Writing Resources
Erich Maria Remarque's book All Quiet on the Western Front features Paul Bäumer a 20 year old German soldier who represents a whole generation of men that history refers to as the Lost Generation Through his character the author tells a story of men who were destroyed by what is referred to as The Great War For instance in chapter 2 Paul attempts to describe the difference between his generation and that of the older soldiers and notes that the older soldiers had a life before the war that they felt comfortable and secure Remarque 2004 On the contrary Paul s Generation did not get a chance to experience that life Van Kirk 2011 p 72 From the start of the story the life of Paul is dominated by death horror suffering fear and hopelessness This paper explores the sources of Paul's suffering Betrayal of trust and Paul s constant exposure to death are cited as the most significant sources of his suffering Betrayal is one of the major themes in Remarque's book that causes harm to the casualties or fatalities to the allies of the traitor Its effects on the victims are adverse
