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Insanity In All Quiet On The Western Front

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Recommended: Emotional and psychological effects of war

In the novel “All Quiet on the Western Front'' the main character and his comrades, Paul Bahmer, experience cases of insanity. During this treacherous time all the soldiers had some ways to relieve some of the stress they’ve been dealt. “We are little flames poorly sheltered by frail walls against the storm of dissolution and madness, in which we flicker and sometimes almost go out.”. This quote shows that the insanity the men went throught that occurred which clouded their judgemnet and made them unable to think in a clear and or sensible way causing hallucinations and confusing their minds. In “All Quiet on the Western Front” Paul watched one of the new recruits go mad and try escaping while having shell shock(PTSD) and claustrophobia which made his actions seem like insanity. …show more content…

On page 290 it says “ My legs and hands tremble. I have trouble in finding my water bottle, to take a pull. My lips tremble as I try to think. But I smile -- Kat is saved. After a while I begin to sort out the confusion of voices that fall on my ears.”, “ I look at hime without comprendhinding. He points to Kat “He is stone dead” I do not understand him “He has been hit in the shin” I say. The orderly stands still. “That as well”. These two quotes show the confusion that has been laid upon the eyes of Paul when he truly didn’t realize his friend had died. If you keep reading this it shows how Paul slowly comes to realize that his friend has truly died with him thinking his friend has died before slowly coming to know the

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He has buried his face in his hands, his helmet has fallen off. I fish hold of it and try to put it back on his head. He looks up, pushes the helmet off, and as a child creeps under my arm,”(pg61). Paul experiences death like it’s an everyday occurrence. This contributes to Paul’s insanity by giving him the thought that he might die very soon.

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Paul is haunted by the death of Billy Boy, he fears the same could and will happen to him. As a way to cope and overcome his fear, he tries to find humor in the fact of Billy Boy dying, and he does. Laughing hysterically he is told multiple times by a platoon member to shut up, but his fear has gotten the best of him, he cannot stop. ¨Giggling and remembering, he covered his mouth. His eyes stung, remembering how it was when Billy Boy died of fright,¨ (69).

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Also, Paul pulled out his dagger to protect himself from any soldiers trying to attack him. Paul killing a man shows that the brutality of war has affected him and his humanity. Another example of when Paul loses his humanity is when he says he only knows about death and despair. “I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how people are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another.

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Insanity vs Sanity Insanity devours one's mind causes them to think inefficiently. It alters the mind, making it nearly impossible to control one's thoughts.[1] It is evident that in the novel catch 22 by , Joseph Heller, the characters are suffering from insanity due to multiple factors. Catch 22 portrays a world where insanity and sanity have traded places, where a complete normal person is considered “insane”and a insane person is considered a hero.

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As Winston Churchill states: “You ask: what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, no matter how long and hard the world may be; for, without victory, there is no survival.” This quote applies to times of war because in a war in order to try to achieve victories many countries are willing to sacrifice and go to the extremes. In All Quiet on the Western Front, the German army sacrificed millions in order to attempt to win World War One. However what they sacrificed is appalling.

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He lies and tells her his death was quick and painless. On his last night home, Paul’s mother sits by his bedside. She is in great pain with her illness. He wishes he never came home. Paul’s leave ends and he attends the training camp.

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In the book, All Quiet on the Western Front an enemy soldier jumped into the shell hole with Paul causing him to stab the soldier. Paul states, “The body is still perfectly still, without a sound, the gurgle has ceased, but the eyes cry out, yell,” (Remarque 219). This isn’t showing the loss of family or friends but the loss of Paul himself. He is sacrificing his hopes and dreams by being in the war. He is young and killing someone is taking away any kind of hope for a future.

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The war has destroyed their old life and they must grasp onto the reality that as much as they fight and push, they will never have what they had nor who they truly were before the war. After Paul is the only 1 of the 7 people in his class remaining alive he is granted 14 days of rest due to swallowing a small quantity of gas. While Paul is outside being attacked by his thoughts, he concludes that, “Let the months and years come, they can bring me nothing more. I am so alone, and so without hope that I can confront them without fear. The life that has borne me through these years is still in my hands and eyes.

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When he saw the expression on his face, it pained Paul. He felt numb and inhumane for what he had just done and seeing this poor soldier in such pain. When Paul goes on to say that he would not have killed him if he was sensible too it really dives deep into the pains of the war these young men had to experience at such a young age. Secondly, Paul demonstrates compassion by giving out his cakes to the Russian soldiers in prison. This act especially shows his compassion because they are supposed to be fighting against each other.

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On his way back, he becomes lost. An attack with bombs begins, so he realizes that he must lie still and pretend to be dead. Paul crawled into a shell hole to wait until the bombardment is over. An enemy soldier jumps into the hole with him, and Paul quickly stabs him. However, it is too light outside for Paul to make his way back, so he is forced to wait in the shell hole with the enemy.

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Both characters attempt to hide from the burdens of their everyday life and begin to become delusional and neglect their surroundings. Paul loses touch with reality in a few ways throughout the story. One example is his excessive daydreaming and fantasizing, which leads him to create a false reality for himself. Paul eventually becomes so out of touch that "he was now entirely rid of his nervous misgivings, of his forced aggressiveness, of the imperative desire to show himself different from his surroundings. He felt now that his surroundings explained him" (Cather 5).

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