All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak are two books that have lots in common and some differences. The Book Thief is a story about a young girl called Liesel Meminger, who ends up staying with foster parents because her ailing mother cannot be able to fend for her. It was during the time Hitler was in control, and there was war everywhere, so the setting of the story is during a war time in German. On the other hand, All Quiet on the Western Front is a story about a young man; Paul Baumer aged nineteen who volunteered to fight for his country during the war in the name of becoming a hero. His teacher Kantorek had tricked them that, going into war is the best opportunity of one becoming a hero, and Baumer together with his nine friends signed up for going to the war (Eksteins 350). Nonetheless, they realized everything was a lie, and they had to fight to survive for each other as they regretted taking the chance after their teacher lied to them. Therefore, the stories are about characters that lived during a time of war.
The first similarity is that, the books are war novels, and the characters have the same emotions and experiences during the wars, even though they talk about different war stories. The stories take place in the same places, Germany, and the themes of fear, deaths, and caring about each other are evident in the stories. In both the stories, the protagonists experience the death of a loved one, which causes them much agony and fear. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul lost one of his classmates Franz Kammerich, after he had an infection on the leg, and it was amputated. Paul felt devastated while consoling his friend who was dying. Remarque writes Paul’s words, “It is no use anymore. No one can console him. I am wretched with helplessness," Paul felt helpless (Remarque 40). In The Book Thief, Liesel lost her brother n their way to Munich, where they were to live in a foster home. The brother started coughing while in the train, and he lay dead while Liesel watched with her mother, a scene that never left her mind (Zusak 198). Therefore, it is evident in both stories that, the protagonists lost people close to them as they watched in pain.
There is the emotion of fear in both stories. First it is evident on how the characters fear when their loved ones are about to die. In All Quiet on the Western Front, the characters feared for their lives during the war, since death is always common in any war. After Paul had lost his friend, he had a fear of not coming out of the war alive. In addition, his mother had cancer, and he feared losing the mother at the same time losing his friends in the war too. Comparably, Liesel is said to have a lot of fears in the book. First, she feared for the Jew, who was hidden in her foster parents’ house, because if he was found Max Vandenberg would be taken away together with the other Jews (Zusak 302). Moreover, she was now close to her foster parents, and she feared losing them too, if they were found hiding the Jew. According to Green, Liesel also feared for their neighbor who remained stagnant when the sounds of sirens were heard (nytimes.com). Nonetheless, the characters in the stories cared for each other. For instance, Paul cared for his friends when he made a vow "to fight against the hatred that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against one another" (Remaque 145). Moreover, he also cared for his mother when he went back home just to take care of her. Comparably, Liesel cared for Max when he was very sick by collecting him gifts as well as laying him on the bedside table. Therefore, the characters were very caring about the people and family who were close to them.
The first difference is that, the writers come from different places and speak different languages; one is an American writer Erich Maria Remarque, while the other is a German writer, Markus Zusak. In addition, the war in All Quiet on the Western Front took place at some stage in First World War, whereas, the war in The Book Thief took involved the Nazis, in Germany during the Second World War. In essence, there are similarities and difference sin the books; however, they both are about stories that happened during war time.
Works Cited
Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front. Berlin: Ballantine Books; Reissue edition, 1987. Print.
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print.
Wagner, Hans (1991). Understanding Erich Maria Remarque. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press.
Eksteins, Modris. "All Quiet on the Western Front and the Fate of a War". Journal of Contemporary History 15.2 (1980): 345-358. Print.
Green, John. Rev. of The Book Thief,' by Markus Zusak: Fighting for Their Lives. New York Times 14 May 14, 2006. Web 2 Oct. 2014.
