Alienation and concept of alienation in the works of Erich Maria Remarque

The aim of the present study is to analyze the reality underlying the most dramatic crises of modern era, so that the study was aimed at drawing attention to the concept of alienation in terms of desensitization and the loss of human values, as well as to the resultant dramatic human tragedies. In this context, the analysis was carried out through the works of Erich Maria Remarque, who centers and concentrates on the concept of alienation and on the realities closely related to the alienation in modern era. Alienation, althouh encountered in every period, have emerged with the most outrageous appearence manifested in fascist dictatorships, genocides, and world wars, which are the culmination of the concept. In the present study carried out in interdisciplinary field, the works by Erich Maria Remarque, who deals with the greatest crises of modernism with their most striking appearences in the context of alienation were examined and analyzed. The study includes nine works. The historical and sociological criticism techniques that lay emphasis on environmental factors that operated in the course of the writer's creation and are inspired by the theory of reflection were utilized. Biographical criticism technique was employed, and semiotic analysis technique was utilized. Hermeneutic approach having considerable overlap with these techniques was also considered. KEYWORDS: Alienation, Ethics, Responsibility, Desensitization