SEperate PEACE

            The novel All Quiet on the Western Front is a war story of the experiences that Paul Baumer encounters while living through the harsh habitat and situations that he and his close friends are put into. The author, Erich Maria Ramarque, makes the reader feel in the action as he describes in depth the countless brushes with death that Baumer goes through while being on the front line in World War 1. It begins when Baumer and a group of his friends and classmates have enlisted in the German Army. As the book begins we are already part of the action. The book continues beyond the war and shows the aftershock that the fighters and their families faced due to the lack of supplies and changes they made in their lives. Especially noted is the effect coming home from battle had on the soldiers .
             The overall major theme behind this book is anti-war. It shows the civilian who did not have to experience the war upfront what men suffered for. The major part of the book that hit me hard was when Paul was talking to the prisoners of war. One on one when looking each other in the eye both men were equal, fighting only because they were told that they needed to fight in order to save and protect the land that they called home. A man could get caught up in the war and shoot his own brother on the other side of the lines without flinching. When you were out on the battlefront, it was your life or your opponents and everyone wanted to come home at the end of the war. Unfortunately, many lives were wasted on a war that possibly could have been prevented without premature battle. Although many lives were wasted on the war, perhaps many can be saved by the realization that this book brings the reader as to the seriousness of combat.