All Quiet On The Western Front :: essays research papers

The Sorrows of War and the Glorious Lies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Is it really worth it? Is the simple order by a superior officer enough for someone to spill the blood of innocent soldiers? In All Quiet on the Western Front, a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a group of soldiers learn the hard way about the realities of war. They encounter trench warfare and hand-to-hand combat and slowly see how horrible the war is. Using the book, the author expresses his hatred towards war and how only evil comes from it. The emotions and actions of the soldiers represent the realities of war where brotherhoods are formed, the public is tricked in seeing war as good, and how deep inside everyone is the same.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The soldiers in the Second Company form this bond between each other that represents that of all wartime buddies. They develop these friendships where they depend on each other so that they can make it through the war. The young soldiers play cards, smoke together and joke around together to pass time when they are not fighting. Their reactions towards dying friends show their love for one another. â€Å"Suddenly little Kropp throws his cigarette away, stamps on it savagely, and looking around him with a broken and distracted face, stammers â€Å"Damned sh*t, the damned sh*t!†Ã¢â‚¬  (page 18). Even after their good friend Kemmerich passes away, the circle of friends is able to pull together and get through it all. They have a deep love for each other. Some soldiers like Paul and Katczinsky even feel a father/son relationship with each other. â€Å"We don’t talk much, but I believe we have a more complete communion with one another than even lovers have† (page 94). The war has brought them together. It has made them rely on each other for survival and has brought them to forget the horrors of war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The soldiers fight because of simple orders. They really have nothing to gain from it. Their superior officers don’t know what its like. They get out on the battlefield and cowardly turn away. All those people who romanticize war including Kantorek and Himmelstoss go to trench warfare and they see the real truth. They see that they have misled the public with propaganda and their continuous actions to have people volunteer. â€Å"Quickly I jump back into the dug-out and find him with a small scratch lying in a corner pretending to be wounded.