Product Description

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. The latest generation of titles in this series also features glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.

In CliffsNotes on All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque takes you inside the gruesome realities of World War I through the eyes of Paul Baumer, a sensitive teenager and typical infantryman in the German army.

This study guide will help you begin to consider how Remarque’s views on war might relate to modern–day conflicts. You′ll also gain insight into the life and cultural background of the author. Other features that help you study include

•  Character analyses of major players
• A character map that graphically illustrates the relationships among the characters
• Critical essays
• A review section that tests your knowledge
• A Resource Center full of books, articles, films, and Internet sites

Classic literature or modern modern–day treasure — you′ll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54151 in Books
• Published on: 2000-12-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

From the Back Cover
More New and Revised Titles. The Best Just Got Better! Plus Glossary from Webster's New World^™ Dictionary Anthem Atlas Shrugged Beowulf Brave New World The Canterbury Tales The Catcher in the Rye The Contender The Crucible The Fountainhead Frankenstein The Grapes of Wrath Great Expectations The Great Gatsby Hamlet Heart of Darkness & The Secret Sharer Huckleberry Finn The Iliad Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Inherit the Wind Jane Eyre Julius Caesar The Killer Angels King Lear The Lord of the Flies Macbeth 1984 The Odyssey Oedipus Trilogy The Once and Future King Othello The Outsiders Pride and Prejudice The Red Badge of Courage Romeo and Juliet The Scarlet Letter A Separate Peace A Tale of Two Cities To Kill a Mockingbird Wuthering Heights See inside for the complete line–up of available CliffsNotes! Check Out the All–New CliffsNotes Guides To AOL^®, iMac^™, eBay^™, Windows^® 98, Investing, Creating Web Pages, and more! More Than Notes! CliffsComplete^™ CliffsTestPrep^™ CliffsQuickReview^™ CliffsAP^™ Over 300 CliffsNotes Available @ cliffsnotes.com Downloadable 24 hours a day Free daily e–mail newsletters Free tips, tricks, and trivia Free online CliffsNotes catalog Free self–assessment tools Freeware and shareware downloads

About the Author
Susan Van Kirk holds a B.A. from Knox College and on M.Ed. from the University of Illinois. She has taught English for 30 years in Monmouth, Illinois.

Customer Reviews

War story sure. A pacifist view not so sure
Erich Maria Remarque did a great job with his story. Being first person in view gave you the feeling that you were there. To add to this he is a very good writer.

Not being in the Great War, I can only imagine the technology of the time and trust in old war movies. Also this is a foreign culture in a foreign time. People there had a tendency to trust and respect their elders unquestionably.

Being of the Vietnam era I could however relate to the parts about the different personalities and some of the war situations and attitudes. I could appreciate the river crossing at night and the defending of the deserted town. I even liked the cat that they befriended in the story. We had a dog that was named Followme, which was one of the few that did not end up in a pot. I even could feel the anxiety of not fighting and just waiting for action. The only major difference is the question of do you want the people to be behind you to push you on or cheer you on, or doing the same job with people that are indifferent or not supportive?

Anyway even with the graphic description of the actual battle is more of a description of war, not a reason to sue for peace at any cost. The story is more of a, "don't let someone pull the wool over your eyes," with the talk of the glory of war. A movie with that theme is "The Americanization of Emily (1964)" . Also don't let Authority blindly lead you into the army with the condos as in the movie, Private Benjamin (1980) .

This is not the end but the key statement that pretty much sums it up, "He fell in October 1918, on a day that was so quiet and still on the whole front, that the army report confined itself to the single sentence: All quiet on the western Front."