Father Figures In All Quiet On The Western Front

To be engaged in war is to be engaged in an armed conflict. Death is an all too ordinary product of war. It is an unsolicited reward for many soldiers that are fighting for their country’s own fictitious freedom. For some of these men, the battlefield is a glimpse into hell, and for others, it is a means to heaven. Many people worry about what happens during war and what will become of their loved ones while they’re fighting, but few realize what happens to those soldiers once they come home. The short stories "Soldier's Home” by Ernest Hemingway and "Speaking of Courage” by Tim O'Brien explore the thematic after effects of war and how it impacts a young person's life. Young people who

During the war, many soldiers may feel as though they are losing their self-identity. Having that one person they can confide in, who share the same troubles, tends to be one of the few things that helps them manage the chaos of battle. Thus, camaraderie is the key to survival during the time of war. The classic war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, written by Erich Maria Remarque, illustrates an image of comradeship through the narrator Paul Baumer and his close friend Kat. The scenes throughout the novel between the two friends show how heavily they rely on one another.

Paul Bäumer is a German, young boy, who, together with his classmates, enlists for the army to fight in the Great War. Full of enthusiasm and adventurous thoughts, they arrive at the front, but then are faced with the horrific and soul-destroying war. One by one the classmates are fall in action…

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

During the war, Paul sees that his friends die or get injured. Kemmerich is the first of Paul’s friend to lose their leg in the battle. Paul notices that Kemmerich did not feel that his leg was amputated. Paul remembers Kemmerich as a childhood friend before they had signed up for the army. Paul finds Kemmerich dead after he tries to find a doctor to cure Kemmerich. After Kemmerich’s death, many of Paul’s friends died near the end of the war. Kropp’s leg is also amputated like Kemmerich when he was shot after running away from a battle with Paul. Kropp soon dies afterward after getting a fever from the wound. Paul finds out that another friend, Müller, dies after being shot in the stomach. Müller gives everything away before he dies, including the boots that Kemmerich gave Paul to give to Müller. Paul says that he would give the boot to Tjaden when his time is up. The next person to die is Company Commander Bertinck; he died after being shot in the chest. After Bertinck death, another friend of Paul named Leer is shot in the arm and later dies of eternal bleeding. Many of Paul’s friends also died from the lack of foods and supplies. One of his oldest and closest friends, Katczinsky, is also wounded during the battle. When Katczinsky was wounded, Paul tries to carry Katczinsky all the way back to safety. When he makes it back to

Written by Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front is the tale of a young man by the name of Paul. Paul who is nineteen years old gathers several of his friends from school and together they voluntarily join the army fighting for the Axis alliance. Before they are sent off into actual battle, they are faced with the brutal training camp. Along with this they face the cruelty of the life of a soldier. This made them question the reason for which a soldier fights. They are told that they fight because they must be nationalists and must therefore be patriotic. But they began to understand that these are just clichés and are used to brainwash soldiers. Soon after they graduate they are sent into the fray of war. The premature idea of war being glorious and honourable is destroyed when they step into the gruesome actuality of war. They are forced to live in constant fear for their life. Kemmerich, a friend of Paul, gets injured and contracts gangrene. From this his leg is amputated to stop the infection from spreading. Sadly, the operation was done too late and Kemmerich is declared to be slowly dying. Paul and his friend visit Kemmerich is slowly dying, and Müller, another former classmate, overlooks Kemmerich’s horrible state and says that he wants Kemmerich’s boots for himself. Accustomed to life at war, Paul doesn’t consider Müller insensitive. Paul understands that Muller knows Kemmerich will no longer use his boots

During the war the British used a blockade which “certainly reduced the German food supply” (Ferguson 276). Since Paul was a German soldier the British blockade would have affected him and his comrades. During the war some food became harder to come by especially "bread was very scarce” (Arthur 188). Paul and the other soldiers would eat their bread to make it last longer. While out in the fields soldiers could expect rations not to come hourly or regularly so often "one could make two biscuits last for about three-quarters of the day" ( 206). Paul experiences this as he nibbles at his bread and puts it away for later to eat because he often would not know when his next rations would come. The British blockade forced the German government to “[lower] the bread ration” (Heyman 86) forcing them to have to substitute bread for other more plentiful food sources such as turnips that were mostly used as the substitutions or they would ration the bread out in small portions. The new recruits discuss their diet during training which consisted of mostly turnip based food. Remarque in an accurate way portrays the soldiers as they attempt to make their rations last

