All Quiet On The Western Front (AQOTWF) was written by Erich Maria Remarque and is set in world war one, beginning in 1916 and ending in November 1918, when the armistice called a halt to the war. Remarques aim is to illustrate the horror and senselessness of war. Remarque achieves his aim by exploring the many facets of horror and Senselessness through the use of 5 strong examples. Early in the novel, Remarque gives the reader the impression that the soldiers from Paul's troop are everyday teenagers, that what happened to them could have happened to anybody at the time. This resulted in the reader being greatly affected when the soldiers experienced the Horrors and senselessness of war.
Senselessness is clearly portrayed in its first example in AQOTWF. The men in the company have just finished a heated argument with their training master Himmelstoss, and are reflecting on what the got them into. They calculate that after about five months at the front, of the original 20 classmates, 8 remain and 12 are out-of-action, "(Quote)". An emotional experience for the comrades was when their friend Franz Kemmerich died, "(Quote). This event causes the boys to realize that young innocent lives are lost for no good reason. As the boys see the agonized look of Kemmerich and the other soldiers in the hospital, they begin to question why they are at the front. .
A strong example of horror in AQOTWF is the night of screaming horses. The comrades are sitting quietly and listening to a bombardment a few kilometers away. Cries are heard between the explosions. A couple of horses were shot in the neck, and deterring (a farmer) who is very fond of horses, cannot bear the cries. The cries are unbearable, they are the moaning of the world. Eventually the horses stumble into sight of the comrades, the images that greet them are sickening, "(Quote)".
The second instance of senselessness in AQOTHWF is when the men meet the person for whom they are fighting, the leader of the Germans, the Kaiser.
