Analysis Of Eric Remarque´s All Quiet On The Western Front

When analyzing any form of war literature, one notices the great emphasis on the soldiers’ feelings and emotions. These emotions are very important because they are the driving force of the war. After all, if people didn’t feel incredible rage, they would never be convinced to join the war. Nevertheless, after engaging in war, those who fight in it suffer terrible emotional consequences that flip their lives and personalities. They suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, shell shock, or regret. It is estimated that about 40% of soldiers experience psychological issues after war. However, not all soldiers experience those neurological effects in the same way. Different factors affect the way a soldier experiences the war, the most

important factor of which is age. For instance, before joining the war, a soldier might have a certain perception which changes after he experiences it. If one examines literature of the war, one notices the difference between the psychological state of young and old soldiers. A prime example would be the young nineteen year old Paul Baumer in Eric Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” and middle aged Rob Cairn in Bob Blaisdell’s “The French Poodle”. This paper takes these two literary examples and compares them to real-life examples to study the difference in psychological war effects on soldiers belonging to different age categories.
The first question that comes to mind when studying the differences between age effects on a soldier is, does the fact that a soldier is older make him more mature and understanding, and thus more immune to psychological stress? The only way to answer this question is to look at specific cases. In Eric Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front,” we are introduced to a young soldier Paul who is nineteen and is drafted to the war at that very young age. Paul joins army after listening to his teacher's patriotic speech and in fear of being condemned by the society. But, when he experiences brutal training under cruel Corporal, he feels disillusioned about the fake ideals of nationalism and patriotism. He no longer believes that war is glorious and worthy of winning. Afterwards, he lives in threatening and dangerous situation. He lives in filthy and waterlogged ditches full of rats and decaying corpses. Moreover, he witnesses the horror of war in the deaths of his close friends and comrades. He experiences shellshock attacks. He goes through extreme physical danger of being blown to pieces at any moment. Such a traumatic experience transforms him into thinking that he will have to suppress his emotions to survive the war.
The neurological manifestations of trauma: lessons from World War I” describes a research study where authors analyses 100 randomly selected case files of German servicemen admitted to the Department of Psychiatry of the Charité Medical School of Berlin University during WWI.

An observation shows that German soldiers who were exposed to extreme traumatic experiences had avoidance symptoms meaning they tried to avoid situations that triggered the traumatic event. In Eric Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Paul shows similar symptoms when he returns home on his leave. He finds people troubling him because of their questions about the war, “I cannot get on with the people. My mother is the only one who asks no questions” (Remarque 165). He finds those questions “stupid and distressing” (Remarque 165). He will certainly be reminded of the traumatic experiences of the war if he has to talk about his work at the front. So, he tries to avoid those experiences by not answering others. Even if he answers, he talks about amusing things. He also avoids his distressing memories by distracting himself to beautiful and pleasing memories from past. He thinks about comforting and peaceful atmosphere in his room. He sits in his bedroom with his books and pictures, trying to recapture his childhood feelings of youth and desire but the memories are only shadows. He can only attach himself to his identity as a soldier and the rest of the reality around him is foreign. This relates to another symptom of PTSD observed in German soldiers. “More frequently, soldiers suffered from detachment from other people and world around him, anhedonia and difficulties concentrating” (citation). Paul shows such symptoms as he repeatedly talks about foreignness and estrangement, “It is a foreign world. / I feel no contact here,” and as he complains, “Words, Words, Words —they do not reach me” (Remarque 168, 173). He gets less interested in activities he once enjoyed. Sometimes, he experiences

battlefield situations as he mistakes the screaming of tramcars with the shriek of shell and gets startled. Such an experience was frequent among subjects of PTSD. “Following a shock or freight the most common form of symptom was reliving combat scenes and startling under the influence of hallucinations” (citations).
However, PTSD targets no specific age group. Based on a continuous research in PTSD, the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, USA explains that “most of the older veterans were exhausted because of a long fight, which led to psychiatric symptoms such as an increased startle, sleep disturbance, avoidance of activities reminiscent of combat, preoccupation with the traumatic stressor and irritability” (Schnurr 1). If one takes an example of a middle aged soldier, Rob Cairn from “The French Poodle,” one finds that he experiences similar symptoms during his sick leave. He is mostly preoccupied with the necessity to return back to the trench-life and is disconnected from life as a civilian. He suffers from “sleeplessness” and “sullen neurasthenia” (Lewis 25). Also, he becomes aggressive during an argument with his friend. “He is queer and is not able to concentrate his mind on anything in the office for more than a few minutes” (Lewis 27). He talks about men and war in such a way that regards them blameful of his ill health. He tries to forget his traumatic experience by avoiding them and developing fondness towards animals. On one moment he shows signs of recovering and at another moment he loses his own self and commits a brutal act of killing the dog he loves the most. This brutality stems from the trauma that he faced during the war.
Based on the observations presented above, we can see that both characters in All Quiet on the Western Front and "The French Poodle" are suffering from PTSD. However, it is obvious that PTSD or shell shock is manifesting itself in different ways and degrees in these two cases. One can obviously see that Rob is suffering more than Paul. Rob suffers so greatly that he ends up killing the only creature he ever found solace in. While Paul suffers the effect of PTSD, one does not see it potent enough that it drives him to kill innocent people. On the contrary, Paul remains compassionate towards others such as the Russian refugees.