“What’s the point, absolutely no use, eh, war” (Edwin Starr). The horror of war, the effects of war on the soldier, and nationalism are all themes of "All Quiet on the Western Front." The First World War essentially concerns the war which began following the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand. The war then intensified between 28 countries. The novel is about a guy named Paul and his school friends who have all been persuaded to enlist to fight in the First World War. Paul and company know nothing about what war really is. They know nothing of the horrors of war. What is war really like? What makes war so horrible? The horror of war is omnipresent on the Western Front. For example, Albert says that the war ruined them as young people and Paul agrees. “Albert expresses it: “The war has ruined us for everything. » He is right. We are no longer young people. We don't want to take the world by storm. We are fleeing. We are running away from ourselves. Of our life. We were eighteen years old and beginning to love life and the world; and we had to tear it apart. The first bomb, the first explosion burst in our hearts. We are cut off from activity, from effort, from progress. We no longer believe in such things, we believe in war.” (Note, Chapter 5). The way the war affected each soldier changed them forever. Boys who were once schoolboys will never be the same again. Paul and company were once aspiring young people who had just finished school and thought they had a wonderful life. Sometimes things don't always go the way we want them to. The effects of war on a soldier is another important theme in the novel. Paul describes how they have changed and how death no longer affects them. “We have become wild beasts. We don't fight, we defend... middle of paper ...... you get a different perspective of what life was like as a German during WWI. Most of the books you read only talk about the other side of the war and not about how the Germans felt. Overall, war is not necessary and can be avoided, if everyone looks back at all that has happened in all the wars fought, all the lives lost, and all the horror and terror that has been inflicted on all families and all soldiers. why are we still fighting? Works Cited Note, Erich Maria and AW Wheen. All is calm on the western front. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1929. Print.Shmoop Editorial Staff. “Everything is calm on the Western Front.” Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., November 11, 2008. Web. May 20, 2014. “All is calm on the Western Front.” SparkNotes. SparkNotes and Web. May 23, 2014. “All is calm on the Western Front.” LitCharts. Np, and Web. May 23 2014.