How All Quiet on the Western Front Changes Hearts and Minds

Stephen Crane’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” gives a new perspective into the real terror and dehumanizing violence of war and its impact on the soldiers who fought it. Instead of romanticizing and glorifying the war, the book gives an accurate description of war as soldiers experienced it allowing readers to be more adequately informed. It is a strong anti-war rhetoric due to its accurate depiction of the false romantic ideals, dehumanization of soldiers, and continual subjection to poor living conditions which often prevented soldiers from returning to live healthy lives after the war.
During this period, many teachers and recruiters went to classrooms and painted a false romantic, patriotic, heroic picture of war, rallying young men to join the cause. Men who were able to fight faced ostracism and condemnation if they did not volunteer in the war …show more content…
Paul and his classmates soon realize that blood and death was the reality of war. Not the rhetoric and idealism of the Great War represented by Kantoreks, which had influenced him and his classmates into joining the fight. Paul becomes desensitized to the brutalities of war which had stripped away his innocence and forced him to become mentally detached. “The first bombardment showed us our mistake, and under it the world as they had taught it to us broke in pieces. While they continued to write and talk, we saw the wounded and dying. While they taught that duty to one's country is the greatest thing, we already knew that death-throes are stronger. But for all that we were no mutineers, no deserters, no cowards--they were very free with all these expressions. We loved our country as much as they; we went courageously into every action; but also we distinguished the false from true, we had suddenly learned to see. And we saw that there was nothing of their world left.”