Erich Maria Remarque's The Glorification Of War
Many harmful ideologies plague our society, distorting our perception of reality and fostering intense hate. These mindsets, like racism, extremism, or sexism, often lead to destructive, disturbing actions, like hate crimes. These concepts attempt to distinguish the “other,” to create sense of superiority by degrading fellow humans. They create enemies where there should be unity in our common humanity, similar to how the true essence of patriotism disrupts the common effort for peace by functioning as a vessel for human pride, forging mortal enemies out of foreigners, and using idealized concepts to galvanize innocent people to atrocious acts. Outwardly, nationalism, pride for one’s fatherland, seems harmless, but a deeper analysis verifies that it can harm society’s well-being as profoundly as any of the aforementioned mindsets when it is used to vindicate and augment the progression of
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gruesome conflicts, like World War I. In Erich Remarque’s novel All Quiet on the Western Front, the romantic rhetoric of war, honor, and patriotism entices Paul Baumer and his companions to join the fight. This romanticism proves detrimental as the men, confronted with the truth they were previously denied, lose everything, ultimately including their lives, all while perpetuating a cycle of violence and anger. The shiny mirage of honor in war contrasts with reality, meaning that protestations of nationalism, used to spur innocents to action, sources in lies.
In Paul’s own life, he finds that “The idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in our minds with a greater insight and a more humane wisdom. But the first death we saw shattered this belief” (Remarque 12) Paul and his friends enter the war because of the impassioned glorifications of battle by their teacher Kantorek. However, the actuality of war negates all preconceptions, but leaves them trapped in a cycle of self-destructiveness. Furthermore, the soldiers discover that, “While they taught that duty to one's country is the greatest thing, we already knew that death-throes are stronger” (13). In the act of seeking a romanticized notion of joy from serving his country, Paul loses his youth, his friends, his hope, and his life. He claims to “know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow” (263). This cost can only be justified in extreme
circumstances. Do the circumstances of war merit the total self-sacrificing of Paul Baumer and those of the Lost Generation? The war challenges the men to devote everything to eradicating an enemy, in order to protect all the righteous in the world and achieve heroism. However, as the story develops, the soldiers come to realize the true, embellished nature of the concept of enemies, comprehending that the term actually refers to fellow humans, stigmatized by the authority figures they trusted in order to incite more passion, more anger, and more violence among the soldiers. Paul comes to realize the truth in the trench after he kills Gerard Duval when he exclaims, “ ‘Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony--Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy?’ ” (223). War tears lives apart, and if monstrous, truly iniquitous enemies exist only in a soldier’s imagination, then the instigator of this falsification, nationalism, should replace enemies in society’s mind. Instead of trying to destroy one another, all humanity should be working toward overcoming nationalism, overcoming our egotistical hate, so as to move past conflict, suffering, and misery. Again Paul discovers the identity of these idealized enemies when he muses that “It is strange to see these enemies of ours so close up. They have faces that make one think— honest peasant faces, broad foreheads, broad noses, broad mouths, broad hands, and thick hair” (190). While the notion of a hero, defending those he or she cares about from the forces of evil, appeals to the pride and bravery in each of us, oftentimes, like in Paul’s case, this concept only distances us from one another and causes communal suffering, instead of widespread peace. The real issue with the romanticization of war, enemies, and heroism lies not in the rumination of the mind, but in the terror of the subsequent actions. Nationalism utilizes human nature by appealing to basic emotions of fear and anger to achieve a greedy aim. Patriotism proclaims fulfillment and recognition from performing one’s duty to honor. However, it fails to elaborate on the level of mindless violence, destruction, and despair that occurs when “peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another” (263). In the act of chasing an idealized illusion of heroism, Paul surrenders his soul, and becomes a monstrous villain, murdering senselessly, believing the lie that he is pursuing honor. Paul eventually realizes he has succumbed to this lie when he muses that, “we are swept forward again, powerless, madly savage and raging; we will kill, for they are still our mortal enemies; their rifles and bombs are aimed against us, and if we don't destroy them, they will destroy us” (115). By experiencing war from a soldier’s point of view, Remarque presents a different angle of nationalism that contradicts the view conditioned into many societal members from birth. The world seems to glorify violence. Our global interconnectedness has increased the coverage and ramifications of violent actions. Entertainment and media oftentimes revolves around war, violence, heroes, and survival. Sometimes, this desensitizes us to both the reality of violence and the truth of it’s origins. Remembrance of events like World War 1 can help teach us, as a people, how to move forward. However, if we, like Paul, believe the lie that others are different from us, somehow lesser, and allow ourselves to be swept away by the romanticism that nationalism presents, we forget the past and allow for the repetition of past mistakes. Pride blinds intelligence to patterns and emboldens emotions to unspeakable cruelty. Therefore, in order to not lose one’s identity and hope, as Paul Baumer did, one must seek the truth behind romanticization, abandon prejudice, and remember.
