How do the authors present the theme of futility of war in All Quiet on the Western Front and Testament of Youth?

Authors Avatar

How do the authors present the theme of futility of war in All Quiet on the Western Front and Testament of Youth?

World War One is well-known for the horrific amount of men who died in it, many of whom did not fully believe in or understand the causes they fought for. War literature presents the modern reader with peoples’ experiences from the period. Their views are integral in shaping our own opinions on war. Although war literature often differs in its composition, many themes are concurrent throughout the genre. All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque and Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain, both portray the theme of futility of war. They are both drastically different in their portrayal, one an account from a German soldier and the other, an autobiography by a British woman; the ideas that they present on how war is futile presents a human wide consciousness of its futility and begs the readers to question the human nature of declaring and fighting war.

The First World War was dubbed ‘the war to end all wars’ but it did not end all wars as the name might suggest, rather it simply set the pattern for new and even more mechanised killing. Remarque thoroughly explores the impersonality of killing and the idea of a mechanised war in All Quiet on the Western Front. One way in which he presents this idea is through a very matter of fact approach to fighting and injury such as: ‘Kat and Kropp even make another sortie during the afternoon. In the process Kropp gets an earlobe shot off’. Vera Brittain also uses a matter of fact approach in her writing rather than romanticising the injuries she witnessed. It is likely that Remarque’s own experiences in the war heavily contributed to this novel; several of his other novels also dealt with the atrocities of the war and its aftermath. Injured by British shell-splinters at Passchendaele, Remarque witnessed first hand the brutality of war and hence this is a key theme throughout the novel. By presenting how brutal war was, he helps to destroy the false façade of the glory and honour of war and in a sense demonises the way in which it destroys the livelihoods of soldiers on the front and civilians back home. As a result, after the Nazis came to power, All Quiet on the Western Front was subject to their book burning.

Join now!

Vera Brittain also destroys the false façade of the glory and honour of war after she learns of the death of her fiancé Roland. The loss of honour and glory is symbolised by Roland’s returned kit. Notably, his badge, which would represent his honour and that of the army, was ‘thickly coated in mud. He must have fallen on top of it, or perhaps one of the people who fetched him in trampled on it.’ This suggests that the honour that the badge represents has been soiled by the war, the badge now symbolises “the horror of war without ...

This is a preview of the whole essay