All Quiet On The Western Front Summary

In All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul is morphed from an innocent child into a war veteran who has a new look on society. Paul used to have a carefree life where he was able to be a kid, but when he enlisted into the army it all changed. Paul became a person whose beliefs were changed because of the war. Paul doesn't believe in society anymore especially parents, elders, and school, which used to play a big part in his life. He changed his beliefs because society does not really understand how bad war really is and pushed many young men, who were not ready, into the army. Paul connects with his fellow soldiers because they are going through the same situation and

War can destroy a young man mentally and physically. One might say that nothing good comes out of war, but in Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, there is one positive characteristic: comradeship. Paul and his friends give Himmelstoss a beating in which he deserves due to his training tactics. This starts the brotherhood of this tiny group. As explosions and gunfire sound off a young recruit in his first battle is gun-shy and seeks reassurance in Paul's chest and arms, and Paul gently tells him that he will get used to it. The relationship between Paul and Kat is only found during war, in which nothing can break them apart. The comradeship between soldiers at war is what

He states that when he goes home, his family will be shocked to hear this language. Paul treats his lingual freedom as privilege that soldiers have, and shows the benefits of living a soldier’s life. He refers to the front as if it were a paradise, for he can use vulgar language and not worry about manners and decorum. He treats his service as a time for relaxation, recreation, and a little excitement. This attitude becomes short-lived as the realities of war sink in. When Paul volunteers for reconnaissance one night, he becomes stranded in No Man’s Land (the area between opposing trenches) and begins to realize the brutality of war and starts to lose his own humanity. At the beginning of the book, Paul shows care towards his fellow soldiers and treats his service as an adventure by his education of the recruits and his excitement towards the boundaries of his vocabulary.

4. Men of Paul 's age group fear the end of the war because the war has taken up so much of their lives and personalities that they wouldn 't know how to function in a world without the war. They were conditioned to violence and battle. Moreover, they spent quite a few of their formative years in the war, and essentially grew up in combat. Older men in the war have jobs and families to which they can return; Paul and his friends have nothing of the sort. They often joke about becoming postmen like Himmelstoss, solely because they want to best him in his own field. In reality, though, they have no idea how they will operate in the world, even if they escape the war alive.

While on leave, Paul also visits his father and some of his father's friends, but does not wish to speak to them about the war. The men are "curious [about the war] in a way that [Paul finds] stupid and distressing." They try to imagine what war is like but they have never experienced it for themselves, so they cannot see the reality of it. When Paul tries to state his opinion, the men argue that "[he] sees only [his] general sector so [he is] not able to judge." These men believe they know more about the war and this makes Paul feel lost. He realizes that "they are different men here, men [he] can not understand..." and Paul wants to be back with those he can relate to, his fellow soldiers. Paul wishes he had never gone on leave because out there "[he] was a soldier, but [at home] he is nothing but an agony to himself." When Paul returns to the battlefield, he is excited to be with his comrades. When he sees his company, "[Paul] jumps up, pushes in amongst them, [his] eyes searching," until he finds his friends. It is then

In the last chapter Paul has had many terrible and horrific wartime experience and he is the last living recruit from his original group. During this time the German people are getting anxious about the ending the war. While out on the field Paul inhales poisonous gas and is given 14 days to go home. However, Paul has a weird feeling about returning home because, he has no future goals for his life. The only thing Paul can think about is the empty shell of people the war has produced. Later in this chapter Paul finally dies on a quiet day. Leaving the last words on the war “All Quiet on the Western Front”. Leaving Paul glad that the thing that destroyed him most ended. The thing that ripped something pure out of him and replaced it with emptiness.

The novel All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, is story of the fictional character Paul Baumer and his troop Troop 9 as they battle in World War I on the Western Front for Germany. This novel differs from most war novels in that it does not portray the men as valiant soldiers protecting their country. The way that the story is told strips away the romanticized view warfare and portrays the raw emotions that come with being on the front lines of a battle. As both Paul Baumer’s life and the battle progress, Paul’s values, along with those of the other soldiers, evolve until they culminate in Baumer’s own passing.

