Analysis of Remarke´s All Quiet on the Western Front

A major reiterated theme of Remarque’s novel All Quiet on the Western Front focuses on BÃ"“umer, the narrator, and his comrade’s accurate view of World War I and how greatly it contrasts to the ideas of the older generation who persuaded the youth to join the war for defending Germany. An analysis of BÃ"“umer’s attitude toward the war reveals that the world of his former authority no longer exists. His first encounters on the front shatter his trust and belief in the views and teachings of the generation that should have been their mentors, directing this inexperienced â€Å"Iron Youth† (18) into the world and preparing him for what would have been his future life. Now, BÃ"“umer realizes that, if he survives the war, he can never return to ideas or desires of his youth nor ever truly re-enter into the lives that the generations before and after him belong. The older generations, consisting of BÃ"“umer’s parents and teachers, receive the war with a joyous enthusiasm of a chance to display German might and honor, though no one had an idea of what the soldiers, their children, would have to endure. They, especially BÃ"“umer’s teacher Kantorek, took every possibility to persuasively impress this patriotic idea upon the younger generation: â€Å"that duty to one’s country is the greatest thing† (13). This generation, the ones who were to equip and direct the younger so that they may survive in this world, was basically sending their sons in blindly and completely unprepared for the true horrors of