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Lost Generation In All Quiet On The Western Front

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In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque provides the experiences of young soldiers in World War I, known as the lost generation, that lose themselves mentally and physically, and the narrative also shows the widespread consequences of the war on regular civilians. The lost generation refers to the numerous deaths, injuries, and mental health problems that haunt the "young" soldiers and makes it impossible to ever be innocent and young again. Paul struggles through his visits with his family because his mother's cancer makes Paul emotional and with acquaintances because he can not relate with them. Many of Paul's fellow soldiers experience death in the novel, which shows the horrors of war and its physical consequences. Also, …show more content…

At the Bier Haus, Paul's old principal downplays Paul's criticism of the war: '"The details, yes,' says he, 'but this relates to the whole. And of that you are not able to judge. You see only your little sector and so cannot have any general survey'" (Remarque 167). Germany's nationalism and propaganda skews the principal's belief of seeing the bigger picture and knowing more about the war than Paul, who actually fights in it but can only see his "little sector." As Paul's return comes to an end and he learns about his mother's cancer, he realizes that the trip leaves him feeling weak as a soldier and emotionally: "Out there I was indifferent and often hopeless—I will never be able to be so again. I was a soldier, and now I am nothing but an agony for myself, for my mother, for everything that is so comfortless and without end. I ought never to have come on leave" (Remarque 185). Here, Paul puts aside his emotions, a symbol of his humanity, in favor of animal-like instincts to survive during the war. During his leave, Paul struggles to connect with his family and friends due to his war experiences. He can not agree with the principal's vision of the war because Paul sees through the lies of nationalism and actually experiences the horrors of war. Paul tries to associate with his family, but he has lost his innocence through his emotions. War causes soldiers to lose hope and complicates their return to everyday

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Throughout the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator of the story, Paul Baumer goes through the realization how joining the war was destroying his and others’ youth while turning people against each other. Remarque uses the phrase “abyss of sorrow” as figurative language to describe the suffering and heartbreak the young boys experience in the front line, earning the generation of boys that served in World War 1 the name “the Lost Generation”. After Paul observes the pain of the prisoners that he is assigned to watch, he sees for himself “how people are set against one another, and in silence…slay one another”. Just because two sides are waging war, people are brainwashed or persuaded to sacrifice themselves for a fight that is

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The book All Quiet on the western front, by Erich maria Remarque, tells the story of young men who have been convinced to join world war 1 and fight with germany. The narrator of the book is paul, a 18 year old that explains what his friends and him do during the war. War has harmful effects on people due to a loss of identity and breaking families apart. War hands harmful effects on people due to a loss of identity.

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Erich Remarque, author of the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, presents a true story of a soldier throughout World War I. At the young age of 19, Paul Bäumer voluntarily enters the draft to fight for his home country, Germany. Throughout the war, Paul disconnects his mind from his feelings, keeping his emotions away from the bitter reality he is experiencing. This helps him survive mentally throughout the course of the war. The death of Paul 's friend Kemmerich forces him to cover his grief, “My limbs move supplely, I feel my joints strong, I breathe the air deeply. The night lives, I live.”

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In the novel All Quiet On The Western Front, Paul Baumer represents the “Lost Generation” with Paul embodying the decline of the young sent to war under the guise of duty and honor propagated by teachers and parents as his character changes from a sensitive nineteen year old boy to be worn, apathetic soldier who has seen the violent front lines of the war. In the novel All Quiet On The Western Front, Paul Baumer has been in war for months now sitting in the trenches of the front. His hatred for the war is obvious as he watches men killed in the most of horrendous ways cursing at himself for not feeling anything and becoming an ‘animal’. The war was only made more damaging when Paul and his fellow schoolmates witness the death of their friend, Behm, the first week of war after he was left for

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The war novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque depicts one protagonist, Paul, as he undergoes a psychological transformation. Paul plays a role as a soldier fighting in World War I. His experiences during the war are not episodes the average person would simply experience. Alternatively, his experiences allow him to develop into a more sophisticated individual. Remarque illustrates these metamorphic experiences to expose his theme of the loss of not only people’s lives but also innocence and tranquility that occurs in war.

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