Use of Irony in the Novel “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Student’s Name
Instructor
Course
Date
Use of Irony in the Novel “All Quiet on the Western Front”
Introduction
The First World War is often described as the "Great War," which is an ironic name to give any war or conflict, especially to people who have participated in war or those who lost their loved ones. The novel “All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque is an example of a text whereby the author has used irony to illustrate or describe certain situations and pass messages to the readers. The author uses the novel to talk about several young soldiers, Paul, Tjaden, Albert, and Muller, who had been selected to go to war and defend their country, Germany. Remarque uses the novel to provide the readers with a glimpse of the events of World War I. From the novel, one can understand that Paul and his fellow soldiers went through a lot of challenges and horrendous conditions that completely changed who they were before the war began. Unlike what people are made to believe about war, Remarque uses his novel to illustrate the effects of war, especially on fighters. In essence, war is a glorified event which is unnecessary and should be avoided at all costs. The use of irony by Remarque in the novel clearly supports this thesis statement.
The Use of Irony in the Novel
In this sense, Remarque uses irony in several ways to illustrate how the World War had some devastating effects. One of the ironic aspects highlighted is the activities in which the soldiers engaged during the war. In essence, war should be taken seriously, given that one is at the risk of being killed by enemies. They are several instances in the novel whereby the soldiers engaged in humorous activities that were quite contradicting to the situation that was facing them. Rather than grieving their colleagues' death and settling into the harsh reality of being in a war, Paul and his comrades seemed to result in other joyful activities such as playing cards and smoking. Remarque illustrates that these soldiers are "seen having fun in a horrible place," which is quite ironic. For example, when Joseph Behn and Kemmerich are presumed to have died, Paul and the other soldiers begin arguing about who will receive their dead colleagues' boots. This is illustrated in Remarque (21), when Paul states, "We have lost all sense of other considerations, because they are artificial. Only the facts are real and important to us. And good boots are hard to come by." In normal circumstances, the soldiers would be grieving their friends' loss and not seeking to benefit from what they left behind. Soldiers are supposed to act like brothers and friends who are concerned with one’s welfare even after one dies. It is ironic how the war has forced the soldiers to become emotionless due to the war's continued impacts. In this situation, Remarque uses irony to illustrate the war's adverse psychological and mental impacts on the soldiers.
Another ironic aspect discussed in the novel is how the war changes the young soldiers' perspective and turns them into completely new people. First, Paul and his friends' decision to enter the war is quite ironic, given that it was due to massive encouragement from their teachers. This was a time when wa...