Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front

Erich Maria Remarque

Infobase Publishing, 2008 - Juvenile Nonfiction - 128 pages

This 1929 novel served as Remarque's attempt to confront and ultimately rid himself of the graphic and haunting memories of his time serving in World War I. A novel with overtones of autobiography, ""All Quiet on the Western Front"" traces the evolution of one man's powerful antiwar sentiments. This new title in the ""Bloom's Guides"" series also features an annotated bibliography, a listing of other works by the author, and an introduction by literary scholar Harold Bloom.

Contents

• Introduction: 7
• Biographical Sketch: 9
• The Story Behind the Story: 17
• List of Characters: 20
• Summary and Analysis: 23
• Critical Views: 52
• Brian Murdoch on Remarque and Homer: 57
• AF Bance on the Novels Bestseller Status: 63
• Chris Daley on the Force of Silence in All Quiet on the Western Front: 68
• Hildegard Emmel on All Quiet on the Western Front as a Weimar Novel: 71
• Vita Fortunati on the Representation of World War I in Hemingway Remarque and Ford Madox Ford: 75
• Dorothy B Jones on the Film Version of the Novel: 79
• Helmut Liedloff on A Farewell to Arms and All Quiet on the Western Front: 83
• Alfredo Bonadeo on Paul Bäumers Relationship to German Culture: 87
• Modris Eksteins on the Novel as a Postwar Commentary: 92
• Hans Wagener on the Final Chapter of All Quiet on the Western Front: 96
• Robert Baird on Hollywoods Ambivalence to World War I Novels: 100
• Wilhelm J Schwarz on Remarques Memorial to the Unknown Soldier: 105
• Works by Erich Maria Remarque: 110
• Annotated Bibliography: 111
• Contributors: 120
• Acknowledgments: 123
• Index: 125

About the author

Harold Bloom was born on July 11, 1930 in New York City. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from Cornell in 1951 and his Doctorate from Yale in 1955. After graduating from Yale, Bloom remained there as a teacher, and was made Sterling Professor of Humanities in 1983. Bloom's theories have changed the way that critics think of literary tradition and has also focused his attentions on history and the Bible. He has written over twenty books and edited countless others. He is one of the most famous critics in the world and considered an expert in many fields. In 2010 he became a founding patron of Ralston College, a new institution in Savannah, Georgia, that focuses on primary texts. His works include Fallen Angels, Till I End My Song: A Gathering of Last Poems, Anatomy of Influence: Literature as a Way of Life and The Shadow of a Great Rock: A Literary Appreciation of The King James Bible. Harold Bloom passed away on October 14, 2019 in New Haven, at the age of 89. Erich Maria Remarque was born Erich Paul Remark on June 22, 1898 in Germany. He was drafted into the German Army at the age of 18. He was assigned to the Western Front and later moved to the 15th Reserve Infantry Regiment. He was wounded by shrapnel in the left leg, right arm and neck, and was moved to an army hospital in Germany where he spent the rest of the war. After the war, he continued his teacher training and became a primary school teacher. He also began pursuing his writing career. He started writing essays and poems and his first novel, The Dream Room. When he published All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque changed his middle name in memory of his mother and reverted to the earlier spelling of the family name. The original family name, Remarque, had been changed to Remark by his grandfather in the 19th century. All Quiet on the Western Front was written in 1927, but Remarque was unable to find a publisher. The novel was published in 1929 and described the experiences of German soldiers during World War 1. His other works include: Station at the Horizon, The Road Back, Three Comrades, Flotsam, and Shadows in Paradise. Erich Remarque died in 1970 of heart collapse brought on byan aneurysm.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front; Bloom's guides
• Author: Erich Maria Remarque
• Editor: Harold Bloom
• Edition: annotated
• Publisher: Infobase Publishing, 2008
• ISBN: 0791098303, 9780791098301
• Length: 128 pages
• Subjects: Juvenile Nonfiction / Language Study / General; Juvenile Nonfiction / Literary Criticism & Collections