All Quiet on the Western Front question

You can almost always tell which authors have been through actual combat situations. Most war novels focus on heroism and war's awesomeness, which, more or less, amounts to war propaganda. But this is different.

This book is revolutionary because it doesn't revolve around killing people; in fact it hardly even has anything to do with WWI itself. This story explicates the horrors of war, and how it destroys its participants, whether they survive it or not. Its a logical, political, and psychological conglomeration of antiwar sentiment--and when viewed as such, is probably one of the most profound pacific pieces of literature. Remarque knows how illogical it is to pit two humans against each other over something so seemingly intangible to the general public, and he makes it appear so throughout the book.

Though its kind of weird, I think it was the most beautiful book I've read.

Here are some quotes to maybe put the intent of the book into perspective:

“This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will simply try to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.”




“So I speak to him and say to him: ‘Comrade, I did not want to kill you. If you jumped in here again, I would not do it, if you would be sensible too. But you were only an idea to me before, an abstraction I stabbed. But now, for the first time, I see you are a man like me. I thought of your hand-grenades, of your bayonet, of your rifle; and now I see your wife and your face and your fellowship. Forgive me, comrade. We always see it too late. Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony--forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy? If we threw away these rifles and this uniform you could be my brother just like Kat and Albert. Take twenty years of my life, omrade, and stand up--take more, for I do not know what I can even attempt to do with it now.”

I feel All Quiet is a classic because it is universal. All wars are different yet they are all the same in their denuding man of his humanity, in their easy classification of hero and coward, in their conformity, in their patriotic ecstasy , in their tunnel vision of enemy and ally. Erich Maria Remarque captures this universality of war soberly and calmly with a bitter streak of irony running underneath the narrative throughout.. His language is so spare that sometimes it almost disappears at moments and we are left to fill in the gaps.It is almost a challenge he throws at us.

Thinking of the time when this was written. During WWI soldiers were fighting for king/emperor...and fatherland due to some politicians/statesmen/ head of states who couldn't solve their problems.

And after this great war this book was pretty much an anti-climax and an anti-war book; and it was one of the books from that period (just after WWI)that is now referred to as an example of 'the lost generation'. Due to the many casualties an entire generation of young men was swept away and for those who survived it was as if they had died as well.

The feelings and hardship expressed in this book written by someone who was a soldier in this great war, are pretty much the same feelings other people/soldiers also experienced at different times in history and at different locations...So it are very universal feelings and most of all it is just about ordinary people, who just do what they are supposed to do while they don't understand why they have to do it. Especially when it turns out the block at the other side is pretty much like them.

The reason why this is a classic. It is still relevant. It doesn't matter that it is about WWI since it could be about the Vietnam war as well. It is a book that doesn't age; it transcends age, language, ethnicity.... And I guess this is important for a classic.

It's a classic because it stays with you forever, and stays fresh no matter how many times you read it, like all classics do.

I guess the writer's passion is one of the key elements for creating something which called "Classic"

It's a classic because it said that "war is bad" and we all agree that it is. It's like "To Kill a Mockingbird" considered a classic because it expressed what people actually felt (but do they really?). Read "Storm of Steel" by Ernst Junger to get the other side of the coin. Now that book is literally explosive. We are all taught that WW1 was bad and everyone in it thought so too. But here is the story of a man who thought the opposite. Reading it is like getting your head dunked in a bucket of ice cold water.

Like others, I too think this is one of the most beautiful books that I have read.

Just finished All Quiet.

I think it's a classic because the messages of the futility of war, the cameraderie of those facing it at the front end and how war changes people continue to stand the test of time.

Same crap, different places.

I don't know who labels books "classics". All Quiet was simply a fabulous book, a literary WOW and something grabbed not only my attention but my soul when I read it. It spoke of something I can't experience for real but gave a peak inside another world. Is this what classics do? I dunno.

A Great, Great book.

All quiet is a classic because it explains to you the truth of war and how it affects people. It is universal to everyone!

This book did not make me think that war is never necessary... war is often inevitable, But this book does give you a new perspective, and it doesn't spare any of the horrifying details. I definitely recommend it. Also, we watched part of the old B&W movie adaptation... the scene where Paul is talking to the frenchman's corpse is heart wrenching.
Made me tear up, which I don't do very much. Also, the title is perfect. Something about it just sounds downright poetic. Probably the nicest name for a book I've ever heard, even without the meaning behind it.

Read my review. Its a classic.

For me, the book as an early example of first person, unadorned realism. It is a reflection of the fits and starts in life, the private indulgences and uncertainties and outright fears that every harbors in the deepest reaches of their soul...it is filled with great quotes (as I believe all of Remarque's works are) but I somehow think that the 'value' in this book is that it is a human statement against the barbary of war and a deeply personal look at the senselessness of human slaughter for the sake of leaders' ideals. It's not at all political, romantic or 'dressed up'...it's ugly and coarse and real....and I think it was one of the first books to be so simple and so impactful, possibly because it reflected on a generation of men who had lived these experiences and were unable to relate them in the same way that the author was. So in a sense I'm supposing that his story rang out as the catharsis of a generation of soldiers who still carried the burden of conflict with them.

As Kate said above - simply put, it's just a DAMN GOOD book.

The postings submitted so far are extremely seminal and can be summed up as follows: War is the most profound expression of the failure of mankind's highest goals and expectations. War is mankind's ultimate descent into the most cruel and barbarous aspect of his/her soul. It is the antithesis of everything mankind holds loved or sacred. No one has captured this better than Remarque...that's why it's a classic. Yes...war is BORING for all who engage in it...but it steals the souls of all who authorize it!!

According to me, the book, even after so many years, survived, as it still was able to make a contact with the human heart and make us understand, which we fail to do time and again, that war leads to misery, suffering and painful death of millions of lives who don't even know the exact cause of war and are disillusioned by the war cry and false nationalism.

