All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a historical fiction novel inspired by the author’s own experience in the army and the stories of other soldiers as well. This book focuses on the ideas of reality, hypocrisy, and the death of innocence. All Quiet on the Western Front contains real characters going through horribly realistic circumstances, with hypocritical adults, sending their children to die with promises of fame and honor. All Quiet on the Western Front occurs right in the middle of World War 1 in which twenty 20 young men fresh out of high school are being socially pressured by everyone in their environment to join the army and fight for their country. All Quiet on the Western Front is seen from the eyes of one of those boys, his name is Paul Baumer. Paul Baumer and his 19 classmates all decide to join the war with fame and patriotism in their eyes fueled by their teacher who pressured them to join. However their hope did not last long, they quickly realized they were lied to but it was already too late. The horrors they have seen made it impossible for them to hold on to the hopes wants, and ambitions they used to have. The only thing they now know as young men just starting to develop their identity is war, death, and hopelessness. I enjoyed this book, not because it made me feel great, was a great adventure, or made me think of the future, but because it brought me clarity and a better understanding of the past and course the present. The way All Quiet on The Western Front uses figurative language to display the way characters are feeling really helps better understand what is going on, especially since most modern readers have never had to think about being in a situation as close as this one. The author’s main reason for writing this book is to show us just how unrealistic our mindsets are when it comes to war. War is not glorious, especially not for the soldiers fighting in the trenches and moving things forward. I agree that war is not something that should bring us joy. War was not made to help the people fighting in it, it was made to enrich the people that caused it. In conclusion, if you are expecting this book to be exciting I suggest you look somewhere else. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading commentaries about our current and old ways of thinking as a society.
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