All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque is an eye opening novel into the hardships of war. The book jumps to different ideas from chapter to chapter which makes the story more interesting. By having a flashback to before fighting on the front in chapter 2, the reader gets a look at how Paul and the Second Company prepared to fight with instruction from Corporal Himmelstoss. Although they were humiliated by Himmelstoss, Paul realizes that without being toughened up, many of the men he fought with, including himself, may have gone insane when they went to fight.
The book offers much imagery throughout, which adds to the overall meaning. There is a vast amount of description of the lives of the soldiers, such as the unsanitary conditions of the bunks, as well as the different foods that the soldiers ate and the means they took to prepare it, such as when Paul and Kat killed the goose for dinner. There is also much imagery through the description of the many injuries suffered by the soldiers. With the talk of soldiers being killed by a shot to the abdomen, like Muller or having shrapnel in the head, like Kat. The tone of the book was also interesting, as it was very somber, but in some parts, such as when Paul continued making pancakes even though there were bombs going off all around him, are tragically comedic.