Critical Analysis

All of Erich Remarque's books are somewhat autobiographical in nature and the novels I analyzed are no exception. His experience of being drafted and his time spent fighting in World War 1 heavily influenced all his writing. Those influences can be clearly seen in both All Quiet on the Western Front and A Time to Love and a Time to Love. Remarque had strong opinions on corruption caused by caused by power, the education system, the destructive nature of war which are all big themes in both novels. For example, both protagonists, Paul Baumer and Ernst Graeber, give vivid descriptions of the gruesome scenes at the front lines and often give long-winded rants about how war destroys youth and innocence. This can be clearly seen when Paul says" The first bombardment showed us our mistake and under it the world as they had taught it to us broke into pieces." The protagonist in A Time To Live and a Time to Die, also examines loss of youth and the destructive nature of war. After he returns home on his first leave in two years, he finds that his house has been bombed and no one knows the whereabouts of his parents. As All Quiet on the Western Front progresses, Paul shuts down emotionally further and further. His emotional and mental deterioration is illustrated by sentence structure. When Paul is a little more hopeful, he has flowing and almost poetic sentences, but as he denigrates they get very short and matter of fact. This is a technique that Remarque uses in both novels but more so with Paul. The driving message in all of Remarque's novels is that there is nothing glorious about war. It is only destructive and dehumanizing.