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

In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque describes World War I through the eyes of a soldier, Paul. It goes into details about combat, food shortage, going on leave, and the life at home. While reading this book, I couldn't help but notice that I would get nervous in some chapters about what would happen next. The author goes into so much detail, giving the reader that first person feeling while he/she is reading the book. Remarque also describes the horrific and unthinkable events of World War I by going deeper than the average "war novel," allowing the reader to engage more. The author reveals that World War I is different than the other wars before it because it details the artillery and the civilians' lives. It also reveals that World War I is a trench and chemical warfare which is new.
World War I used machine guns and hand grenades heavily, also taking advantage of the aircraft, such as aeroplanes, to bomb land/fields. They also took advantage of bullets called "parachute star-shell." "A parachute star-shell opens out. The ground lies stark in the pale light, and then the darkness shuts down again blacker than ever" (Remarque 209). Another weapon used against enemies was poisonous gas. This poisonous gas could temporary blind soldiers lying in the trenches, and in high doses, permanently blind those soldiers. "At night they send over gas. We expect the attack to follow and lie with our masks on, ready to tear them off as soon as the first shadow appears" (Remarque 104). With such high ranked artillery, attacking and killing the enemy was much easier than the past