Compare and Contrast: Wwi Lit

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of English field guns opened up on us with high-explosive, drumming ceaselessly on our position, so that we suffered heavily and came back only eighty strong.” (Remarque, 1929, p. 2) The author here is giving the reader insight of who the narrator is fighting, which is the English. He gives insight to how they are fighting the English field command in the open field. He continues on to write that “We Germans fear God and none else in the whole world.” (Remarque, 1929, p. 86) This is where the author gives the reader the insight that the narrator is a German soldier and that they are fighting the English military.

“Recruiting” gives the perspective of English forces fighting the Germans. Mackintosh (1918) wrote that “Washy verse on England’s need - God - and don’t we damned well know How the message ought to read.” (para. 3) This quotes provides information that reveals the Narrator is an Englishman in the World War I era. Mackintosh (1918) continues on to tell the soldiers that “Help to keep them nice and safe From the wicked German foe.” (para. 6) He is explaining to the soldiers that they most keep England safe from the nasty Germans that are set to destroy them.

The perspectives of these two works also vary because All Quiet on the Western Front is from the perspective of a soldier and “Recruiting” is from the perspective of a recruiter trying to recruit soldiers for the war. It was written in All Quiet on the Western Front that “We march up, moody or good-tempered soldiers.” (Remarque, 1929, p. 61) This proves the fact that the narrator in All Quiet on the Western Front is a soldier. “Recruiting” gives the point of view of a recruiter due to not only the title, “Recruiting”, but also the quote, “Lads, you’re wanted, go and help.” (Mackintosh, 1918, para. 1) That quotes gives the impression of the recruiting process like the famous ‘I want you for U.S. Army’ poster. The perspective of the two works of literature are vastly different let similar in the way they pertain to World War I.

Conclusion

The novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and the poem “Recruiting by Ewart Alan Mackintosh are two great representations of World War I. They both posses the idea sacrifice and they both contain the message that war is hell. The idea of sacrifice is portrayed by both authors by the way it can affect a soldier mentally and physical. That the sacrifice of their life is important to their cause. Their messages are also similar in that they try to reveal to the reader how horrific trench warfare is. They both explain this by giving details on how war treats the people involved and how it can completely destroy a person. Their perspective or points of view differ between the two works of literature. All Quiet on the Western Front gives the perspective of a German soldier fighting against the English. ¨Recruiting¨ gives the perspective of an Englishman against the Germans. They also possess other perspectives. All Quiet on the Western Front contains the point of view of a true field soldier the trenches while ¨Recruiting¨ has the point of view of a recruiter that is recruiting English soldiers to battle against the Germans. The two works, All Quiet on the Western Front and ¨Recruiting¨, can be compared in many aspects of literature and details.

References

Mackintosh, E. A. (1918). Recruiting. Retrieved from http://allpoetry.com

Remarque, E. M., & Wheen, A. W. (1929). All quiet on the western front. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co.