The later it gets the more disturbed the city becomes. I go with Albert through the streets. Men are standing in groups at every corner. Rumours are flying. It is said that the military have already fired on a procession of demonstrating workers.

Meaning of the quote

As the night goes on, the city becomes more chaotic. The narrator and their friend Albert walk through the streets, where people are gathered in groups on every corner. Rumors are spreading quickly, and it's said that the military has already used force against a group of workers who were protesting.

About Erich Maria Remarque

Erich Maria Remarque was a German-born novelist best known for his landmark novel “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which was based on his experiences in the Imperial German Army during World War I. The book became an international bestseller and was adapted to film several times, but Remarque’s anti-war themes led to his condemnation by the Nazi propaganda minister.

More about the author

More quotes from Erich Maria Remarque

On the steps is a machine-gun ready for action. The square is empty; only the streets that lead into it are jammed with people. It would be madness to go farther – the machine-gun is covering the square.

Erich Maria Remarque

German-born novelist (1898-1970)

A hospital alone shows what war is.

Erich Maria Remarque

German-born novelist (1898-1970)

They are more human and more brotherly towards one another, it seems to me, than we are. But perhaps that is merely because they feel themselves to be more unfortunate than us.

Erich Maria Remarque

German-born novelist (1898-1970)

The crowd, still shouting, gives way before us. We plough our way through. Women hold their aprons over their faces and go stumbling away. A roar of fury goes up. A wounded man is being carried off.

Erich Maria Remarque

German-born novelist (1898-1970)

The later it gets the more disturbed the city becomes. I go with Albert through the streets. Men are standing in groups at every corner. Rumours are flying. It is said that the military have already fired on a procession of demonstrating workers.

Erich Maria Remarque

German-born novelist (1898-1970)

Anyway the war is over so far as they are concerned. But to wait for dysentery is not much of a life either.

Erich Maria Remarque

German-born novelist (1898-1970)

We want to live at any price; so we cannot burden ourselves with feelings which, though they might be ornamental enough in peace-time, would be out of place here.

Erich Maria Remarque

German-born novelist (1898-1970)

I am often on guard over the Russians. In the darkness one sees their forms move like stick storks, like great birds. They come close up to the wire fence and lean their faces against it. Their fingers hook round the mesh.

Erich Maria Remarque

German-born novelist (1898-1970)

Any non-commissioned officer is more of an enemy to a recruit, any schoolmaster to a pupil, then they are if they were free.

Erich Maria Remarque

German-born novelist (1898-1970)