Erich Maria Remarque, author of All Quiet on the Western Front, uses his writing to
portray war as he views it. A huge issue that Remarque made obvious was that war
impacted the lives of boys more than they would ever think. Two subjects used to
graphically demonstrate the drastic effects of war include death and thoughts. *…“[F]or
those who die as cattle? (Owen 1). People who die must not live in the back of anyones
mind, nor should the thought of the loss be in the front of the mind during war.
Just witnessing death can affect a person. Paul sees many, and cant even sit still in the
peacefulness of his own home. One occurrence that sticks in Pauls mind is the slow,
gurgling death of a man who Paul stabs to death. The man, as Paul later notices, has
potential to befriend him, but the lateness of the situation comes back to reality. Had war
not existed, could they have known each other? Could they have partied together? War
tears people apart, from the outsides first until the insides come into view spiritually. When
a sniper catches a soldier off guard, does Paul realize the brutality of killing at its
maximum. That sniper can jump up and down for actually hitting his target, but did he
even realize that he just erased one more human being from his little world? *…“And no