remarque review and commentary
TRANSCRIPT
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7/30/2019 Remarque Review and Commentary
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Remarque Review/Commentary Hybrid- Sushant Gadgil (By: See Note
Erich Maria Remarque is a World War I veteran. He however, is a NAZI! This filthy Nazi
German has just published a book that has become very popular in the United States for
some reason. Titled All Quiet on the Western Front, this book tries to describe the
horrors of trying to fight a war in Europe. And I wholeheartedly agree, we should not
have gone to fight Europes war. All we got out of it was over a million of our boys killed
and many millions more wounded. And for what? Nothing. All we got was the Germans to
back off of the Frenchies. Those Frenchman dont have a damn spine. They just let thedamn Germans walk into France and then just like that, the Germans get enough to go
sink the Lusitania. And then the US got caught into this terrible mess. But this book, even
though its written by a German, is selling like hot cakes! I personally think that it is a
very good book at telling how our boys and those traitors are doing after the War. I think
Remarque does a superb job of using Paul Baumer to narrate the difficulties of coming
home from war. This rings true for many of the boys coming back home here because the
war never actually touched us directly. We fought another mans war, and our boys are
paying for it dearly. The way that Paul got into the war is quite the same for our troops.
Their teachers, and classmates, and buddies they all urged and joined the effort. And all
these men just didnt know what they were going to get into. They didnt realize that they
would have to kill or be killed, they didnt know the suffering it would cause, they didnt
know what they would do after the war, unknowingly, they just went. And as foolhardy
young men, they were caught in the crossfire. Much like when Paul meets Kat, or
Stanislaus Katczinsky, sums up much of what these men probably went through. Myself
being a too old to go to war, I can only imagine what our future went through. They
probably met someone like Kat though, someone they looked up to, a commanding
officer, a good friend, someone to latch on to. But they didnt know that like Kat, they
could be gone just like *that*. They didnt know that fighting a war for someone else
could still hurt them; they went because they thought they could come home quick. But
many of our good boys lost their leader, and lost their way. Pauls friends, Albert Kropp
Haie Westhus, and Muller, epitomize the relationships our boys made during the wartoo. And sadly, the tragic repercussions of these relationships are saddening. When Paul
goes home, it just breaks my heart to know that our boys have to do the same. The
strained conversations, the avoidance of questions, and the heartache and struggle our
boys have to go through is just terrifying. And Pauls mother, on her deathbed and about
to see her son almost do the same. When Paul gets the questions from his father about
the war, Paul quotes, a man cannot talk of such things. These terrifying ordeals have
been bottled up, and continuously they torture and torment our troops. In dreams
nightmares, thoughts and feelings, the war continues on throughout their lives. These
boys just cannot speak what they need to. The ending of the book, however, sums up
what is wrong today. Paul just feels that after the war, he has no aims in life, no spark of
joy or drive to make him do anything. This sort of escapism is happening here in the UStoo. These new fangled double-feature movies, these cars and ads showcasing a way to
get away, it is all because of the war. Our youth simply does not have a sense of direction,
a moral compass to work and contribute. They are happy just to sit back and try to relax.
All of these cars, movie theaters, music, dancing, the Charleston in particular, its all just
a way to deal with the suffering these boys have gone through. The loss of their friends
and the people they looked up to, the death and the killing, the emotional suffering, it is
all taking a toll. Our boys have been scarred for life, and what did they get in return?
Again, nothing. The US shouldnt have tried to stick its fingers into Europes business; it
shouldnt have gone to war. There was no reason other than to make sure that our
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allies England and France, were okay. But when worse came to worse, all of our boys
had to take the place of the Frenchies and the Brits. What did they do? Let Germany come
straight into France! Our boys had to kill and die to save a bunch of weenies. And as All
Quiet on the Western Front describes, we got nothing in return. Erich Maria Remarque
has done a wonderful job describing and detailing what our boys and their boys have had
to go through in the war. They did not deserve it, but now they have to live with it. Paul
and his unit have shown that no matter how brave, valiant, sacrificial, or decorated you
are, the war affects everyone. Our boys, whose homes, like Pauls, have not been touched
see the differences between war and peace every day. And these boys, who risked their
lives to save Europe, have lost their way. Our boys deserve better, and All Quiet on the
Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, shows exactly whats wrong with our boys.