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What Are The Effects Of War In All Quiet On The Western Front

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There are not many ways to potentially ruin a man, but war is most certainly one of them. All Quiet on the Western Front is a post-World War I novel written by Erich Maria Remarque that explores the reality of war and its effects on the men. In the trenches, the men go through bombardment after bombardment, being stuck for days on end, and watching fellow comrades die, so they are tormented for the rest of their life. When they physically leave the battlefield, their experiences have alienated them from everything they used to know, and completely altered their personality, and their views of life, so they struggle to return to the way their relationships were before the war. Many go into war as boys, without a family, a goal, a job, or anything …show more content…

Some spend months in the front, being bombed, shot at, and subjected to many very stressful events, causing so much psychological damage that they are tortured for the rest of their life. One event in the book shows a bombardment that lasts several days. After a while, the newer recruits start to show signs of collapse. They are overwhelmed, more scared than they have ever been, and are beginning to crumble. Some of the men feel as if they are suffocating, and would do anything to get out of the trap they are in. Their claustrophobia and stress override their logic, and they begin to make dashes for the door. Paul and Kat do their best to stop them, but one manages to escape and when a shell goes off very close to him, he is instantaneously killed. Another bangs his head against the wall. (Remarque 110) Those that are thinking clearly know that as soon as they leave the safety of the bomb shelter they will die, but the stress is driving them crazy and they only care to leave where they are. The stress these men are under temporarily drives them from reason, but permanently leaves them with shell shock. They are permanently …show more content…

Many boys went to war without anything to return to, a job, a family, or a goal. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that about half of veterans were not in the noninstitutional labor force in 2016 while that number was down to a third in the rest of the population. (Bureau of Labor Statistics) This shows that many men leave the military and for various reasons are unable to form to civilian life. They try to find a job that they are fit for, but don’t understand society and no longer fit into the culture of the world they left. They realize that they must relearn how to live if they are to jibe with the world and can’t always climb that mountain without support. While sharing post-war plans, those with a family and a home-life decide that if the war ends they will go back home and continue supporting their family and growing crops. The younger boys make immediate plans but realize that they have nothing to return to and nothing to plan for when Kropp verbalizes that “the war has ruined us for everything.” (Remarque 87) They realize that once they go home they will have to try to integrate into the society they left. They find it sickening and are unable to think of a thing they would fit. They had not yet experienced the world, and war has made them realize the uselessness of everything they had been taught them up to that point; all they know is war, and war is all they need to

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The soldiers went in as young men and came out feeling old, hardened, and incomplete. In order to survive such a gruesome war, the men must return to their animalistic ways and disconnect from their past selves. For instance, Paul Baumer transformed from an innocent young man into a hardened and distraught war veteran who must form a new path to get through his mental conflict of feeling

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Zach Miller English II Accelerated September 4, 2014 All Quiet on the Western Front Character Chart Name Description Paul Braumer Paul is the narrator and main character of the story. He enjoys writing poetry, reading books, smoking cigarettes, and drinking beer. He is very kind and compassionate towards his friends.

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The horrors of war can be seen throughout most of the novel All Quiet on the Western Front. Although this novel takes place during World War I, horrors of war have been around since the beginning of war, and can still be seen here today. Almost all soldiers, regardless of which war they’re in, end up losing themselves. This is due to the experiences these soldiers have gone through and the horrors of war that they have seen or been a part of. War is a gruesome part of human history, and the different horrors often hidden within can tear the soldiers apart, both mentally and physically.

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"This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war" (Remarque 1). The author of this book, Erich Maria Remarque discusses the reality of war and the detrimental affects it holds on our hard working soldiers. During the war era, survival comes first followed by comfort. Erich does an excellent job in showing the context and severe brutality used in the war front accompanied with the violence and terror used.

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Present throughout the book is the theme of disillusionment. In the school, they’ve been told by their schoolmasters and parents that unless they join the war, they would remain cowards. They see propaganda after propaganda, all alluding towards the glory of battle and warfare. Out on the front, they realize that nothing was further from the truth. Their dreams of being heroes shattered, like when they compare themselves to the soldier on a poster in chapter 7.

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Moreover, the author decided to portray this concept throughout the whole novel to remind the reader that physical destruction is not the only disadvantage of war. Many individuals believe that surviving on the battlefield without experiencing dreadful injuries, grant the young soldiers a life full of peace and freedom. In fact, the youth who are affected by the psychological disorders need as much guidance and support as the soldiers who are brutally injured during the battles. Moreover, the psychological wars that bombard their minds have the power to trample upon their life. To conclude, the soldiers did not dare to aim for a successful future since the warfare annihilated their mental

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