Write an article about the German novel: All Quiet On the Western Front.

Length:approximately 1,500 words

Specific requirements in the attached documentation, the novel is available in pdf format.

Here are some possible essay questions.Choose one.

1.Remarque’s novel supports, in many ways, William Tecumseh Sherman’s famous quote that war is hell.In what ways does the novel manage to do this?How is the new technology of war – machine guns, gas, tanks, heavy shells – contributing to this hellish experience?In what ways does war make those who fight both see their enemies as human but also act in inhuman ways themselves?There are many scenes to consider in respect to this, but one scene that could potentially serve as a compelling contrast is Paul’s scene in the trench with the dead French soldier.Another scene worth considering is Kantorek’s letter and the soldiers’ reaction to it.

2.While war certainly can bring out the worst in us, Remarque is equally interested in how, paradoxically, it can also bring out the best.How is comradeship explored in the novel?Look at Paul’s friendship with his fellow soldiers.How has war created a bond between these young men that peace never could?Paul’s friendship with Kat is another relationship worth exploring in respect to this question.Likewise, the scene with the goose dinner explicates this theme quite strongly, as does the scene in which Paul is trapped in Chapter 9.

3.Irony is ever present in Remarque’s novel, from the lies told by hypocrites pushing young men to war to the very title itself.How is irony explored in the novel?Scenes of particular interest could be Paul’s time in the trench with the dead French soldier, Paul’s return home, Kat’s death, and the novel’s final moments.Another angle might be to consider this novel as a kind of Bildungsroman, chronicling the growth the spiritual maturity of its hero, Paul, that nevertheless ends the way that it ends.