“All Quiet on the Western Front”

Opening Essay

First…

• Before you start this essay you should remind yourself what happens in Chapters One and Two of the novel.

• Read them again.• Read the chapter summaries on the blog

site.• Read the notes on themes on the blogsite.

Chapter One• Chapter One • A peaceful, gentle start to the novel, in stark contrast to the horrors that come all too quickly as the novel

progresses. Paul tells us that “We are satisfied and at peace”. There is deep irony here as these men are soldiers in a war and, so, are never truly “at peace”. This introduces immediately the idea that the soldiers have trained themselves to quell all deeper thoughts and emotions, and to live for the moment. We learn that the second company has suffered very heavy losses and there are enough rations for almost double the number of men who have survived. This chapter demonstrates that the men are happy when their most basic need are met; sleep, food, cigarettes, rest. The war has made anything further seem like redundant luxuries.

 • You will also find in this chapter:• Description of latrine organisation – comradeship.• Evidence of lyrical style where war and nature meet. (13/14)• Description of Kantorek – betrayal of Youth by older generation.• Story of Joseph Behm – betrayal of Youth by older generation.• Paul ‘s thoughts on how the older generation have failed him and his contemporaries. (16/17) – betrayal of

Youth by older generation.• Kemmerich’s boots – destructiveness of war; comradeship; symbolism.

•  

Chapter Two• Chapter Two • Paul’s plays and poetry – characterisation of Paul; destructive nature of

war (past and present). • Contrast of the boys of twenty and the men, such as Kat and Detering, who

have already established an adult life – destructive nature of war.(future)• Description of camp and Himmelstoss’ abuse of power (26-29) –

destructive nature of war.(past and present)• Kemmerich’s death (29-35) – Doctors and orderlies seem indifferent but

they have witnessed so much death; Kemmerich’s is the 17th of the day. – destructive nature of war.

• Paul’s desire to live, to experience physical sensation, to affirm his own sense of being alive - characteristion; destructive nature of war.

Critical Essay Question

• Choose a novel or short story which has a particularly effective or arresting opening.

Referring in detail to the opening, discuss to what extent it provides a successful introduction.

Critical Essay Question

• Choose a novel or short story which has a particularly effective or arresting opening.

Referring in detail to the opening, discuss to what extent it provides a successful introduction.

What do we have to do?

• First of all, we should consider what the opening of a novel is supposed to do.

• What makes it successful or arresting.

• (Do you know what arresting means? You probably should. Sometimes straightforward questions can be hidden behind slightly more sophisticated vocabulary.)

What is the opening of the novel supposed to do?

• Establish themes• How does the writer establish themes?• He introduces characters• He establishes setting• He establish style and tone• Oh, and engages the reader!

To what extent has Remarque achieved the above? For the purposes of this essay, it’s easier to argue that he has been very successful indeed.

Planning

In an exam, you would quickly consider each of these in turn.

But this wouldn’t be the first time you had thought about it, because you would have considered it before as you’d gone through past papers.

Establishing Themes• From the very start of this novel, indeed from the

prologue, Remarque makes it clear that his intention is to write an anti war novel that will have a powerful influence on the reader.

• His aim is to show the reader the TRUE nature of war, as he sees it, and to influence the reader to agree with his anti war stance.

• If we are to consider that Remarque has succeeded in writing a successful opening t o his novel, then his anti-war stance should become clear through the opening couple of chapters.

Establishing Themes• How to we break this anti war message down into

themes?

• Betrayal of youth by the older generation.• Destruction of the young men’s personalities. (Their past

and present. What have they become? How does Paul feel about this.)

• The destruction of their future –what is to become of them when the war is over?

Betrayal of youth by the older generation.This is one of the key themes throughout the book: the idea of a generation of young men who were “sent” to war and their whole lives were shattered by it, even if they survived, as Remarque did.

One of the most obvious ways Remarque introduces this is through the characterisation of Paul; he speaks with Remarque’s voice and he represents this generation of young men.

You should make this point in this section of your essay.

Examples of the older generation betraying the young:

• Description of Kantorek – betrayal of Youth by older generation.• Story of Joseph Behm – betrayal of Youth by older generation.• Paul ‘s thoughts on how the older generation have failed him and his contemporaries. (16/17) – betrayal of

Youth by older generation.

By discussing each of these examples in turn you could show that Remarque has been successful in establishing the theme of how the Youth were let down and betrayed by the older generation they trusted, one of the key concerns of the novel.

Destruction of Men’s Personalities

This could be the second section of your essay. You would state that Remarque has been successful in the opening of his novel as he continues to introduce the key themes of the text, including a description of how these young men experience a “renunciation of personality”.

Paul’s plays and poetry – characterisation of Paul; destructive nature of war (past and present).

Description of camp and Himmelstoss’ abuse of power (26-29) – destructive nature of war.(past and present)

Kemmerich’s boots – destructiveness of war; comradeship; symbolism.Kemmerich’s death (29-35) – Doctors and orderlies seem indifferent but they have witnessed so much death; Kemmerich’s is the 17th of the day. It is not only the soldiers who have had to renounce their personality; everyone has become brutalised by the war, including the doctors and the orderlies.

Destruction of Future

Again, you could argue that Remarque creates a successful opening to his novel as he establishes his theme of how the war destroys the future of the soldiers, even if they survive the war. Through the first person narration of Paul, we are made aware of Remarque’s anger at this waste of life.

Contrast of the boys of twenty and the men, such as Kat and Detering, who have already established an adult life – destructive nature of war.(future) page 23

Introduction

• Opening sentence with reference to the question. Name of text and author.

• A very brief over-view. Anti war novel based on author’s experiences through World War One.

• The opening of the novel is successful because Remarque effectively establishes his anti war stance by establishing the themes. Say what the themes are.

And for the main body of your essay, use PEAR.

PEAR• POINT Topic sentence with a linking word. It tells the examiner what your paragraph is going

to be about.

Firstly, I find the opening of “All Quiet on The Western Front” successful in that it effectively establishes the central concern of how the younger generation feel betrayed by their elders.

• EVIDENCE Explain what is happening in the part of the story from which you have taken your quotation or your example. Give your example or quotation. Remember how to display quotations. A few words can stay in the main body of the text. A line or more should be displayed.

• ANALYSIS Explain what the quotation or example tells you about how the character is feeling or what it tells us about the theme of the text.

• RESPONSE Explain how your evidence RESPONDS to the question. For example, Remarque’s intention is to try to persuade you of his anti war views. He does this by describing the shocking details of war. For each example you give, explain how it has been successful in affecting you and describe the response it has provoked in you. Explain how the establishing of the themes makes the opening successful.

• PEAR can become PEAEAR or even PEAEAEAR