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Trauma In All Quiet On The Western Front

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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 …show more content…

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

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Throughout All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul and some of his comrades wonder why they’re fighting a war that they have no relation to. Furthermore, that doesn’t give them a sabbatical for going home, even though they aspire to go home to their families. In the book, Paul and the other soldiers are taught that the country they are fighting against is their enemy, and whenever they are to approach any of the “enemies” they are to tranquilize them promptly. Just because you are fighting against a country that you believe is atrocious or corrupt, doesn’t mean that an individual on that side is in that manner. Nevertheless, a book should not be judged by a cover.

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On March 5, 1770, five people died at the hands of British soldiers in Boston, Massachusetts. Based on an analysis of the eyewitness testimonies, medical examiner’s reports, and the crime scene, it was determined that the soldiers did not commit murder, but rather acted in self-defense. Many eyewitness testimonies clearly describe the mob as threatening to the point where the soldiers felt they were in danger. Dr. John Jeffries, the surgeon attending to Patrick Carr, who died during the incident, states that Carr said the soldier who shot him “had no malice, but fired to defend himself.”

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The novel All Quiet on the Western Front demonstrates a theme, war can be physically and psychologically harming. In this book it constantly shows examples of characters being harmed physically, but they also get mentally torn apart. An example of mental pain is when Paul goes on leave to visit home. He experienced severe PTSD and felt like he didn't belong there anymore because of his experiences. “I find I do not belong here anymore, it is a foreign world” (Remarque 168).

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In the novel, If I Die in a Combat Zone: Box Me Up and Ship Me, the author, Tim O’Brien, takes the reader through his own personal experience as a soldier during the Vietnam War. Not only did O’Brien describe the disturbing and horrific incidents he encountered in Vietnam, but he also gave his opinion about the war. He strongly believed that the war was both immoral and unjust. “The war, I thought, was wrongly conceived and poorly justified”(O’Brien 1975, 18). Though he believed the war was unjust, O’Brien still served his duty in Vietnam.

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War is something many people can have the chance to experience, but few actually make it through the journey. In various senior symposium lectures and readings have revolved around the life of war and the lives that war impacts. War has more negative externalities than positive externalities when comparing the two. War drastically changes the way a person reacts to situations, a soldiers home life and relationships, and causes possible trauma for many of the men.

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Warfare has a devastating impact, that can provide an impact on the nature of humankind. “All Quiet on the Western Front” is a film that visualizes to the audience the struggles and hardships that the soldiers endured while fighting in World War 1 for Germany. The audience sees the stress not only mentally, but physically that the soldiers have to go through while at war. This film allows future generations to understand the devastating impact warfare had on everything and also provides insight into the nature on humankind. There are many scenes that are good examples for future generations to see the impact war had on the humankind throughout this film.

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We are cut off from activity, from striving, from progress. We believe in such things no longer, we believe in the war” (88). The very last vestige of Paul’s youth was lost when he killed the French soldier, Gerard Duval. This action destroys Paul because he finally realizes that war is evil and that all men are essentially fighting for the same thing: their own life and their own

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PTSD is a condition that affects soldiers and others who experience traumatic events during their lives. In All Quiet On The Western Front many of the characters, including Paul, experience PTSD. All Quiet on The Western Front takes place during the events of World War One when PTSD was called shell shock. The condition was often dismissed as cowardice, and soldiers even after experiencing many traumatizing events, were forced to fight and go back to the front line. PTSD now and in World War One are the same condition, and were often caused by chaotic and modernized warfare.

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The Echoes of a Traumatic Event So many people are affected by PTSD and don’t realize it. I went through a traumatic event where I was burnt by the ashes of fireworks and am now deathly afraid of them. I did not fight through the war or gotten kidnapped, but everyone can be affected by an event and have an equal chance of getting this disorder. PTSD has many unpleasant side effects, but most of the side effects can be treated with different steps.

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An Evil Force through the eyes of an Innocent Man World War II was a devastating war with over 18 million casualties accounted for not even including famine and diseases. All Quiet on the Western Front follows a group of germanic recruits and their pathway throughout the way they saw the tragedy of the war. In the classic novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque uses symbolism to show camaraderie, a loss of innocence, and how life can be impacted in monumental ways when people choose to not back down when an evil force awakens. During hardships and tough times, comradeship through a brotherhood can be tested but true comrades will stick together. Recruits always had to be under supervision

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Committed suicide is the leading cause of death among military. It can occurs when a soldier chooses to end their life as he or she thinks committing suicide is the only way out of problem. The stress of war, moving oversea to the front, and other personal issues may causes soldiers to kill themselves in the war. All Quiet on the Western Front, an account of the atrocity of World War I by Erich Remarque Paul, shows the real situation and tribulations that the soldiers have faced every day in the front line. Paul Baumer, is a sensitive twenty year old narrator of the novel.

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Throughout World War I, 18 million people died, making it one of the most deadly conflicts in human history. To put that number into perspective, a little more than 18 million people live in the country of Chile today. Imagine the outrage that would occur if everyone in Chile was killed. Now, there is an understanding about the number of people, soldiers and civilians, that were killed in atrocious ways during World War I. World War I was one of the first wars where modern technology and modern warfare was used effectively, enabling the death toll to be much higher than in wars during the 19th century and before. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, World War I is shown from a German soldier’s perspective.

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The book, All Quiet on The Western Front, gives a detailed account of the experiences that a few young ordinary German soldiers endured when World War I broke out; as well as how they changed and how they were impacted by the war. This book is more than just a story of combat, it is a story of a soldier's emotions how he felt; how he transformed; and how the war impacted his view on war. The narrator, Paul, explains that the war is mentally painful more than it is physically painful. The experiences that he and his fellow comrades go through are horrific and those of them who survived the war were still hurt by it mentally. Upon going into war Paul Bäumer and his friends were convinced by one of their school teachers, Kantorek, that it

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