All Quiet on the Western Front

When we think of war—and of books about war—we think of glory, of sacrifice, of heroism. And, of course, of death. True, war has all those things in spades. But war also defies every cliché in the book. After all, it's real life. And real life is anything but cliché.

So what to do when you want capture how the soldiers really feel, without sugar coating or exaggerating or glossing over the messy stuff? If you're Erich Maria Remarque, you write All Quiet on the Western Front.

In this course, through Common Core-aligned activities and lots of loaded readings, projects, and quizzes, you will

• understand the nature of World War I and its effect on the soldiers who fought in its battles.
• explain shell shock and its modern descendant: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
• close read key passages from All Quiet on the Western Front for meaning and significance.
• identify significant themes from the novel and from war literature in general.
• understand the living conditions the soldiers faced in their daily lives, and how these conditions impacted their mental state.

And you'll finally see why All Quiet on the Western Front is widely considered one of the most important war novels ever written.