All Quiet on the Western Front

In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque jumps from one scene to another to make the war more realistic. This jumping from one idea to another illustrates how speratic war really is and that no one knows what's going to happen next. Remarque does this often when he has Paul and the other soldiers relaxing one minute and the next they are being attacked and are forced to put their life on the line. For instance, in Chapter 10 the men experience a few weeks of luxury but when they are assigned to another place Paul and Albert are both wounded while trying to evacuate the village. This book does a good job of showing how war affects the soldiers and how much it wears them down. In Chapter 11 for example, Detering finds a cherry tree and loses it because it reminds him of home. The war makes those fighting it lose themselves and fighting comes natural to them.