For us lads of eighteen they ought to have been mediators and guides to the world of maturity, the world of work, of duty, of culture, of progress -- to the future.
Erich Maria RemarqueRead
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. He had fallen forward and lay on the earth as though sleeping. Turning him over one saw that he could not have suffered long; his face had an expression of calm, as though almost glad the end had come.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the peacefulness of death amid the chaos of war, suggesting a sense of calm acceptance.
This quote illustrates the tranquility of death experienced by a soldier in wartime. Erich Maria Remarque highlights the contrast between the violent backdrop of the battlefield and the serene expression of the fallen soldier, suggesting that in death, there can be a sense of peace, a release from suffering, and a final acceptance of fate. It captures the profound sense of irony surrounding the brutality of war versus the stillness of death.
Themes
DeathWarPeaceAcceptanceSoldier
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is perfect for a memorial speech honoring fallen soldiers.
More from Erich Maria Remarque
All quotes →They are more human and more brotherly towards one another, it seems to me, than we are. But perhaps that is merely because they feel themselves to be more unfortunate than us.
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There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into the mist as though it would prop up the melancholy sky and protect beneath itself the faint lonely flame on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which looked like the last grave of mankind in the midst of night and loneliness.
Erich Maria RemarqueRead
(Ravic speaking of a butterfly caught in the Louvre) In the morning it would search for flowers and life and the light honey of blossoms and would not find them and later it would fall asleep on millennial marble, weakened by then, until the grip of the delicate, tenacious feet loosened and it fell, a thin leaf of premature autumn.
Erich Maria RemarqueRead
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