All Quiet On The Western Front

Submitted by helium on 06/30/2008 05:21 PM

  • Category: Psychology
  • Words: 968
  • Pages: 4
  • Views: 13
  • Popularity Rank: 10428


Save Paper     Report This Essay

All Quiet On The Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front is a book about World War. It covers the horror of the war through the eyes of a young German soldier, Paul Baumer. The story recalls the bloody details of bombing, gunfire, gas, hand-to-hand combat, barbed wire, trench warfare, artillery fire, and the terror of the war.
The story is told in the first person point of view. The main character, Paul gains many friends throughout the book, and also loses many friends. Paul and his friends went through a lot of pain in the story, and learned a lot about the difference of going to war and actually living in a war.
This book has taught me about the horror of a war and the daily life of soldiers in World War I. I would not recommend this book to everyone. However, I would recommend it to anyone who wouldn’t be upset by the graphic details and descriptions.

SETTING
All Quiet on the Western Front is set during World War I, behind the German frontlines where Paul Baumer is assigned. The setting weaves back and forth between the warfront and the camp where Baumer stays. Once during the novel, Baumer goes home on leave, but the setting quickly reverts back to the warfront. The only other setting in the novel is in the hospital.

CHARACTERS
The story is narrated be Paul Baumer, a 19-year-old who was encouraged to join the war by his teacher Kantorek. He is among several classmates the teacher prodded into enlisting in the war and although they thought highly of the teacher, they later blame him for the deaths of their fellow classmates. Baumer fights alongside several of his fellow classmates in the beginning, but he later loses them one by one.
Katczinsky is a shrewd forty-year-old soldier who becomes Baumer's best friend. He is a friendly, good-natured, and resourceful man who always manages to find extra food and supplies. His death is a tremendous blow to Baumer, and leaves him shocked.
Baumer’s other friends are...

You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!