Perhaps nothing is more common in the pages of history books than wars. Since the dawn of time, men have fought to hold on and conquer more. Yet images of war are not always those of the fresh-faced recruits, barring their flags and waving their flags, as they are portrayed. The reality of war is dark, desolate and heartbreaking, with conditions detrimental to the mind, body and spirit. The realities of war and the terrors experienced within it are documented and recounted by authors throughout time, including Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, the graphic Goddamn This War! by Tardi and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. What the three men are alluding to is the idea that the real bullies may not be those who defend, but those who attack, and that the disease of imperialism and the contagion of power is what ends up transforming men into savages. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayThe most graphic and crude depiction of war is narrated by Jacques Tardi, who, in his collection of drawings, depicts a state of perpetual bitterness and brutality. violence. His short captions are accompanied by images of dismembered men and bloodied faces, the worst quote being "I would have liked to see the evil ones there, in the heart of hell: Joffre, the president, the Kaiser, the ministers , priests and all generals. And my mother too, for giving birth to me" (Tardi 18). The cynicism and general weariness of the anonymous narrator shine through from every angle of the story, leaving nothing to the imagination. The anti-war message very definitive that the comic sends associates the horrors of war with the mental scars of the men who witnessed it. As they fight for their home country, Germany, driven by patriotism and nationalism, Paul and his friends quickly realize that the war is not what they expected, or even what. that they wanted; this is what they feared. The physical, emotional and psychological stress imposed on young men proves to them that patriotism and nationalism are only myths, clichés designed to mask the true terror of war. The excerpt provided describes a scene in which Paul and his friends visit Kemmerich, a former classmate who is now an amputee. Muller, a "really quite likeable" character, asks Kemmerich for his boots which he will obviously no longer need (Remark 20). This bitter but realistic scene painfully shows the loss of emotional morality due to the brutality of the front. Although Muller meant no harm by asking for the boots, the scene simply proves the survivalist nature of the men and the dog eat dog mentality they must have to survive. Corporal Himmelstoss, brutal, tyrannical and strict, forces them to perform meager and humiliating tasks, such as making and remaking beds, sweeping snow, crawling in mud on all fours and bayonet fighting with heavy iron bars (Note 23-25). ). Although Himmelstoss is cruel, he teaches naive men the reality of war without the rose-colored glasses of nationalism they learned in school. Kemmerich's scene in the hospital is particularly poignant because it shows the man's moral alignment always in the face of terror; Paul refuses to leave him alone and holds him until he dies. This heartbreaking scene is quickly cooled by the doctor who says: “You know, nothing.