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Throughout Storm of Steel, Jünger often refers to Death in personified terms. Death has an uncanny, unpredictable character, symbolizing mortality’s defiance of human control. During his first morning on the front lines, Jünger witnesses other soldiers being killed by shellfire and instantly becomes jumpy around any loud noise, realizing that Death will “leap […] with hand upraised” at unexpected moments for the duration of the war. This brush with Death disabuses him of detached, romantic views of warfare. The proximity of Death even causes unaccountable hilarity, eroding one’s humanity, amidst the hysteria of battle. During his last assault, “Death’s hand” briefly grips Jünger when he is shot, but he ultimately survives, suggesting that Death doesn’t inevitably triumph. However, the harrowing war narrative demonstrates that avoidance of death owes as much to luck as to human cleverness or skill.
Death Quotes in Storm of Steel
The Storm of Steel quotes below all refer to the symbol of Death. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Guillemont
Quotes
Over the ruins, as over all the most dangerous parts of the terrain, lay a heavy smell of death, because the fire was so intense that no one could bother with the corpses. You really did have to run for your life in these places, and when I caught the smell of it as I ran, I was hardly surprised - it belonged to there. Moreover, this heavy sweetish atmosphere was not merely disgusting; it also, in association with the piercing fogs of gunpowder, brought about an almost visionary excitement, that otherwise only the extreme nearness of death is able to produce.
Here, and really only here, I was to observe that there is a quality of dread that feels as unfamiliar as a foreign country. In moments when I felt it, I experienced no fear as such but a kind of exalted, almost demoniacal lightness; often attended by fits of laughter I was unable to repress.
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Get the entire Storm of Steel LitChart as a printable PDF.
Death Symbol Timeline in Storm of Steel
The timeline below shows where the symbol Death appears in Storm of Steel. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
In the Chalk Trenches of Champagne
...of a dropped book or a random shout can be heart-stopping. Any unusual occurrence causes Death to “leap […] with hand upraised.”
(full context)
Guillemont
...platoon passes through a notorious bottleneck that’s filled with corpses and a “sweetish” smell of death that’s both repulsive and strangely invigorating. Looking back on this experience, Jünger describes the occasion...
(full context)
My Last Assault
...to the ground with a cry. Compared to his many past injuries, he now feels “Death’s hand” with a “firmer and more determined” grip than before. Yet he feels entirely happy,...
(full context)
