home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- English
- All Quiet on the Western Front Themes
-
- 1) The Destructiveness of War
- A major theme, not only on lives and property, but also on the human
- spirit. Men are subject to physical torment-eyes are blinded, limbs are
- blown off, blood flows everywhere, and innocent men die in agony. When
- soldiers take shelter in the graveyard, bombs explode all around them,
- the living hide in coffins and the dead are thrown from their graves.
- The destructive power is so great that even the fundamental differences
- between life and death become blurred. The impact of war on the spirit
- is subtle. They find themselves less able to returrn to civilian life-
- friends die all around them.
-
- 2) The Lost Generation
- This theme is an offshoot of the destructiveness of war. Paul's
- generation grew up too fast, its perceptins of life grossly distorted by
- the horror or war. The youthful idealism that might someday have
- blossomed into constructive maturity has been nipped in the bud. Unlike
- earlier generations, Paul can never again hope to find comfort and
- inspiration in the hollow rhetoric of politicians and generals. The war
- has shattered their illusions. Their innocence is gone, and only in
- aimless skepticism is left to fill the void.
-
- 3) Comraderie
- The theme of comraderie occurs constantly in the novel. The comraderie
- that exists in Paul's company keeps them from being driven insane by the
- horrors all around them. In a sense, the comraderie among Paul's
- friends can be seen as a last desperate clinging to the innocence of
- youth. These young men were transported almost directly to the
- battlefield from the schoolyard. The adolescent pranks of Paul and his
- classmates can be seen in their "adult" behavior, as in their attack on
- Himmelstoss. If the social responses of Paul adn his friends seem at
- time childish, it is essential to remember that these are young men
- whose experience of life took them directly to the barracks from the
- classroom. If they seem immature, it may be because they weren't given
- the chance to grow up normally. The best example of this theme os when
- Kat and Paul shared their roasted goose with Kropp and Tjaden. They
- were taking care of each other.
-
- 4) Alienation
- The theme of alienation develops as the novel progresses. At first,
- Paul and his friends still behave as if their lives will someday return
- to normal. In the middle of the book, Paul goes home on leave, only to
- discover that his real home is now with his friends on the front. By
- the time Kat dies, Paul feels that his own life no longer has meaning.
- The process of alienation is now complete.
-
- 5) Shared Humanity
- The theme of shared humanity takes the eheme of comraderie one huge
- step forward. Just as Paul comes to look upon his comrades almost as
- brothers, he also comes to recognize that all men are brothers under the
- skin. The irony of war is that brothers are forced to kill one
- another. Paul's compassion for the captured Russian soldiers and the
- French soldier he kills in the trench are examples of this theme.
-