In Erich Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, the comrades fighting together during World War I experience extreme trauma throughout the war with death constantly surrounding them, sometimes inflicted upon by themselves. Accounts from soldiers of World War II and other following wars prove that the horrific violence and death that they personally witnessed emotionally damaged them. In order to save their own lives and serve their country, some soldiers find killing to be an undesirable necessity that can forever negatively impact their lives.
In All Quiet on the Western Front, the main character Paul faced a challenging decision in which he decided to take the life of an enemy soldier while stuck in a trench. After the chaotic bombardment that occured he quickly realized that “[He] did not want to kill [him]...[he] was only an idea to [him] before...But now for the first time, [he] see[s] [he] is a man like [him]” (Remarque 223). The immoral action of killing
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When people sign up for the military, they recognize that “A central part of what [they] do with [their] careers is...kill the enemies of [their] country” (Evans). They do a tremendous amount of training that both mentally and physically for the harsh realities of war, although they do not truly understand the burden of murdering another person until after it is done. Whether defending others or themselves, soldiers must come to terms with the fact that their job is defense, regardless of if it costs a life. While their duty sometimes requires the sacrifice of another’s life “It tends to be the secret [they] have that [they’re] not proud of. [They] want to fight bravely, but it's hard to be proud of killing another person” (Evans). Many soldiers have high moral standings, therefore they have no desire to lose their morality by murdering others or admit that they have done