All Quiet on the Western Front

In the war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, author Erich Maria Remarque groups his chapters by a common theme. In some he focuses on the camaraderie formed between the main character Paul and his fellow soldiers. In other chapters he emphasizes the poor living conditions, the effect returning home has as well the instincts soldiers must give themselves up to on the field in order to survive. My favorite theme Remarque explores is personal loss. The moments when he exposes the humanity the soldier feels themselves leaving behind as they kill men in their same position just on the other side of the line. It is such a powerful theme that truly expresses the personal sacrifice soldiers take for their country and their people.
In this novel I feel Remarque's purpose was to show the brutality of warfare and the sacrifices of the soldiers without the glory and gusto usually associated with warfare. Reading this novel we see intimate friendships form and then break. We see young soldiers faces, in our heads, who just saw the guts and gore of a shelling. We see loved ones pain as well as the pain of the soldiers. We see the sacrifice they made which they will carry their entire life because of warfare. This is not a novel celebrating the glory and heroism of soldiers, rather it is honoring the sacrifices made by these brace armies.