Physical Destruction Of The Great War example essay topic

Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, a novel set in World War I, centers around the changes wrought by the war on one young German Soldier as well as others. During their time in the war, this generation of young men changes from a rather innocent group into somewhat caustic veterans. The men evolve, or rather become destroyed mentally, spiritually, and physically. These men have become isolated from society and engulfed in war. They never have a change to be incorporated into civilian life because they have been persuaded that the battle grounds is a heroic place to be and that is where many lost their lives. Remarque demonstrates the men's mental deterioration greatly in this novel.

These men were sent to the war grounds right out of primary school and had little education which did not help them in the war at all. On these battlegrounds they lost their identities and left behind them all of the values, schooling, and family that once revolved around them. Trusted into this terrible condition, these innocent men were converted to brutal disgust creatures that lived to kill and killed to live. By the animal instinct that is awakened in us we are led and protected. It is not conscious; it is far quicker, much more sure, less fallible, than consciousness. One cannot explain it.

A man is walking along without a thought or heed; – suddenly he throws himself down on the ground and a storm of fragments flies harmlessly over him (56). After the war was over, they would come back to society without high education and would not fit in. On top of that, they would never shake off the memory of the shells and bombs that killed their comrades. These men understand that they are the lost generation. Early in the novel, Paul notes how his elders had been eager to have him enlist in the war. Specifically, his teacher persuaded him and other young men to enlist in the war effort.

Later, Paul admits that he, and other, were fooled by this rhetorical trickery. He was fooled into losing his precious innocence and became isolated from society and engulfed by bloodshed. His na ve ideas are severely challenged when he first witnesses the ugly truth of war. The first bombardment showed us our mistake, and under it the world as they had taught it to us broke in pieces. (13) The war had immersed Paul completely and he could no longer survive without it, as it became the focus of his entire life.

He feels alienated from society while on leave. I find I do not belong here anymore, it is a foreign world. (168) Paul could no longer be a part of society; he could only find security in his war comrades. They are more to me than life, these voices, they are more than motherliness and more than fear: they are the strongest most comforting thing there is anywhere: they are the voices of my comrades (212). Paul's friends gave a new meaning to his life and the role of his family shifts to that of his friends. This is the point where war had claimed Paul's soul and he could no longer function without it Remarque demonstrates the physical destruction of the Great War clearly and honestly.

These innocent men, or rather children, were sent to their deaths in mass units. Remarque provokes a sense of disgust in the reader with the vivid description of the horse. He states, The belly of one is ripped open, the guts trail out. He becomes tangled in them and falls, then he stands up again. In this, Remarque hopes that the anguish of the horses, which were in no way responsible for their situation, will earn the reader's sympathy. In reality, the soldiers with their guns and bayonets are just as innocent as these horses.

They were not responsible for the war, they were just sent there by that small group of elite that was in power at the time. We do not fight, we defend ourselves against annihilation. It is not against men that we fling our bombs, what do we know of men in this moment when Death is hunting us down now, for the first time in three days we can oppose him; we feel a mad anger. No longer do we lie helpless, waiting on the scaffold, we can destroy and kill, to save ourselves, to save ourselves and to be revenged. (113) These men were subject to gunfire, shelling, gas, and the other many weapons of destruction by the enemy. Other died of bad amputations and lunacy.

Many of these men will come home without legs or arms and lead a life of hardship. Most of these men will not come home at all. Almost a whole generation of men was wiped out. These innocent men in Remarque's tale of war and anguish were destroyed mentally, spiritually, and physically. These men were isolated from society and engulfed in war. They witnessed the grim truth about war and some of them were taken away by this truth.

These men lost their sanity, lives, and limbs to the war. A generation of men was destroyed by war.