All Quiet on the Western Front... is a classic of its genre, i.e. War-Conflict: The book along with the 'Sapper' trench warfare stories of McNiece broke new ground in the portrayal of war.
Telling of combat and commitment not through the eyes of great generals or heroic individual daring-do, but from the perspective of the ordinary lives of men who everyday fought a war in ordinary live or die experiences among nerve-shattered companions and enemies.
Such a narrative is quite commonplace these days, but in the 1920s, so soon after WW1, it was an astonishing piece of literature; all the more because it was from the defeated German perspective and yet delivered without rancour or bitterness toward the victors.
From the first time I read it (1969) I have always wondered if that megalomaniac Hitler ever did, and if so, what he had made of Remarque's evocative tome?

Universal truly seems to be the word. Several years ago, I had one of my classes read this book, and it resulted in one of the most memorable teaching moments I've had.

A student who is very "patriotic" with a long tradition of military service in his family, etc. related to the class that when he was reading a battle scene, he found himself rooting for Paul and his company, then was surprised and confused when he realized he was rooting for "the wrong guys."

To me, this illustrates the very point of the novel. War is not fought by nations or ideologies; it is fought by real, regular people who are all human regardless of time or place. This could be you; it could be me; it could be any human ever. And none of it improves the lives of anyone.

Great lesson.

I can't say it any better than the people before me but I remember how profoundly affected I was from this book. I felt the same about The Red Badge of Courage

I think it is a classic since it was the right book at the right time. Very many people had similar experiences from WW1 and had found out that the propaganda was all wrong; war was not a heroic thing it was brutal and pointless, dying for your country was not a heroic thing but a stupid thing to do. And so, many people found great truths told in this book. I do think we can not value a classic book and not consider the way it has been recieved in the years between it was written and the today when we are reding it.

I don't find it a particularly well written book, just in terms of the language. But it's brave and upfront in what it says --- which must have been especially true back in the 1920s when it was first published.

What i most liked was its credibility: the sense that the author really knew what he was talking about, because he'd lived it. And these days we all have some idea what it's like to be caught up in systems beyond our control, that are larger than us and care for us as individuals not a whit; so it's easy to empathize with these poor soldiers, German or not (it's almost immaterial), trapped in this horrible situation, yet gamely trying to make the best of it and preserve their humanity.

The book is a canon of the modern age. I was surprised at how fresh it felt, given the decades since it was written. It ought to be required reading before anybody signs up for soldierhood.

One of the things that struck me about this book is when they're discussing the war and its causes one of them says he has no reason to fight because he doesn't feel insulted after one of the others claims one nation insulted another. Also later there's something about why would he want to kill a french locksmith or something and how strange that is. I think it brings something important because it gives a more nuanced portrayal of the war, showing not only the hell but the friendships and the idle moments as well.

It perfectly captures the post war Zeitgeist; the mood, attitudes and loss of meaning, of the generation that came of age during and after the great war.

Katherine wrote: "I have been trying to figure out what makes a book a classic. Why do you think this book survived time and is considered a classic?"

I think the ability to relate to characters plays a huge factor in what makes a book a best-seller over and over again. "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" wouldn't be selling out time and time again if no one could relate to Margaret or Nancy.
Good writing, and complex themes also help make classics too.

The war one would never see in any film. I had never thought of war in contexts that the author kindly shares with us. The book is one the books that shows the war as ugly and stupid as it is without any flavours of "romanticism", etc.

I read this book for a European history class in college years ago. I still remember how it personalized the enemy. Before that I bought into government propaganda about the heartlessness of "our" enemies. It's the only way to be able to send men out to kill other men. I believed the Japanese, the Communists, etc. were evil. Lately they've tried to tell us that the Iraqis have no regard for human life. I don't believe that bs anymore. War is about greed and inventing reasons to invade other countries to take their stuff. I wish every young person thinking about joining up would read All Quiet on the Western Front beforehand.

I think a classic addresses and illustrates universal truths, which All Quiet on the Western Front does, as Michael points out in his perfect post.

It has been a long time since I've read it, I have to say that first.

I think what Michael said is the reason. It appeals to your empathy, the sense of reason that comes from your heart, not from your head, and the fact that we are often afraid of what we don't understand.

There was a story in the paper a while ago about a U.S. Stealth Plane pilot and the Serbian officer who shot him down (I don't remember exact ranks). The American pilot was a good pilot, and he was impressed someone shot him down, and wanted to meet the man who did. Granted, this makes for a very good press opportunity, but I didn't see it covered very much. I think the article was in The Guardian or The Times. He finally did get to meet the Serbian man, and they got along really well. The pilot's whole family flew to visit the other man and his family, and despite the language barriers, got along really well. They both have families with children around the same ages. The man who had been on the Serbian side now owns a bakery, and he and the pilot tried making bread together. His family is now planning on making a trip to America, I think. It's the same idea--once you start to get to know someone, face to face and not 'in the trenches,' we're not so very different. I didn't summarize the story very well, and can't remember any of the names.

Like Shakespeare, I think All Quiet on the Western Front is about human nature. Even under the worst circumstances, there is a shred of humanity in everyone (I hope) and I think that's why it's still popular, because it still resonates with people when they read it. It could be WWI, it could be Afghanistan, it doesn't really matter. The only way people can really continue to kill each other, I think, is by remaining deliberately ignorant and objectifying people, because if you start to learn about the 'enemy,' it makes them too much like ourselves, and easier to identify with. And therefore, harder to kill.

"The best books... are those that tell you what you know already."
- George Orwell

I don't think we should discuss why it's classic? or wheather it's classic or not. it's just a GOOD book and lovely one, that impressed me. that's all