All Quiet On the Western Front

“War is hell” is a blunt but true way to describe all wars. This statement portrays

Paul Baumer’s true feelings pertaining to the gruesome experiences he encountered

through the duration of the war, when he was alive. For Paul Baumer a German soldier

in World War II, war was more than hell. It changed, and ultimately ended his life at a

young age. In All Quiet on the Western Front Paul Expresses this idea by stating, “I am

young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and

fatuous superficially cast over an abyss of sorrow...” Paul went through hell for years.

. . .
The significance to the famous saying “War is

hell” is to learn from and respect soldiers who have had to go through war, and to try and

avoid war at all costs. People who seemed to be normal humans

are transformed into animals.

In a sensitive state Paul realizes that the men he kills are human beings just like

him. However, you don’t

learn anything from that other than the outcome, in All Quiet on the Western Front you

see war through the eyes of a soldier, rather than through the pens of the history book

writers. When he comes in contact with the prisoners he says, “It is strange to see these

enemies of ours so close up. They have faces that make one think-” (author, 190. So, Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front paints a vivid picture of

what cruelties really occur during war. )

Knowing that you have no personal issues with the people you have to kill day in

and day out must be hell. He deals with his fellow soldiers dying, and the fact that it

could be him dying at any moment. ”(author,

113)

Contrary to the usual war novels, or movies in All Quiet on the Western Front

we’re introduced to the soldiers on a more personal level. We do not fight, we defend ourselves against annihilation.

Who won, and the number of casualties seem to be most important. with the vivid images of shooting and stabbing

human beings that he didn’t know, he had to cope with everyday issues.

War brings out the vileness in humans.

Common topics in this essay:
Paul Expresses, Western Front, Paul Baumers, Front War, War II, quiet western, quiet western front, western front, Quiet Western, Baumer German, war hell, front war, western front war,

Approximate Word count = 458
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

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