All Quiet on the Western FrontErich Maria Remarque's literary breakthrough, All Calm on the Western Front, describes two stories. It meticulously recounts the thoughts of a soldier during World War I while simultaneously detailing the horrors of all wars; each tale is not only a distinct experience for the soldier, but also a new representation of combat. The war is seen through the eyes of Paul Baumer whose state of mind is much more developed than that of his comrades. His true purpose in the novel is not to serve as a representation of the common soldier, but to assume a pious and omniscient role so that he can serve as a link between World War I and all past and future melees of its kind . Baumer becomes the representation of all men, and through him the reader discovers the true essence of such human struggle. Although the novel introduces the reader to a seasoned soldier in the German army, his war story begins before he even enlists. . The “soldier’s belly is full of beef and beans”; their hearts are full of happiness. “The cook,” or the parents, “take… a good spoonful” or provide for their needs (1). Before enlistment, the men's future was good and certain; “each man had a full bowl for the evening” (1). Although sheltered, the men were “satisfied and at peace” (1). Shortly after these introductory passages, Baumer expresses his disdain for this previous life, suggesting that the soldiers' current paradigms are the only reliable points of view; “We can trust our generation more than [the older generation]” (12). However, although these men have been alerted to the ways of the world, these revelations visibly corrupt them because in their souls ("under their fingernails") lies...... middle of paper ......ar- a merchant of patriots, he sympathizes with humanity. The story never strays from this anti-war thesis, ingeniously allowing the common man to understand the stupidity of the bloodshed that permeates world history. There is no real group designated as the enemy since the real culprit for the horror of war is war itself. Although this pacifist statement is made quite epigrammatically, the reader must wait until the end of the novel to understand the true power of such an idea. In the final lines, the inner battle we wage in war is linked to the inner battle we wage against life itself. No matter how hard we try, “as long as it is there, [life] will seek its own way out, regardless of the will that is within” (295). It is the fate of humanity to unconsciously fight for survival. All Quiet on the Western Front suggests that there are cases where surviving is another form of death.