p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"The vivid images of wars are no doubt etched on the minds of every reader of this book All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. It is a brutal and fascinating detailing of what actually happens on the front lines in the great wwar and how trench warfare occurs. This book in many ways is rather powerful, brings up many issues in wars especially the great warfare, and is a good example of a good source on trench warfare./p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanThis novel is very powerful, because it seems so real. It doesn't just gloss over the surface in terms of how trench warfare is, but goes in to elaborate details on what happens both in the front lines and in the reserves. It allows for readers to be sucked in to this reality, because it's painted so realistically, vividly, and tangibly. It's not just merely facts about the war but uses literature to captivate it's bloody effects. It's as if we were that fly on Paul's shoulders or that new recruit he brings with him. He speaks directly to us about himself, as if he speaks in to our souls. We learn how loud and frightful the shells are in the front, and what damages they can cause. One of the first scenes of war is this massive attack they had when they were in the reserves. How no where was safe and how they had to try to run for cover or find where to hide. they entered this graveyard and found holes that shells had exploded in and created a crater big enough to hide in. They sheltered in their to stay safe, but wasn't very secure at all. It was clear how much eminent danger there was. Remarque through Paul also makes clear how damaged the earth often was. he describes the landscapes often scorched, damaged, ruined, erie, and in total disrepair. How holes are constantly being blown to bits and pieces. how in the graveyards where it was supposed to be undisturbed and quiet, it was anything but that. many of the dead bodies were thrown back up because the ground was shaken so violently from the explosions. Remarque describes it as the soldiers dying a second death. this was important because it saved the lives of many soldiers. they had trenches built. but they were sometime blown up and warn down from all the craters. so much that it was not truly a trench anymore nor was it very deep. They had to reconstruct it again. No man's land was describe as a series of craters and mounds of dirt. many times inside the trenches dugouts and infrastructure would crack and splinter./p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanPeople would also bee blown up to unrecognizable lumps of flesh. Remarque's character Tjaden joked that those that blew up along a wall was there so that they could spoon him off the wall and be buried in a mess tin. the bodies on the field in terms of no man's land sat out there for so long at times that their bodies would bloat, and that it would be filled with gases and it would make it's own noises and move on it's own. In terms of the first scenes of war. we saw this young recruit have his hips blown to bits and pieces and basically cooked. The human casualties that were caused was horrific and it was described in a gut wrenching and detailed method./p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanThe shelling, attacks, and counter-attacks was described thoroughly. the attacks were terribly loud, and Remarque voiced how the front was never quiet. when bombs and shots were upon them and a massive attack was launched there wasn't much that could be done except for hide and wait. It was also very hot and bright. Sometime this would go on for a day or two. people would go mad almost insane. it would detail the counter attack as well and how they would chase the enemy and how they would be as brutal. this guy who tried to run away was stabbed in the back. another guy who had a machine gun had his face smashed in. yet another guy was slashed in the face by a spade. they went in to the other side's trenches and throw bombs and pillage their dougouts. Also the gases that were let lose ruined many people and killed them through suffocation and burnt out their lungs and insides. In this way trench warfare was described very thoroughly. so we have a lot of information and details on it. A reader could almost be there./p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanEven the times of training was very much described. the powerful, power hungry superior they had who abused them. He beat them up and made them do very cruel amounts of training, at least a few of them. there was a few soldiers that wet their beds at night. Himmelstoss basically stacked them on top of one another and had them basically wet each other with their urine. This scarred the soldiers severely. it only ceased when they refused to sleep in the same bunk and one person would sleep on the ground and subsequently catch a cold./p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanthis was all very powerful, because of how horrific and how systematically it was written. he treated the subject of the war so thoroughly. The vividness was very helpful as well. all of this told of the tragedies in the war and how terrifying and scarring it was. what a loss it was to many people, and how many people they lost because they died. Not only was this so powerful but because it brought up multiple issues of warfare. these were described thoroughly and made very clear too./p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanThe power of the higher ups was very problematic and could become abusive. Paul and his group had Himmelstoss who for a long time was very abusive and even hostile to the group. he would harass them and antagonize them. because of his power and position and his non-combat role he was very power hungry and beat the troops over the head with it. he made them do more strenuous activities then they should have, he beat some of the members of the troops up, and put them at a very vulnerable position./p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanWhen they got to the front lines there was another problem. After a while they sent up very new recruits and people who had almost no training of what to do. these people were dying off left and right, because they didn't know what to do, what to look out for and how to act. the old hands tried to train these people, but to no avail. they were more a hindrance than help. It made war so much more chaotic. Also it was just as if they were sent up to be killed and to die. they took all the direct hits and often grouped together so that didn't exactly help them. they were so young and innocent and not ready for the war./p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanYoung and innocent was another problem. Remarque felt that the war was ruining an entire generation. they came as young and innocence and the war scarred them and changed them for the worse. they were exposed to so many horrific things even elderly people who's seen much has not seen this much. It was overwhelming for anyone. they were toughened up for the fighting but also for the worse. then going to the actual war front and seeing all the wounded, dead, hshelling, and the sort ruined them. They were not ready for this, especially the new recruits. also the attacks were traumatizing. The new recruit at the first scenes of war was telling. he was so scared he took off his helmet and wasn't sure what to do. eventually he attached himself to paul. He also wet himself. This was a sure sign that he was frightened. they were also literally lost to the rest of the world. They wasn't sure how they would fit in. their entire reality has shifted to this warrior mode./p
p class="p1" style="margin: 0px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanthere were other issues such as food rationing. Remarque points out how much better fed the french armies seemed to be. they never had any food, and if they did it was meager and not that great nor was it very filling. sometime they had no food. this was especially problematic at the front lines. Food and a good shelter was very important especially at the front lines it's essential for battle. Also rats were a real problem and they ate up all of the food and wanted all of the bread. they were huge and infested the trenches and no man's land./p