Authority is a big issue both in this book, and in German culture. Germans will either give everything for it, or spend their whole lives resisting it. We talked about how the Postman, when he is given authority to be a drill sgt., how it changes his personality completely, and he becomes nasty and domineering.
It was dicussion that "All Quiet on the Western Front" is more of a survival story, and not a story about war. None of the main characters (aka the boys from high school) are particularily agressive, and they only act violent when being attacked.
One of the biggest themes in the book is the loss of identity of the young solidiers who fight in the war. The loss of identity for everyone in Germany is one of the biggest preludes to Hitler ruling Germany. He promised to make Germany great again and give it an identity. The loss of an identity is the loss of happiness and well-being.
The biggest advertising campaign in German history up to that point led to many copies of the book being sold. But it was very popular in other countries as well.
Something important to remember about this book is that it is a story of impressions, and not nessisarly based on historical facts from WWI. But as far as feelings and descriptions of scenery go, it is a very accurate telling of what went on.
No comments:
Post a Comment