All Quiet Symbolism

In All Quiet, Mister Remarque expresses his personal views in the form of symbols. As the reader reads through the book, the butterflies, the Earth, the horses, and Katczinsky have been used to symbolize more than they physically are in the story. Mister Remarque uses the surrogate father relationship between Paul and Katczinsky to illustrate the utter destructiveness of war. Paul’s relationship with his biological father was destroyed by the war, which compelled Paul to confide in Katczinsky. Mister Remarque also creates much stronger messages in other devices such as the butterflies. One of Mister Remarque’s childhood hobbies was to collect insects and mounting them on his walls (Van Kirk 1). For Paul, however, the butterflies represent
Mister Remarque shows how in the beginning of the war, the young soldiers were very optimistic about their futures. The boys were very hopeful towards the beginning, until people began dying. “The earth is streaming with forces which pour into me through the soles of my feet,”(33i8). Then, the hope of the boys began to slowly fade, and their key focus was survival. “Before me gapes a shell hole, I grasp it with my eyes as with fists. With one leap I must be in it,”(67). Finally, when there are only a few of the young men left, all hope of the boys is lost. One by one they young soldiers are being wiped out. “The earth on dripping, and soaked, oily mass in which lie yellow pools with spiral streams of blood and into which the dead, the wounded, and the survivors slowly sink down,”(286-III-9). This quote expresses the emotions that Paul is going through with only all his friends dying or already dead.
In All Quiet, Erich Maria Remarque illustrates the horror of war through numerous symbols. The butterflies, the earth, the horses, and Katczinsky are great examples of how war is a horrific experience. Unlike Paul Baumer, Mister Remarque did not die in war physically, but he did died mentally and