The Effects Of War In All Quiet On The Western Front

War often has drastic and lasting effects on individuals; the violence and horror ages soldiers mentally and physically. World War I was a violent and distressing war; men came home with mental illnesses and never were fully able to sink back into society. Through these lasting effects common civilians with no affiliation were unaware to the consequences. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Remarque investigates the damaging effects of war on an individual’s identity using Paul Bäumer as a representation for all soldiers; he draws specific attention to the continuing loss of purpose and ability to relate to the rest of society.

The beginning is the starting point of Paul’s change throughout the novel; first going into war, Paul knew who

A realization occurs to Paul on his leave on his change during his time away. Upon this awareness, he states, “it is I of course that have changed in the interval. There lies a gulf between that time and to-day… now I see that I have been crushed without knowing it. I find that I do not belong here anymore, it is a foreign world.” (168). Paul notices the dramatic transformation that he has endured and struggles to see his home as a “foreign world;” his connection with family and friends at home is “crushed” entirely. His inability to connect with people at home shows the loss of connection with society as a whole. Prior to the war, Paul himself was a civilian and connected well with society. Now that Paul has been submerged in life on the battlefield, he has lost touch with his old self, leaving his identity a shell of his old self. After his visit to home, he finds himself more excited to return to the front due to the exhaustion he faced at home. Upon his return from leave, Paul states, “I can hardly control myself any longer. But it will soon be all right again back here with Kat and Albert. This is where I belong.” (201). Paul has become increasingly drawn away from people at home and toward his comrades from the battlefield. Outweighing the miserable times on the front, the attraction of his friends is stronger than the repulsion of military actions. Paul’s

Paul’s previous identity before the war is replaced by a surviving, beast-like animal that continues to grow and overtake his old self. Paul describes his experience after his chief’s command to take action: “we have become wild beasts. We do not fight, we defend ourselves against annihilation. It is not against men that we fling our bombs, what do we know of men in this moment when death is hunting us down” (109). When faced with the brutality of war, Paul and his comrades do not see their enemies as other humans, and also start to lose sight that they themselves are humans too. Paul’s dark, uncaring tone shows that he has, in a way, reverted to primal, animal instincts. Humanity is a basic trait, and destroying that takes away the most basic form of identity a a human; showing in this point of the novel, there is a huge loss of identity in Paul. Paul’s loss of human identity is clear when he dies and seems to be at peace. When Paul dies, he “had fallen forward and lay on the earth as though sleeping. Turning him over one saw that he could not have suffered long; his face had an expression of calm, as though almost glad the end had come” (296). The war had demolished so much of his human identity that he lost the basic desire to be alive, he was “almost glad the end has come.” Paul’s peace at his end is a foil to his suffering and struggling life. The horrors that Paul