Free essays brought to you by 123helpme.com all quiet on the western front: catalyst for change all quiet on the western front is a book written by erich maria remarque. It shows us how war has a hidden face that most people do not see until it is too late. In the novel, he describes a group of young men who at first think war is glorious. But as the war drags on, the group discovers how war is not all it is set out to be. All quiet on the western front takes place in germany where a group of young boys are first encouraged to join the military. Thinking that it would be a great adventure, they enlisted, not knowing the fate that lies before them. They aren’t in a serious mood, thinking that war conditions aren’t as bad as they really are.

When the boys are sent to the front, it is only then when they start to realize how war is not great. When one of the boys was wounded, he was taken to a hospital where there were many wounded soldiers. After paul is relieved from the front line, he decides to go on leave and return home. But when he tries to tell every one of the horrible conditions of the trenches, everybody either laughs him off or calls him a coward.

Paul returns before his leave actually ended, wishing that he had never come home. In the end, when paul loses kat, paul realizes that the war has destroyed his way of life. Examples of these include the pair of boots and the constant urge for companionship. The pair of boots and the fact that it was passed around so often tells us that death was a very common occurrence during the war and that the soldiers wanted to use everything they could find in order to aid their chances of survival. The urge for companionship is shown when the group crosses the river to see the french girls and when the group sees the picture of the girl while having a drink. As the boys start being killed in the war, the group wished that they could be back home doing things they enjoy.

The pictures serve as a reminder that war disrupts everything, from people’s lives to their dreams and ambitions. The major theme of the novel all quiet on the western front is that war must be avoided at all cost because of the severe consequences that will arise. War causes people to lose friends, makes people worried and creates a feeling of uncertainty among innocent people.

For example, two friends of different nationalities may become bitter enemies only because their respective countries are at war. All quiet on the western front is a well told story, mixing both fiction and non fiction into a powerful novel which forces people to think deeply about war and all of its possible repercussions. Even though levels of technology increases exponentially, we have to wonder what the people who died in the war could have done to help the human cause. The novel also tells us that friendship always prevails even though there are tough times. Through this book, any reader can see that war brings unnecessary death to innocent people soldiers and civilians.

After reading the book, the reader will probably have a different outlook on war. This book should be a catalyst for people from all nations to work together to find solutions through discussion and compromise instead of warfare. Countries at war may feel that they are realizing substantial gains but what they fail to see is the losses they have suffered. In most cases, the gain is negligible when it is compared to the innumerable and unfathomed losses. Either concentrate only on the symbols and images, or on the theme of avoiding war.

If you feel the need to inform the reader of some important part of the novel use quotes. What causes the boys to change their feelings about the war? how have the boys matured through the war? what are some specific examples from the novel of two people hating each other because of the war? why did muller ask for the pair of boots? what are some other images in the novel? are there any other symbols? what effect do these symbols and images have on the novel? 3. For example, you talk about war being a catalyst for change, the symbols and images and the themes of the novel. So in your thesis statement you should include all of these points, all quite on the western front is a novel that depicts war as a catalyst for change using symbols and images of war and the theme of avoiding war as vehicles for this change, is an example of a thesis statement. If you write mostly in the past tense then make sure that you consistently write in the past tense. A few of your verbs switched to the present tense and made the flow of the paper rather awkward. Your paper would have been stronger had you used quotes to back up your thoughts.

What are the main themes of all quiet on the western front? remarque rsquo s novel is a profound statement against war, focusing especially on the ravaging effects of war on the humanity of soldiers. Throughout paul rsquo s narrative there are attacks on the romantic ideals of warfare. The novel dramatizes the disjunction between high minded rhetoric about patriotism and honor and the actual horror of trench warfare. Remarque continually stresses that the soldiers are not fighting with the abstract ideals of patriotic spirit in mind they are fighting for their survival. The matters of acquiring food, shelter, and clothing, in addition to avoiding gunfire and bombs, constitute their foremost concerns. Even the intense friendships between paul and his fellow soldiers are tempered with the sobering reality that their bonds come at the high price of relentless suffering and terror.

Remarque also explores the gulfs in age and power that are widened by war he portrays the war as the older generation rsquo s profound betrayal of the younger. Men of paul rsquo s age entered the war under the heavy pressure of people they regarded as trusted authority figures. The very people who are supposed to guide them to their adulthood instead send them to their deaths with empty slogans of patriotic duty. How does remarque portray the technological and military innovations of the war? how do those innovations affect the lives of the soldiers? technological and military innovations such as poison gas, the machine gun, and trench warfare revolutionized combat during world war i, and remarque effectively dramatizes how these innovations made the war bloodier, longer, and more costly. In almost every case, military innovations make the soldiers rsquo lives more dangerous, while medical innovations lag increasingly far behind. Glory and patriotism cease to be rational ideals in the conflict because advanced technology limits the effect that an individual soldier can have on the conflict and alienates him from the consequences of his actions.

Whether or not a soldier dies in a bombardment is determined by chance or animal instinct and has nothing to do with the soldier rsquo s attitude toward the conflict. Whom do paul and his friends regard as their enemies? when paul and his friends talk about enemies, they do not speak of the soldiers on the other side. Instead, they concentrate their hostility on kantorek and himmelstoss, their superiors and fellow countrymen. Paul and his classmates view kantorek and other formerly trusted authority figures like him as the origin of their pointless suffering. These authority figures have sent them to war with the tragically false illusion that they were embarking on an exciting journey to fight for honor and glory.

All Quiet on The Western Front Thesis Text

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