The entirety of the first chapter of Erich Maria Remarque's, All Quiet on the Western Front, is overflowing with numerous motifs given a small preface, a mere glimpse, of what is yet to come. All of said motifs dance around from page to page intriguing the reader more and more as they playfully taunt you with such things that the mind thinks should not be, but none the less they make for powerful conversation between reader and text. Yet of the many motifs one may choose to analysis none are more prevalent than that of the ironic theme of a clam, nonchalant, and at times, peaceful life on the Western Front during a time of war.
This clam peaceful je ne sais quoi makes the reader question and converse with the text regarding whether or not this could possibly be reality. Beginning immediately in the novel the reader is told that the soldiers "are satisfied and at peace" (1). How one could be satisfied and at peace at a warzone is completely beyond comprehension at this point. It seems incredibly surreal that one could even think a comment as contrdictory to the common knowledge of war as this one. Yet of course war is to be judged only by those who have done battle. Continuing on through the chapter the reader encounters even more as the soldier describes his time as "wonderfully care-free hours" (9). Its leaves a bad taste in your mouth that one can describe their time at war in such a pleasant, nonchalant way. None the less the motif continues and develops further. Odd? Yes, of course yet on the contrary isn’t a bit of positive energy good for the soul in times of such despair? One may only predict how this motif may proceed to develop yet it is safe to say that it is not leaving so soon.
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