All Quiet On The Western Front -Julia Glover

In All Quiet On The Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, a 18 year old German soilder named Paul Baumer is enlisted in the army. Throughout the book he tells his stories of WW1. From chapter to chapter the topic changes from struggles and hard times that Paul and other soilders went through in the front line to happiness of supplies being recieved. This book seemed to have a reoccuring theme of the determination to survive, and hope. Another theme that reoccures is character change. As the stories of WW1 go on Paul changes from youth to wise. Jumping around from topic to topic can be a good stratagy and enhance the book in this book because it shows the reader how fast war can change and how one thing might matter one second but not the next. It also shows how noone knows what to expect which pulls the reader to the plot . I would consider Paul a tragic hero in this novel because at the end of the book he dies quickley and knows that he served his country well. Imagery was shown when Paul's fellow companian in the war gave him the gift of his boots before he died, this shows that in war one simple gift can be so appriciated in these hard times when its so meaningless to us in mordern society. This book shows that one small gesture or mistake is between life and death. The tone is violent and depressing which makes the book more real and easy to understand and connect to.