Resumo de Man Made Hell

Often touted as the classic war novel of all
time, All is Quiet on the Western Front is a profound look at the
nature of war and its effect on men. Yes, it is an anti-war novel, but
that is not the theme I would like to explore in this review; rather, I
would want to look at Remarques insight on both the dehumanizing effect
of war on man, and surprisingly how war brings out the best men can
offer. Do not get me wrong- Remarque does not make the case for war,
but in the midst of the utter brutality of war when men are being
dehumanized, our heroes find humanity.

The dehumanizing of the soldiers begins in boot camp. It is there that
the process of dehumanization begins. Remarque writes: At first
astonished, then embittered, and finally indifferent, we recognized
that what a matter is not the mind, but the boot brush, not
intelligence but the system, not freedom but drill. As Paul and his
friends are being drawn into the maelstrom of war a place where reason
and intellect give way to the brutal instincts of survival. Paul
comments: We reach the zone where the front begins and become in the
instant animals. We have become wild beasts- we defend ourselves
against annihilation.

They kill not for country, nor for ideology, but for survival. Paul
has nothing against his enemies- he realizes that they are men just as
he. He kills to survive. He kills out of fear. Nowhere is this more
dramatically demonstrated than when Paul kills the French solider in
the shell hole in no-mans land where he took shelter. As the French
soldier lies dying, Paul regrets what he has done; he promises the
dying soldier that he will look up his family after the war. This is
perhaps the most poignant moment in the novel. At this moment our
protagonist Paul is remarkable like the Apostle Paul of the New
Testament wishing himself accursed if only his country men could be
saved. The difference between enemy and friend is the command they
receive. He does not hate his enemy; it is self-preservation, nothing
more. He kills so he may live.

What is astonishing is that when Paul has opportunity to free himself
from this man-made hell, he chooses to return to the front. Why? He
cannot abandon his friends. But in the end this altruism is
meaningless. In the end, they all die. On a day when the front is calm,
when it is reported that all is quiet on the western front, he falls,
felled by an enemys bullet. Paul''s death is meaningless. This is a
powerful novel and should be must reading for everyone.

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