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War Destroys Innocence

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War Destroys Innocence
War Destroys Innocence

Even though a book has far more space to talk about its thematic reason, there are many commonalities between books and poems. “All Quiet on the Western Front” was written by Erich Maria Remarque. The theme of the novel can be related to the theme of “Peace” by Rupert Brooke. The theme of both the novel and the book is “war destroys innocence”. The poem and the novel both display many examples of this. In “All Quiet on the Western Front” it explains how even though in war the soldiers may have survived the attacks, they were did not always survive the war itself. Also, soldiers in the war never had a chance to live their youth because they had to go to war. Just as they should be starting their lives, they were forced to drop everything at once and put their life on the line. In “Peace”, it reveals that the soldiers are not in the war for themselves, but for God and for their country. Since they are doing this, their senses sharpen, and their youth fades away. If war does not kill you physically, then it will emotionally. Its a simple fact, war is destruction at its best. It does not only destroy lives, but emotions. The theme of “All Quiet on the Western Front” perfectly presents how war destroys innocence. “... generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war”(Remarque Prologue). Even though war does not always physically injure someone, it can emotionally scar them for the rest of their lives. The incidents that happen while people are at war are hard to forget about. They are metal images that cannot be erased. “Naught broken save this body, lost but breath” (Brooke 11). This quote from “Peace” indicates that yes, the soldiers were saved, but they're still destroyed on the inside. Nothing was saved, but the body. The comrades in the war had to quickly erase their youth and prepare for the worst. However, there is only so much you can prepare for. They were quickly broken down and forced

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