All Quiet On the Western Front - All About the Title


Welcome

Hello all, and welcome to Anna Kathleen's Bodacious Book Briefings!  On this blog, you will see me analyze books, section by section.  I will discuss specific elements of each section and also tell you my overall impressions of the section.

The first book I will be briefing you on is All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque.  For the first post, I will be giving you some insight on what I feel the title to mean, as well as what I hope to learn from the book.

Background Info

First of all, some background info.  All Quiet on the Western Front is told from the perspective of a German soldier during World War I.  Erich Maria Remarque was a German soldier in the war, himself.  He wrote this book after the war while living in Switzerland.

Breaking Down The Title

Western Front

When discussing World War I, the term "western front" typically refers to western Europe.  This includes the Allies shown in green (Britain, Belgium, France, Russia, Montenegro, and Serbia) and the Axis shown in orange (Germany and Austria-Hungary).  This is a pretty common term with regards to the war and, even not having yet read the book, I feel pretty confident in saying that this geographical area of Europe is what the title is referring to when it says "western front".

All Quiet

So, we know what "western front" means, but what about the first half of the title?  What does "all quiet" refer to?  To be completely honest, I have no idea.  I assume that the book will shed light on this title, but, until I have read it, I can only speculate.  So, let's speculate.

  • Sarcasm
    • Maybe, "all quiet" is meant to be sarcastic.  Battle fields are filled with gun fire and even yelling.  They aren't typically considered quiet places.  So, perhaps "all quiet" is implying that just the opposite is true.
  • Stealth
    • In war, the element of surprise is often a good thing.  You don't want the other side to know that you are coming because you don't want them to have time to prepare.  So, "all quiet" could mean that they are sneaking up on the opponent.
  • Death
    • It's morbid and no one likes to think about it, but with war comes a lot of death.  It's just fact.  While I like the other potential meanings better - they're more lighthearted - I have to say that I think that this is the most likely meaning of "all quiet".  When I read this title, I get a picture in my head of a young soldier on the battlefield, surrounded by the dead bodies of everyone he knows, and, in that moment, all is quiet.  Like I said, morbid, but hey, that's war.
Maybe one of these is spot on or maybe I'm on the wrong track entirely.  We'll just have to wait and see.

What I Hope To Learn

Okay, so I LOVE history, and World War I is one of my favorite topics!  I feel like I know the basics, but I am so excited about learning more through this book!  What I am most excited about is that this book is not nonfiction.  As much as I love history, I really dislike when I feel as though facts are just being thrown at me.  I want to be engaged in the material.  I want to soak it up like a sponge.  I want to feel like I am experiencing the history.  I want history to be a story.  So, I am very excited to be reading a piece of fiction about World War I.  Because yes, the book is fiction, and that means a story, but it is also written by an author who experienced these things first hand and who can draw on his own experiences.  So, I feel confident that the book will still be very factual and historically accurate.  I am also really intrigued by the fact that the book is written from the perspective of a German soldier.  Being in the US, Germany is portrayed as the "bad guy" in most all of our literature and media, particularly concerning wars.  I look forward to seeing the other side's perspective.

Up Next...

In my next post, I will be discussing chapters one through three of All Quiet on the Western Front.  I will be focusing on the theme of youth.  I am really excited about briefing you on this book and hope that you are excited about reading it.  Thanks for coming along for the ride!  Until next time.

- Anna Kathleen





Sources
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/launch_ani_western_front.shtml
http://www.azquotes.com/quote/787265
https://www.canva.com/

Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 27, 2018 at 12:58 PM

    OK... I absolutely LOVE the way you set up your blog, it is so cute! Anyways, I really liked how you organized your information, it was very easy to read. Your three points regarding the meaning behind the title could all potentially be right. I can completely see the sarcastic idea of how usually battlefields are loud and chaotic. This would be very amusing of the author to do. Your second point of the title meaning something stealthy is very valid because it was important for soldiers to remain quiet while on the battlefield so they would not draw attention to themselves. Lastly, I personally wrote something similar in my blog regarding the title "All Quiet" meaning that there were many casualties during the war. I feel like this is the most accurate meaning behind the title because World War I contributed to many deaths on either side of the war which would contribute to the idea that the "western front" is quiet without the soldiers being there. I feel like the author was trying to make a statement regarding the many deaths of the war. Overall, I am excited to read more about your opinions of the book and what exactly stands out to you throughout the chapters!

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