HOMEWORK

"How was and is the book 'All quiet on the Western Front' received by readers and what does it stand for?"

  (1)

The first review I read, the individual said they wanted to read it a second time it was such a good read.  The author of this review also said 
[Clip] Remarque's prose is simple, clear, concise, modern [End Clip]  (1)  
I would have to say I agree with this reviewer.  When I picked up this book in High School I thought to myself that it was going to be another novel I wouldn't be able to relate to the narrator due to the time difference, but refreshingly, it was not.  Remarque used beautiful wording in this novel allowing it to transcend over many other books written during his time.
      The second review I read gave this book praise and focused more on the purpose of the novel.  [Clip]  It was a book written to reflect the human cost of war. It shows us how war has a hidden face that most people do not see until it is too late. [...] The major theme of the novel All Quiet on the Western Front is that war must be avoided at all cost because of the severe consequences that will arise. War causes people to lose friends, makes people worried and creates a feeling of uncertainty among innocent people. War also creates hatred among people. For example, two friends of different nationalities may become bitter enemies only because their respective countries are at war. [End Clip] (2)
I agree and disagree with this reviewer.  I agree that a lot of Remarque's message includes the cost of war in casualties and that war is glamorized specifically during this time, but I don't agree that Remarque intended on stating war must be avoided at all costs.  I believe every individual would make exceptions for war when it pertains to extreme cases, including Remarque. I think Remarque's message was mainly to show the lack of humility it creates in these young men and the robbing of innocence and the desire to live from them and for what?  For killing young men just like them that have also been brainwashed into thinking being a soldier is glamorous and will fill them so full of pride they won't care if everyone they've known their whole life dies around them.  I think the reviewer touched on some key points but didn't fully grasp Remarque's intended message, but it does have room for different interpretation.
      The third review I read had a good wording for the message behind All Quiet on the Western Front [Clip] Following a lesser- thought-about war, Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front breaks from the traditional romanticizing of warfare and instead examines the harsh realities that young people face when they are sent to fight old people’s wars. [End Clip]  I liked the way the author of this review worded the point of this novel, they said it very bluntly.  The men during WWI were sent to fight a war old politicians decided these men needed to fight.  During the novel Paul and the boys even discuss this because when Paul went home to visit he sat in on some men discussing what the army should do next and they had no idea what they were putting these men through.  They didn't care that the Germans were losing, they continued to send these boys in for dead.
    It seemed All Quiet on the Western Front  was received very well by readers, I did not read a single review that said they didn't enjoy the novel.  Many reviewers said it kept them on edge and was very well written.  I agree with most reviewers on the purpose of the novel and enjoyed reading it myself. 






Sources:


1.  "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori."* October, 2011 (Online) 
          <http://www.mashmagazine.com/00april/aprilbook.html>


2.  Cooper, Micheal.  "All Quiet on the Western Front- A Book Review" October,
          2011<http://ezinearticles.com/?All-Quiet-on-the-Western-Front---A-Book- 
          Review&id=84991> 
3. "Book Review: All Quiet on the Western Front" October,2011.<http:
          //www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/book-review-all-quiet-western- 
          front>