All Quiet on the Western Front All Quiet on the Western Front Essays

All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front shows the change in attitudes of the men before and during World War I. This novel shows the overwhelming effects and power war has to weaken the human spirit. Starting out leaving you're home and family and ready to fight for you country, to ending up tired and scarred both physically and mentally. At the beginning of the novel Paul and the rest of his classmates feel a sense of nationalism. However at the end of the war it is apparent how pointless war really is.

All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel that greatly helps in the understanding the effects of war. The novel best shows the attitudes of the soldiers before the war, during the war, and after the war. Before the war there are high morals. During the war, the soldiers discover the trauma of war. They discover that war destroys their hopes and dreams of their life. The remains of Paul Baumer's company had moved behind the German front lines for a short rest at the beginning of the novel. After Kemmerich became Paul's first dead schoolmate, Paul viewed the older generation bitterly, particularly Kantorek, the teacher who convinced Paul and his classmates to join the military. " While they taught t that duty to one's country is the greatest thing, we already that death-throes are stronger.... 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."(P. 13) Paul felt completely betrayed. " We will make ourselves comfortable and sleep, and eat as much as we can stuff into our bellies, and drink and smoke so that hours are not wasted. Life is short." (P 139) Views of death and becoming more comfortable with their destiny in the r became more apparent throughout the novel. Paul loses faith in the war in each passing day. Through out the novel it was evident that the war scarred the soldiers permanently mentally. Everyone was scared to go to war when it started.

Young recruits were first sent because the veterans knew they were going to come back dead. "When we run t again, although I am very excited, I suddenly think: "where's Himmelstoss?" Quickly I jump back into the dug-out and find him with a small scratch lying in a corner pretending to be wounded." (P 131) Even the big men like Himmelstoss are scared to go fight. "He is in a panic; he is new to it too. But it makes me mad that the young recruits should be out there and he here." (P 131) The soldiers were being crushed and seeing things get destroyed, but because they had detached themselves they thought they were able to handle it.

" We believe in such things no longer, we believe in war."(P.88) That was Paul's motto. Although, as time went on he began to realize something wasn't right. He tried to replace these feelings with pleasure, so he spent the night at the French girls' house. After he just felt worse and unfulfilled. "...We are crude and sorrowful and superficial-- I believe we are lost."(P123) When Paul realizes that we are all brothers, true mental struggle is seen. " Comrade, I did not ant to kill you...Why do they never tell us you are poor devils like us... and that you have the same fear of death...If we threw away these riffles and this uniform you could be my brother..." (P. 223-224). The apparent change in views on e war has become extremely apparent. As seen throughout the entire book, the destruction of war is astronomical, not only lives and property are destroyed, but the human spirit is as well.

The young men in this book were subject to physical torment. Eyes were blinded from such sights as, limbs being blown off, blood flowing everywhere, and their comrades dying in agony. When soldiers take shelter in the graveyard, bombs explode all around them; the living hide in coffins and the dead are thrown from their graves. The destructive power is so great that even the fundamental differences between life and death become blurred. All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel that portrayed World War I as it actually was. It told the truth and showed the effects it had on the human spirit and views of war. It began with pride and ended with agony.