All Quiet On The Western Front

In the novel, All Quiet On the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque jumps from one idea to another in order to more fully enhance the telling of the story. In this way, he can not only tell of fighting in the front line, but also how Paul Baumer got along with his companions, what lead him to enlist, not to mention how people treated him while on leave. It was interesting to note that often Paul Baumer reflected on the idea of not reflecting at all. According to him, what saved a man’s life was not thinking about what was happening, but merely acting on instinct. Therefore, it makes sense that Remarque uses this technique because it helps the reader attempt to picture what the soldiers were feeling. At times jumping from one numbing emotion to another. Like Detering in chapter 11; one day he saw a cherry tree and lost it for a bit because it reminded him of home. Remarque also uses a lot of imagery to describe nature in order to add to the story. For example, in chapter 4 pg 55 second paragraph, you can see how much emphasis is put on the idea of a “mother nature.” Finally, it was interesting that the soldiers discussed how the decision of a few people could lead such a number of the population to war.