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The Role Of War In All Quiet On The Western Front

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The Role Of War In All Quiet On The Western Front
Interpretation of war and the relationship between soldiers and civilians are different when discussing World War 1 and the wars of today. Whether one is a soldier, spectator from far away, or a civilian watching it first hand, war cannot truly be comprehended and understood, unless it has been physically experienced. Erich Maria Remarque, a German World War I veteran, depicts the atrocities and brutalities of war in his novel, All Quiet on the Western Front. The gap between the expectations of soldiers and civilians are solidified through civilians’ inability to comprehend the impacts of war. This destruction of war has created such a profound impact on soldiers as they are now unable to formulate and comprehend their true identity as compared to their interpretation of who they were before the war.
The foundation for this …show more content…
The basis of the civilians’ perceptions of soldiers is derived through overriding nationalist and patriotic ideals of a nation. According to civilians, these soldiers are seen as “young heroes.” They believed the driving principle for joining the war was out of glorified honor of being a soldier sacrificing their lives. The soldiers themselves originally went into the war celebrating this nationalist fervor and were described to be “crammed full of vague ideas which gave to life, and to the war also an ideal and almost romantic character.” Unfortunately, these idealized paradigms of what it means to be a “soldier” are proven false. Even wartime propaganda supported these romanticized views and the soldiers themselves recognized the false accusations
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