All Quiet on the Western Front Essay In All Quiet on the Western Front (a book about war and death) the central symbol is earth. Earth is the central symbol because it relates to motherhood, life, death, and perverse nature. Earth exists in this book as soldiers’ safe and dangerous place. The main purpose of the soldiers on the field is to survive no matter the cost. Sometimes earth helps the soldiers live and sometimes brings them to death.
It is extremely significant because without Earth, there would be nothing for the soldiers to look for in terms of protection and food during the war. Since food is one thing provided to life on Earth, Earth also connects to the symbol "food". Food and Earth have both had major effects on the lives of the soldiers, in both good and bad ways. In other words, food and earth has led to both life and death throughout this novel. Earth symbolizes perverse nature because throughout this book, soldiers have deprived the Earth of it's beauty and life.
They would usually hold their own guns to their heads and simply pull the trigger. In some other cases, men would stand in open range and allow themselves be shot by their enemy. As proven in the above paragraphs, life in the trenches in World War One was terrible. Soldiers' day-to-day lives were full of lice, rodents, disease and death. Many men were killed, even more injured, and tons left
Certain characteristics animals possess which defy human nature help to develop Robert’s character, animals in this novel are displayed to be closely related to Robert, the animals represent values of Robert, and of society today and they are often used by Findley as a symbol of hope amidst devastation. Findley uses animal imagery in order to reveal certain aspects of the protagonist Robert’s personality. He wants to show that it is through the animals that Robert truly expresses himself. Human nature is the general characteristics, feelings and behavioral traits of humankind, regarded as shared by all humans. Human nature consists of many different things, and one is judging.
He desecrates Hector’s body every day without guilt from the inhumanity of the situation. Achilles becomes ‘animal-like’ and is compare to a ‘wolf’ as he cannot release himself from the despair. This is symbolic of his loss of humanity. The loss of Patroclus causes pain to Achilles. Malouf emphasises the significance family has on characters and illustrates this through the pain and grief of Achilles.
There is another passage in the book when Paul describes the butterflies as being perched upon a skull and fly about the battlefield as if they do not have a care in the world. All this happens as they are shredded by the countless bullets. This is seemingly representing how even in the war, animals, whether they are butterflies or human, die over a rather small disagreement between a minority of humans. The mood that Remarque seems to be presenting is a melancholy comparison between two different animals, thus making a subtle hint that humans are no different than animals, that we are just another animal on the food chain. Again these butterflies are an indication of the delicate balance between life and death.
Nick Ogden Mr. Wilson English 12 5 November 2008 War: Man v. Man, or Animal v. Animal? Killing another human is a difficult task, but what if it was only the helmet being shot ay not the person wearing it? In the mind, would it be easier to try to “kill the helmet” than to think about ending another life forever? In All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, there are multiple instances where his main character Paul uses animals as a metaphor to dehumanize war. When actually describing soldiers in a human form, it is only to express despair and regret.
In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul experiences many atrocious war events which leave him scarred and damaged emotionally, but in the same way other characters carry physical burdens and other such objects. While stranded in a ditch, Paul stabs a French soldier who unsuspectingly falls into the same ditch. Yet as the man slowly dies, Paul regrets this action, wishing “If only he had run two yards farther to the left, he might now be sitting in the trench over there and writing a fresh letter to his wife” and promising “I will help [your wife] and your parents too, and your child…” (Remarque 118). Paul then begins to doubt his action of survival and he allows his mind to become dominated with repentance. This experience leaves him emotionally wounded by the way that the French solider dies and Paul feels responsible for it.
Nature vs. Nurture debate, people could argue that Robert Pickton was born a generally bad human being and that this behavior couldn’t have been prevented. Though nurture, how he was raised and the things that he had to deal with would explain or almost compensate for his actions. He was raised on a farm and grew up around the slaughtering of animals; he knew murder to be a normal thing. Anthropologists were heavily involved in this case though because when they started searching his pig farm and finding human remains, the anthropologists were the ones to organize the excavations and to study the conditions in which they were discovered in. An anthropologist would also be interested in studying the culture of prostitutes and the atmosphere; drugs and alcohol and how these could play a part in
Animals in The Wars By: Danny, James, Julia, Kristan and Stefanie [pic] Our Thesis: The presence of animals in the novel, The Wars serve as a constant symbol of Robert Ross’s innocence. Animals become the only innocent victims of the war, yet are still destroyed and tortured by humans. Each time Robert witnesses their obliteration, he is exposed to the cruelty and brutality of others. His innocence and humanity are deteriorated throughout the novel, until he evolves into an animalistic savage himself. Rowena and her Rabbits: By: Julia Rowena’s Innocence - • The character of Rowena serves as a symbol of innocence in The Wars, as her disability sheltered her from the surrounding world.