Effects of First Person Narration on All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a fictional novel based on Remarque’s own experiences in World War I. Remarque uses view of a soldier Paul Bäumer to expose the horrors of the war. Bäumer’s first person narration creates the effects of intimacy, isolation and drama. Bäumer’s narration puts the reader directly in the middle of the action. It creates a sense of closeness between the reader and the story. It feels as though Bäumer is speaking directly to the reader, creating a sense of intimacy between the two. The reader is constantly reading Bäumer’s thoughts, wishes, and fears. It is as if the reader is in his head, seeing all the horrors he sees and experiencing all the episodes he experiences. The reader knows everything about Bäumer, including his past and what he was like before the war. Because of this knowledge, the contrast between what Bäumer was like before the war, and what he is like after the war has taken its toll on him is painfully obvious. He explains it as “Our thoughts are clay, they are moulded with the changes of the days;--when we are resting they are good; under fire, they are dead. Fields of craters within and without”. Bäumer does not only offer insight into his feelings, but into those of his comrades when he breaks the intimacy of his first person singular narration and uses first person plural by speaking in terms of “we” or “our”. But, this is justified as it connects the reader to Bäumer’s comrades through common ideas and feelings of all the soldiers in similar circumstances.
Although Bäumer is close with his comrades, he is aware of his alienation. He may be on the front lines physically, but the war has destroyed his mind so completely that he has removed himself mentally. He reacts with only “animal-like instincts”, completely detached from his setting with thoughts such as “We were all at once terribly alone; and alone we must see it through”. Yet, who could blame him for becoming detached when
Although Bäumer is close with his comrades, he is aware of his alienation. He may be on the front lines physically, but the war has destroyed his mind so completely that he has removed himself mentally. He reacts with only “animal-like instincts”, completely detached from his setting with thoughts such as “We were all at once terribly alone; and alone we must see it through”. Yet, who could blame him for becoming detached when