Different art, literature and monuments were designed to tell the tale of the great wars of the world. Many of these pieces usually show the battle, the loss, and the victory of the wars. However, a deeper and more critical look into any of the works would also indicate the impact the war had on the community and on individuals.
For instance, Remarque (4) paints a picture of a battle as seen through the eyes of a soldier in the field. The reader can depict the horrible condition that the soldiers had to survive in, even at the time of the physical fight. Remarque (4) explains that they had to hide out in trenches, and watches human bodies dropped to the ground, dead. They also had to lay still and get covered with bits of human flesh that had been torn apart by bombs that were thrown in the war field. The importance of this story is the clear picture of how the war affected individuals.
The young German boy, whose story is being told, reveals that the younger and inexperienced soldiers had a hard time at the battleground. They literally had to be tied down after some ran off and died while trying to escape. The soldier explains how one of the younger soldiers went mad and started knocking his head on the wall. They had to tie him down before he could hurt himself, and all through this, they would watch as their fellow soldiers fought and died (Remarque 5).
In the same breadth, Seeger (3) explains how he had a meeting with death. The poem is about the high likelihood of a soldier dying in the field. In fact, it shows the soldier’s expectations and his idea of what his role is in the war. Seeger (3) believes that this meeting with death has to happen, one way or another. It can be argued that he meant that if the fighting in the battles did not kill the soldier, then something else would kill him. During the Great War, many soldiers died of diseases and not of battle wounds.
The poor sanitation, unhealthy living conditions and bad food make the soldiers prone to diseases like Pneumonia and Malaria. Therefore, many that did not die in the battlefield died of disease. Drawing from Remarque (4) it is clear that the soldiers dealt with all the pressure of the war differently. Some went mad, while others pushed on with the war.
It suffices to mention that there are different perspectives that pop out of different art work from both America and Europe. The European artists, for instance Dix (War Triptych) depicts the horror of the war. The art is gloomy, sad, and only portrays death. The same can be said of Nash (Wire) that depicts loneliness and hopelessness during the war However, the American perspective of the war was very different.
This is evident from the creation of beautiful monuments and cemeteries. For example the World War 1 Memorial in Knoxville, Tennessee shows a soldier raising his arm. It depicts hope, victory and great sacrifice. Whereas the Europeans saw the war as a death field, the Americans saw it as a way of embracing freedom.
In conclusion, art, literature and even monuments that show the Great War, all try to give a story of the soldiers and the communities that were affected by the war. Indeed different art from all over the world focus on different aspects of the war, but one thing that is common is the impact of the war on individuals and the society in general. If one word could be used to depict the Great War, then indescribable would be the word.