The Effects Of War In All Quiet On The Western Front

During All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul, a compassionate man, is forced to lose an aspect of his humanity, by hiding his emotions and disconnecting his emotions from his feelings. As a result, he becomes unable to feel at ease when he reunited with his family, and the idea of comfort becomes incomprehensible to him. When he visits his frail, sickly mother, she offers him whortleberries and potato cakes; however, Paul could not “feel at home amongst these things” (Remarque 160). Despite all of these comforts presented to Paul, he cannot shake the looming presence of the war, and all of the horrors that come with it. Once a caring man who loved his family

“The Great War”, over ten million military men were killed in World War One, and a numerous amount were left injured, physically and mentally. The war novel All Quiet on the Western Front, written by Erich Maria Remarque, was originally published in German in 1928, and is an excellent example of what catastrophic events happened during the war. The story follows Paul Bäumer, a young German man who enlisted into the war, and his companions as they go from tragic event to event throughout the war, and eventually, all end up dead. The novel’s central theme revolves around war’s horrific effect on the soldiers and the robbery of their youth, this being most prominently displayed in the novel in chapter two, chapter seven, and chapter eleven.

War- a time of nationalism and comradery struck by intense passion for one’s country. Men, who are most likely still boys at the time, sent off to fight for what seems like the good of the homeland. Paul Baumer and his classmates in All Quiet On the Western Front are thrown into war immediately out of high school, and must learn quickly how deal with the hardships and trials of war. Many of them do not possess the needed roots of experience and joy before the war, must throw away their youth during the fights, and must learn how to cope with no life during time off from the battles.

The ruthless killing brings a toll on the people who will remember that the enemies are men just like them, as Paul does when he instantly regrets his actions, saying that he would not kill him if he could redo the situation. Thus Paul sees value in being a coward, as he thinks it would be more courageous not to kill him than to go by the standards he learns. The German soldiers train as if they were animals acting upon their instincts to do so, which bears similarity to the human nature of war. Paul is at the stage where he lacks any hope for the war and does not see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is in the winter and at the time when Paul is so accustomed to the war that it is just another day for him.

Before the war Paul was innocent. He knew none of war and was just a kid who had never experienced anything bad. War can effect one in a way that can never be changed. Due to how they used to be the war has changed them so much that they will never be friendly, well-adjusted children again. Not just war has created major effects on the way people live it also somewhat belongs to the person themselves.

“We loved our country as much as they; we went courageously into every action; but also we distinguished the false from true, we had suddenly learned to see. And we saw that there was nothing of their world left. We were all at once terribly alone; and alone we must see it through” (Remarque 6). Joining the war is perceived to be glory, and an honorable act, but is it like all it seems? All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel about World War I and its effects upon those who served in it through the perspective of a German soldier by the name of Paul Bäumer.

Throughout the story Paul shows that he cares about his comrades by protecting them from the dangers of war, and he also displays that he will guide them in war. Paul uses his skills of intelligence to guide his team in the trenches and at the front, and he passes on his knowledge and tricks of war to the new recruits. Not many soldiers have all of these qualities, which makes Paul stand out more than his comrades. Even today some men don't express the passion and leadership Paul shows in All Quiet on the Western Front, which brings up the fact that the war needs more men like Paul. To sum up, Paul is an honest and true man who will always be there for his comrades when needed, and he is a man the troops are proud to say is a patriotic

Paul tries to associate with his family, but he has lost his innocence through his emotions. War causes soldiers to lose hope and complicates their return to everyday

When Paul returns home he acts very weird. He does not relate to anyone who lives in his town anymore because he feels like no one knows how to talk about the war. When Paul arrives home, he is greated with his sick mother who is dying of cancer, and because his family is poor, Paul 's mom will not get the proper medical treatment she deserves. Paul, however, does like the love he recives from his mom and is very grateful for all that she has done for him. He denies that anything bad is happening in the war to comfort his mom ,but Paul knows that death is a very big possiblity.

After his leave, Paul is a different person. He goes on to say, “I ought to have never come here. Out there I was indifferent and often hopeless- I will never be able to be so again. I was a soldier, and now I am nothing but an agony for myself, for my mother, for everything that is so comfortless and without end”

Paul Baumer, in the midst of war realized the unimaginable; only soldiers experience the truth of war. All Quiet on The Western Front continues to bear educational relevance for readers today because of Remarque’s ability to convey the dichotomy of a soldier’s reality: the war front which brings the horror of mankind and the home front which brings the never-ending propaganda. If we see war in a simplified form, such as soldiers coming home and their lives improving, then mankind has done a great injustice. To start off, Paul and the soldiers undergo a major psychological transformation while entering the front.

Paul quickly realizes after enlisting that war was not as heroic as he originally thought it was. Unfortunately, Paul had to learn this the hard way by leaving a fellow soldier on the front alone to die. Due to the soldier’s actions, the soldier in the field bled to death and used his final deaths by calling out for help. Not only does Paul leave this soldier to die, he later kills another man himself, which only begins to leave emotional scars on his character; in addition, he also witnesses his friends die violent deaths which only makes life for Paul and the soldiers worse. Afterwards, Paul’s deteriorating mentally catches up with him once he realizes that killing another man, even to put him out of his misery, is absolutely erroneous.

Moreover, commonly, soldiers are exhilarated to finally go home after long periods of time at the front, and the men dread when they have to return to battle. However, in Paul’s case, he desires to return to the front, rather than staying in his home town and seeing his mother in pain, he yearns to feel numb again. Therefore, Paul is in “agony” because before going on leave, he was hopeless and had no will to live, thus making him a better soldier. Although, after visiting his mother and sister, he has rediscovered a reason to survive, making it harder to go back. Moreover, the word, “comfortless,” illustrates how Paul feels isolated even at home, he feels little comfort where he grew up.

Erich Maria Remarque was a man who had lived through the terrors of war, serving since he was eighteen. His first-hand experience shines through the text in his famous war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, which tells the life of young Paul Bäumer as he serves during World War 1. The book was, and still is, praised to be universal. The blatant show of brutality, and the characters’ questioning of politics and their own self often reaches into the hearts of the readers, regardless of who or where they are. Brutality and images of war are abundant in this book, giving the story a feeling of reality.

Paul’s dominant personality traits revealed in chapters one through three are that he is desensitized, bitter, and loyal. These characteristics are all directly caused by the war he’s part of and without the war he would likely not have these traits. Paul’s most dominant personality trait is how desensitized he has become. This is