All Quiet on the Western Front Term Papers

All Quiet on the Western Front gives readers a powerful demonstration of the human costs of war. The novel is openly against war from the very first page.

The story by Erich Maria Remarque originally appeared in Germany in 1928 as a magazine serial called Im Westen nichts Neues. But even before it was published in book form the following year, the critics were complaining. They could not believe Remarque's novel presented a true picture of war. They accused him of exaggerating for shock value to increase sales.

Ironically, the attitudes of the critics were already reflected in his book. Paul's schoolmaster, Kantorek, was the model for people (like the critics) who wanted to imagine war to be heroic and noble. Remarque was determined to destroy the romantic delusions people held about work. The critics were right in that he did want to shock people to snap them out of their complacency. But he did not need to exaggerate the situation to accomplish his goals. All he had to do was make people look at the harsh realities soldiers had to face.

The young men in Remarque's book start off believing that war is a glorious adventure. But they soon discover that there is nothing romantic about seeing their friends maimed and killed. It is interesting that Remarque chooses to have the adults in his story encourage the young men to enlist. In this way, he offers an important critique of the authority figures who support the travesty of war. Had the young men themselves rashly gone off to war against the wishes and advice of their elders, the implications would have been quite different. Instead Remarque was offering an important cultural critique, not merely a tale of youthful indiscretions.

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