Should All Quiet on the Western Front be appraised again this year as part of the curriculum for our high school students? Of many words, "yes" would be the correct response because this novel has much value within its words. All Quiet on the Western Front by Enrich Maria Remarque has many themes that give the reader a direct relation to life as presented in the book. Changes of the human spirit from war, and views on death are two of the thought-provoking themes portrayed.
             The views on change of the deteriorating human spirit from the actions of war are presented throughout the entire novel. At the beginning, nationalist feelings are presented through the pride of Paul and his schoolmates. However, at the end of the book it is apparent how pointless confrontational war really is. All Quiet on the Western Front is a literary masterpiece that significantly helps the reader to understand the effects of war. The novel best shows the attitudes of the soldiers both before and during the Great War. Before the war there are high morals and growing nationalist feelings. During the war nevertheless, the soldiers discover the trauma that those sentiments brought. They discover that it is a waste of time as their hopes and dreams of life fly further away. After Behm became Paul's first deceased schoolmate, Paul realized that war was inhumane and viewed the older generation bitterly, particularly Kantorek, the teacher who convinced Paul and his classmates to join the military. The reason for this judgment was not due to the sudden change of Paul's view on superiors, but the burden that was placed on him from combat. Paul quickly notices that his life is being undermined by something that could have been prevented. At one point he states, " We will make ourselves comfortable and sleep, and eat as much as we can stuff into our bellies, and drink and smoke so that hours are not wasted. Life is short." Paul tells
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