“All Quiet on the
Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque is an informative book depicting the
horrors of WWI through the eyes of a 19-year-old boy. One scene that really stuck with me
throughout the whole book was how excited all of the character seemed to be
about going to war. Kantorek convinced
them it would be exciting and adventurous and they all went along with it. They didn’t question that war is never an
exciting thing and that many people don’t survive. The only one who hesitates is Joseph Behm and
he is persuaded to join up by his fellow classmates. Even parents were ready to call their sons
cowards if they didn’t enlist. It seems
like a completely different time compared to now. Everyone nowadays knows the dangers of war
and isn’t fooled into thinking it is glorious.
This scene stuck with me because you can tell that as the book progresses,
the boys realize that they had been fooled into thinking they would be considered
heroes and would make it home alive.
Their entire attitudes change once they see the destruction caused by
war and after they face the death of several of their friends. Paul loses sight of who the enemy is and even
regrets stabbing Frenchman Gerald Duval.
He gains insight into the minds of soldiers and discovers that whether
someone is French, Russian, English, or German, they are all human beings who
have families back home and are just doing what they need to in order to
survive, just like him. By the end of
the book he has lost all hope and is not afraid of death. When death comes to him, he accepts it and
has a peaceful look as if he realizes that this horror is finally over and he
is going home.
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