gruesome conflicts, like World War I. In Erich Remarque’s novel All Quiet on the Western Front, the romantic rhetoric of war, honor, and patriotism entices Paul Baumer and his companions to join the fight. This romanticism proves detrimental as the men, confronted with the truth they were previously denied, lose everything, ultimately including their lives, all while perpetuating a cycle of violence and anger. The shiny mirage of honor in war contrasts with reality, meaning that protestations of nationalism, used to spur innocents to action, sources in lies.
In Paul’s own life, he finds that “The idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in our minds with a greater insight and a more humane wisdom. But the first death we saw shattered this belief” (Remarque 12) Paul and his friends enter the war because of the impassioned glorifications of battle by their teacher Kantorek. However, the actuality of war negates all preconceptions, but leaves them trapped in a cycle of self-destructiveness. Furthermore, the soldiers discover that, “While they taught that duty to one's country is the greatest thing, we already knew that death-throes are stronger” (13). In the act of seeking a romanticized notion of joy from serving his country, Paul loses his youth, his friends, his hope, and his life. He claims to “know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow” (263). This cost can only be justified in extreme
circumstances. Do the circumstances of war merit the total self-sacrificing of Paul Baumer and those of the Lost Generation? The war challenges the men to devote everything to eradicating an enemy, in order to protect all the righteous in the world and achieve heroism. However, as the story develops, the soldiers come to realize the true, embellished nature of the concept of enemies, comprehending that the term actually refers to fellow humans, stigmatized by the authority figures they trusted in order to incite more passion, more anger, and more violence among the soldiers. Paul comes to realize the truth in the trench after he kills Gerard Duval when he exclaims, “ ‘Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony--Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy?’ ” (223). War tears lives apart, and if monstrous, truly iniquitous enemies exist only in a soldier’s imagination, then the instigator of this falsification, nationalism, should replace enemies in society’s mind. Instead of trying to destroy one another, all humanity should be working toward overcoming nationalism, overcoming our egotistical hate, so as to move past conflict, suffering, and misery. Again Paul discovers the identity of these idealized enemies when he muses that “It is strange to see these enemies of ours so close up. They have faces that make one think— honest peasant faces, broad foreheads, broad noses, broad mouths, broad hands, and thick hair” (190). While the notion of a hero, defending those he or she cares about from the forces of evil, appeals to the pride and bravery in each of us, oftentimes, like in Paul’s case, this concept only distances us from one another and causes communal suffering, instead of widespread peace. The real issue with the romanticization of war, enemies, and heroism lies not in the rumination of the mind, but in the terror of the subsequent actions. Nationalism utilizes human nature by appealing to basic emotions of fear and anger to achieve a greedy aim. Patriotism proclaims fulfillment and recognition from performing one’s duty to honor. However, it fails to elaborate on the level of mindless violence, destruction, and despair that occurs when “peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another” (263). In the act of chasing an idealized illusion of heroism, Paul surrenders his soul, and becomes a monstrous villain, murdering senselessly, believing the lie that he is pursuing honor. Paul eventually realizes he has succumbed to this lie when he muses that, “we are swept forward again, powerless, madly savage and raging; we will kill, for they are still our mortal enemies; their rifles and bombs are aimed against us, and if we don't destroy them, they will destroy us” (115). By experiencing war from a soldier’s point of view, Remarque presents a different angle of nationalism that contradicts the view conditioned into many societal members from birth. The world seems to glorify violence. Our global interconnectedness has increased the coverage and ramifications of violent actions. Entertainment and media oftentimes revolves around war, violence, heroes, and survival. Sometimes, this desensitizes us to both the reality of violence and the truth of it’s origins. Remembrance of events like World War 1 can help teach us, as a people, how to move forward. However, if we, like Paul, believe the lie that others are different from us, somehow lesser, and allow ourselves to be swept away by the romanticism that nationalism presents, we forget the past and allow for the repetition of past mistakes. Pride blinds intelligence to patterns and emboldens emotions to unspeakable cruelty. Therefore, in order to not lose one’s identity and hope, as Paul Baumer did, one must seek the truth behind romanticization, abandon prejudice, and remember.