Yet another example of the brutalization and dehumanization of the soldiers caused by the war occurs during Paul’s leave. On leave, Paul decides to visit his hometown. While there, he finds it difficult to discuss the war and his experiences with anyone. Furthermore, Paul struggles to fit in at home: “I breathe deeply and say over to myself:– ‘You are at home, you are at home.’ But a sense of strangeness will not leave me; I cannot feel at home amongst these things. There is my mother, there is my sister, there my case of butterflies, and there the mahogany piano – but I am not myself there. There is a distance, a

Many of Paul's fellow army men do not survive. After the loss of Paul's closest friends,

He has changed since he joined the army, that he hardly recognizes who he was before. Paul used to think about school, women, and the future. Now the only thing on his mind is staying alive. The soldiers have become numb to death after seeing it so often. After Paul kills Gerard Duval his comrades remark “he doesn’t need to lose sleep over it” (229).

While the disconnection allows the soldier to adapt to the brutal war environment, it inhibits them from re-entering society. When he takes his leave, he is unable to feel comfortable at home. Even if Paul had survived the war physically, he most likely would not have integrated back into society suitably. The emotional disconnection inhibits soldiers from mourning their fallen friends and comrades. However, Paul was somewhat less than able to completely detach himself from his feelings, and there are several moments in the when he feels himself pulled down by emotion. These rush of feelings indicate the magnitude to which war has automated Paul to cut himself off from feeling, as when he says, with unbridled understatement, “Parting from my friend Albert Kropp was very hard. But a man gets used to that sort of thing in the army (p. 269) .”

They say “War, War never changes” this quote to some extent has many merits that true but some it lacks, it is proven wrong single-handily by WW1. People are drafted into this war happy-go-lucky but what war makes them into is nothing that someone would wish their worst enemy. Throughout the movie the transformation was marked in many ways by all the horrors that war could bring, be emotional, mental, or physical every soldier when through a transformation whether it was tangible or not. Paul and his friends journey through a transformation that can only be categorized with words akin to horrifying. Throughout the beginning of the movie Paul's journey is marked with both tough times and fun times, with him and his friends still in a state

In the trenches friendship becomes a very important part of the lives of the soldiers. The soldiers see revolting horrors and unimaginable sorrow together. Friendship becomes a powerful bond amongst the comrades. As Paul watches all of his friends die, he remains to fight after the death of his best friend Kat. He loses his will to stay alive.

When someone thinks of war, it is usually the uniform, the pride, that comes to mind. The aftermath of war, to those who do not know much about it, will come as a surprise. In the movie, All Quiet on the Western Front, the character, Paul Baumer, enters the war as an innocent person; with no idea on the effects, it may have on him. In the beginning of the movie Paul is shown as an innocent eighteen-year-old teenage boy who likes to draw and read. It is when he enters military training that his innocence starts to wither away. During military training, Paul no longer does what he likes to do, and only spends his time training on how to become a good German soldier. During training, Paul is tortured by his training officer, Corporal Himmelstoss.

Paul Bäumer is the central character of the story and is also the narrator. Before the war Paul was a kind and sensitive teenager. After his experiences in the war he learned to let go of these feelings and that he could no longer be sympathetic or have fear. There is a point in the story when Paul is granted a short leave from the army and he returns home. His horrible experiences while at war leave him unable to speak of it with his family. He does not feel at home with his family and he feels that all he has known is the war and he cannot imagine a future without the war. Even though Paul feels that he needs to let go of his emotions, they sometimes still show in the story. There is a point in the story when Paul instinctively kills an enemy soldier. He immediately feels horrible inside and regrets it as he finds out the soldier had a family at home. Kat, which is short for Katczinsky, is Paul’s best friend in the story. Even though he is not a school friend of Paul’s he still becomes friends with the middle-aged man. Throughout the story it is