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 the damn 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 war too. 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 US too. 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

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.