarque Epigraph) describing that even though they survived the war physically,they were mentally destroyed by the dangers and chaos of war. Paul expresses that “he has been crushed without knowing it” and “does not belong anymore, it is a foreign world” (Remarque 168). The generation of men who fought in the war are “pushed aside,” (Remarque 249) as an unpleasant reminder of a war that society would like to disregard. After surviving such dreadful…
War can make a man forget about other things going on in life and just focus on the war. He wasn’t brave when he left the battle. He wasn’t brave when he lied about his wounds when asked what happened.When he comes back to war for the first time is when he first become courageous. When he runs around with the flag in his hands is also an act of bravery. In the beginning of the book I asked myself, “Would his mother be proud of him leaving the war?” I knew that she wouldn’t because that makes him a coward. He went to war which was very brave of him but he regretted it once it was time to fight. I know now that his mother would be very proud of him and how far along he has came on his journey of war. She would be very proud to have a brave son that is willing to fight for his army and for his…
The book All Quiet on the Western Front is centered on the storyline of a young boy who goes to battle during World War 1. While he is at battle in the trenches, he learns a plethora of life skills. Not only does he gain many comrades, but also learns how their comradery can be affected by war. As the war continues on, he also loses all of his innocence as he is forced to become a man in a matter of seconds. Being in the war teaches the boy how to always have a positive mental attitude, embrace the suck, and be resilient. No matter what happened; through thick and thin, the boy always just keeps pushing…
Furthermore, the book reflects the aftermath of the situations that many veterans found themselves in when they returned home from the Vietnam War. Veterans who returned from the war did not have any support, the veterans were traumatized by the incredibly gruesome things that they saw; however, they were expected to be the same person they were before they were involved in the war. However, the veterans were changed and they were misunderstood when they returned home. Many veterans were admitted and isolated in mental institutions as they were no longer considered socially acceptable because their…
All Quiet on the Western Front was a story of a group of young children, nineteen years old or so, who enlisted in the military on the advice of one of their professors. They were told, and believed, that they would be seen as heroes in everyone’s eyes, and that they were doing such great things for their country and showing extreme nationalism and patriotism. As the months went on, fighting on the front lines, these men realized that this life was nothing like what they were told the military life would be. They were promised fame. This was not the case and through their time in the trenches these men were stripped of their humanity, grew to hate their commanding officers, and were fighting purely for survival to see another day.…
War is often viewed as one of the most dangerous and brutal events ever created. It utterly destroys the humanity and mental state of soldiers fighting in the war. In All Quiet on the Western Front, a world renowned war novel by Erich Maria Remarque, the epigraph states that this novel “will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.” Staying true to this quote, Remarque tells of the horrors of World War I and fittingly describes the effects that war has on humans through the eyes of the protagonist, Paul Bäumer. In his epigraph Remarque says, “this book is to be neither an accusation, nor a confession, and least of all an adventure.” Except for a few notable exceptions,…
Veterans are those who have serve in order to honor and protect their country. As these individuals boldly practice their beliefs in freedom, they rewrite history, and we as American honor these patriots who were willing to give the ultimate sacrifice.…
War is and always has been a topic of discussion in the world whether it be in the daily newspaper, a presidential campaign speech or a history classroom. Often we focus on past wars, current wars, fatalities, battles and countless other topics. Then, there is the occasional talk about men that have fought in history’s brutal wars. Veterans could tell story after story of the pain and suffering that they saw and experienced themselves. But you can only begin to imagine. Also seen in the movie Apocolypse Now.…
“Young Man in Vietnam” by Charles Coe goes against the 1980 patriotic views of Vietnam veterans, as he positions readers to be sympathetic towards veterans. Through the use of characterisation and symbolism Coe has positioned readers to be sympathetic towards the young man in Vietnam.…
-There from the wars of today IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN and they are trickling into shelters and soup kitchens.…
The Witness to War: Serving a Nation oral history project focuses on telling veterans’ stories. Pairs of students interview a veteran, create a website for them, and present their veteran's story to their class. My partner, Kajsa Simon, and I interviewed Mr. Joe Souza, and through him, I learned a lot about the military as well as what makes a hero. From the Witness to War project, I learned that all veterans are heroes and that you don’t have to risk your life every day to be one. I also learned how to be a better public speaker, and this will be useful all throughout my life. This was the best project I have ever done, and it has made a lasting impact on my life. In this essay, I will discuss what I learned from this project, what I did to…
The contradiction of war being a courageous act for an individual is backfired when the unexpected occurs and one is faced with a complication of a post war condition. A healthy soldier is then diagnosed with an illness that cannot be self treated or controlled. This ends up being the result of what one pays for performing a good, courageous deed- protecting the honorary nation that is the United States of America.…