Paths of Glory vs All Quiet on the Western Front

“Paths of Glory” and “All Quiet on the Western Front” are two different stories about the first world war. They are comparable and various in their own ways. Lots of kids born in North America usually mature seeing war films from the America’s viewpoint. This is different in Courses of Magnificence and All Peaceful on the Western Front. These films/novels display how European nations battled this war, whether it was great or bad. They display both sides of WWI, and when compared can reveal differences AND resemblances.

Here are their distinctions. An extensive take a look at these 2 stories can discover numerous distinctions, but the main ones would be the perspective being French and German; a soldiers viewpoint and an officers perspective; and the results of each side. Courses of Magnificence(POG) displays France’s view of the war while All Quiet on the Western Front(AQWF) shows Germany’s view of the war. The story AQWF has to do with German soldiers’ take on the war.

It relates more to young readers lives and the battles of young soldiers in a war.

POG on the other hand, targets the officers as the main point of view in the war. It displays the corruption and the commitment of officers. In POG the French have the upper hand on the Germans in the war and don’t appear to ever be significantly losing, while in AQWF, there is death everywhere and it ends with all of the main characters dying and Germany losing the war.

All these things show the differences between these 2 impressive war stories, however there are some similarities.

All Peaceful on the Western Front and Paths of Splendor have extremely similar main characters, in which the characters both make the same amazing discoveries. The characters in both cases recognize that the real enemy in the war is not the country they are fighting against, however the leaders of their own armed force. This is a lot more pertinent in the movie, POG, when it shows General Mireau ordering fire on his own troops. However, the theme is still in AQWF. Evidence of this is how Corporal Himmelstoss makes the guys’s lives unpleasant, making them do petty things such as saluting drills.

Within the novel the protagonists discover that the men they are against are not much different than themselves. Moreover, this is extremely evident with Paul, the narrator of AQWF, who spends a night in a shell hole with a Frenchman who is dying right beside Paul. Both the novel and the film show the bad living conditions, although the novel is from the German viewpoint and the film, from the French viewpoint. There are many other differences in the plots of the two stories.

Similarities and differences are evident throughout All Quiet on the Western Front and Paths of Glory. The differences being the outcomes of each side, the points of view between the two countries and the points of view between officers and soldiers. The similarities of course being the corruption, the living conditions and the shared setting/time period of WWI. When all is said and done, the differences and similarities of these Great War stories make the pair amazing themes to compare and contrast.