Another point that the author creates about the negative aspects of war is that there is never an abundant supply of food to support the well-being of all the men out there in the war. In the novel, the men who were used to eating decent meals every day before the war face severe hardships because in the army, they do not receive opulent nor tasty rations. “Long time since you’ve had anything decent to eat, eh?” Kat asks one of the [new recruits]. “For breakfast, turnip-bread, ㅡlunch, turnip-stew……it’s nothing new for it to be made of sawdust.” (Remarque 36) If these poor soldiers had better nourishments and more rest, the already-harsh environment would have been easier to survive. Many more recruits have actually died from a lack of sleep and food than from actual hand-to-hand combats. Another issue about the war is the complete loss of sanitation, or hygiene. “We must look out for our bread. The rats have become more numerous lately because the trenches are no longer in good condition.” (Remarque 101, 102) Because it is very unclean and pathogens float all over the place, various soldiers have deceased from an infection somewhere in the body. Maybe, just maybe, if the army had more suitable circumstances for the men in the war, fewer soldiers would have died.

Similar to the convergence of physical issues, the soldiers had a similar emotional trauma experienced. The mass death that was a consequence of the physical carnage of the war could easily lead to emotional distress due to the nature of death. Consider in All Quiet on the Western Front when the soldiers had to seek protection in a graveyard when “heavy fire” overtook them, what Paul thought about the event described the messed up mental side of the soldiers regarding death (Remarque 65). Primarily, when trying to escape the bombs and gas, and Paul had to hide in a coffin, he realized that the coffin “shall protect [Paul], thought death himself lies in it,” (Remarque 67). This whole statement can be analyzed as Paul coming to the understanding that the only way to

The theme of the novel, All Quiet On The Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque can be clearly identified as “without comradeship, life would be hopeless.” A few examples of the theme include when Paul and Kat shared a goose dinner, when Paul shared his potato cakes with Kat and Kropp, and when Paul carried Kat all the way back to the dressing station. When Paul and Kat fetched, cooked, and ate the goose in chapter five, it stood out as a wonderful example of comradeship. “We sit opposite one another, Kat and I, two soldiers in shabby coats, cooking a goose in the middle of the night. We don’t talk much, but I believe we have more in complete communion with one another than even lovers have” (94).

“Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old”- Job 12:12. As Job explained to one of his fellow church leaders, with age come wisdom. In the novel, All Quiet On the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque develops the underlying theme of ith age comes Wisdom. With the use of the main character, Paul, Remarque how as the older you get, the wiser you get. To begin the development of the theme, Remarque shows Paul in his twenties.Paul explains that since he is young “... the influence of parents [was] at its weakest and girl [had] not yet [had] a holdover [him]. Besides this there [were] little else- some enthusiasm, a few hobbies, and [their] school. Beyond this [his] life did not extent” (Page 20). As a young recruit, Paul did not have a good amount of

returning to the front was hard for him. The days were getting cold and one by one he watched his friends die. The hardest loss was that of Kat. After Kat had been shot, Paul had to carry Kat to the nearest first-aid station a few miles away. Kat was the last of Paul's friends to die in the war. Then, in October of 1918, Paul is killed on a quiet day shortly before the armistice ends the war.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is an eye opening story of a teenager and his experiences in the war. Paul Bäumer is only nineteen when he is persuaded by his high school teacher, Kantorek, to participate in World War I. Paul went into the war expecting to be surrounded by nationalism and pride. After he arrived, he realized that he was very wrong. He witnesses many of the soldiers in his company die in front of his own eyes. Paul realizes that war changes a person and takes over their life. By the end of the book, Paul is the only surviver out of his friends. Paul dies before the end of the war.

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) .”

Professor’s Comments: This is a good example of a book review typically required in history classes. It is unbiased and thoughtful. The Student explains the book and the time in which it was written in great detail, without retelling the entire story… a pitfall that many first time reviewers may experience.