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Analysis Of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front

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Analysis Of Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front
Nothing can be gained from the futility of war, only lost; a loss of hope, loss of life, loss of innocence and a loss of identity. This sense of hopelessness has been reflected within the anti-war novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. The negative representation of World War I displayed in this novel has made us question authority as to why time and time again, they abuse their power to force our innocent young men to fight in a monotonous battle. Through the construction of this novel, a very effective, thought provoking, anti-war story has been created which has become a timeless literary text within society today. In particular, the narrative conventions of characterization, setting, language and plot have enriched …show more content…
The language of this novel is very descriptive and realistic which enhances the negativity of World War I and wars in general. The tone used to speak about the innocent young dying Kemmerich is very morose. The language is reflective of the normality yet horrid impact of death during wars.
“There is no longer any life pulsing under his skin - it has been forced out already to the very edges of his body, and death is working its way through him” Symbolic elements have been interwoven within this quote. The life which has been said to have been forced out of him symbolizes the loss of all of his memories, identity and innocence as a result of war. Repetition has been used as a language tool to heighten the devastating fact that such young and innocent men are losing their lives to the war.
“’Such young lads -‘ He says it again: ‘Such young, innocent lads-‘” This repetitive quote makes the reader question authority as to how they can willingly send men, who have barely even lived their lives, to wars to be killed. These young men are like “Lambs to the slaughter”. All Quiet on the Western Front has been constructed with deep and confronting, descriptive and emotive language to portray the negativity of
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