Reaction To All Quiet On The Western Front

Essay by zachjones4Junior High, 9th gradeA+, November 2004

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"To no man does the earth mean so much as to the soldier. When he presses himself down upon her long and powerfully, when he buries his face and his limbs deep in her from the fear of death by shell fire, then she is his only friend, his brother, his mother; he stifles his terror and his cries in her silence and her security; she shelters him and releases him for then seconds to live, to fun, ten seconds of life; receives him again and often for ever", pg. 55, paragraph two

I found this quote particularly interesting because it makes alliteration to trench warfare, which was used heavily in World War One. The type of "earth" that Paul is talking about is the trench, which he happens to inhabit for the majority of the book. He tells readers that the earth protects him. To him the earth is almost a second mother and a friend.

It protects him from shellfire, as well as any other airborne death coming toward him. Paul finds that a lot of the time, it is the earth that keeps him alive for another few moments. His life in the trenches has obviously given him somewhat of a love for mother earth.

"Comrade, I did not want to kill you. If you jumped in here again, I would not do it, if you would be sensible too. But you were only an idea to me before, an abstraction that lived in my mind and called forth its appropriate response." pg. 223, paragraph two

I chose this quote for many reasons, but I think one stands out in front of the rest. This quote happens to be after Paul stabs a French soldier, and for the first time, Paul realizes that the "enemy"...