Although most war novels are filled with patriotism and honor, Remarque’s instead focuses on the brutality and senselessness of war. The main character, Paul Baumer, serves in the German Army during WWI. The novel shows his struggles throughout the war and it seems that Baumer resembles Remarque and his own struggles of war. In the novel, Baumer and his comrades endure a full scale war. The novel shoes the misery of war and the everlasting effects it has on the soldiers; even Baumer cannot escape those circumstances.
It had destroyed a whole generation leaving the soldiers who had fought in it broken shells of the young men they had once been. It drove a wedge between society and soldier as no civilian would ever be able to understand what atrocities the young men had experienced while fighting at the front. This left the soldiers feeling betrayed by their nations who had forced them to carry out their patriotic duty and sent them to their deaths. Both novels describe how the soldiers felt alienated from the lives that they had left behind. One British soldier wrote of how “despite the flag-waving that greeted us [Britain's returning troops] many felt nothing but hatred for the leaders and those back home who'd sent us to die.” Both novels, “Regeneration” by Pat Barker and “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Marie Remarque discuss how the brutalities and horrors experienced at war have left the men who fought in it feeling alienated and ostracised from civilian life.
Question: Compare the ways in which Hardy portrays death in warfare in 'Drummer Hodge' and 'The Man He Killed' Hardy in ‘Drummer Hodge’ is trying to show us how war lowers the value of human life. Straight away, from the first stanza of ‘Drummer Hodge,’ Hardy writes about death in war. It begins with ‘They throw in Drummer Hodge...’ Immediately we can see the lack of respect for the Drummer, as they ‘throw’ him in, ‘to rest.’ Hardy further describes that Hodge is buried ‘Uncoffined – just as found;’ which reinforces our notion of the lack of respect shown towards the dead drummer. This shows us that in the haste of war the drummer is buried as quickly as possible, so fighting can resume, showing us how Hardy may be portraying the lowering value of a human being. We can also interpret this as presenting how death has become a nuisance for the military, resulting in dead soldiers being buried as quickly as possible.
It is a poem that conveys a message about the brutalities and horrors of war to an ill-informed and complacent audience in England. The length of the poem is short, but powerful and wrought with vivid imagery, griping the reader’s attention from the beginning to the end. The poem focuses on the horrifying death of a solder in WWI who falls victim to gas warfare because he fails to attach his gas mask quick enough. Wilfred Owens, a war veteran himself, uses the story of the soldier to expose the harsh truths of war. With his effective use of imagery, diction and irony, Wellford Owens strips away the glory of war and reveals the horror of what it was really like to fight in WWI.
I can feel the cruelty and sorrow from the huge amount of death in those wars. The novels I read let me feel deeper about the despair of the people who involved in the war. “War is hell, but that’s not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery.
When his soldier Ted Lavender died all he could do was cry and blame himself for his death, “He felt shame. He hated himself.... this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of war.” (O’Brien, The Things They Carried 42) but he didn’t let that very heart-wrenching emotion of feeling responsible for someone’s death cloud his judgment or cause him to take his job lightly. Towards the end of the story he stepped up, over-coming the guilt he felt after the death of Ted Lavender. Learning from his mistakes and changing the way he lead his platoon “He would not tolerate laxity. He would show strength, distancing himself.” (O’Brien, The Things They Carried 100) He showed courage while seeing the bigger picture telling himself “that his obligation was not to be loved but to lead.” (O’Brien, The Things They Carried 101) Masculinity is very apparent in this platoon.
He hated himself. He had loved Martha more than his men, and as a consequence Lavender was now dead, and this was something he would have to carry like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war” (103). Cross was ashamed; he is a leader and was not there for his soldiers. Now he has the burden for a soldier that died at his hands. The last personality trait that First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross demonstrates is bravery.
English 2 H, P. 4 20 January 2012 War’s warping ways: Analysis of Remarque's Use of Imagery to Demonstrate the Destructiveness of War in His Novel, All Quiet on the Western Front George McGovern opines, “I’m fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.” Young men’s lives forever change by entering battles which they do not comprehend. Older men who declare war easily sacrifice innocent lives. Similarly, in Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, nineteen year old Paul Baumer departs for the German Army. He becomes a victim of war, sentenced to death by government officials who persuade him and many other young men into fighting battles for their own essential needs. Paul and his comrades enlist as fresh creatures of the world that change due to the abhorrence in World War One.
Words like "lame," "blind," "drunk" and "deaf" suggest that the soldiers have been stripped of their bodily integrity before they even enter into battle. Owen uses imagery to show how fatigued the soldiers are as they are “deaf” to the “Five-nines” being dropped behind them. The final verse of the poem shows Irony, as Owen tells the readers that the soldiers have been shamefully treated by the government and are left to be suffered and filled with pity; “ To children ardent
He transformed in front of the eyes of his family and country as someone who was a strong, courageous soldier to an irrational namby-pamby. He did not respond to his situation in the most sensible way. Ajax felt an obligation to commit suicide instead of mending his relationship with the Greek deities and his family. In doing so he cheated him self and his beloved even though he felt like he made the noblest decision. In the beginning of the play Ajax claims, “...My name is Ajax:/ agony is its meaning.