Essay On All Quiet On The Western Front Mental Effects Of War

Matt Morrow

Mrs. Kane

English

18 October 2016

Mental Effects of War

When reading All Quiet on The Western Front a major theme is the mental impact war has on each veteran. Although many people die in war, the mental disturbance when coming out alive can be brutal. “According to RAND, at least 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have PTSD and/or Depression.” (Veteran Statistics: PTSD, Depression, TBI, Suicide.

www.veteransandptsd.com/PTSD-statistics.html. Accessed 16 October 2016)

PTSD is not anything new. Veterans from Vietnam have suffered from it, and it doesn’t look like the disorder will stop anytime soon. This paper will be discussing the mental destruction of the people who survive the war.

When in war, death is a common

PTSD can be triggered by anything and happen anywhere. This can be devastating to veterans, and especially POW’s. When Paul came home while he was on leave, his father continuously asked him about his heroic war stories. This is a key influence on the mental destruction of veterans. Making them relive the horrifying events on the battlefield is never something that should happen to them. "We want to live at any price; so we cannot burden ourselves with feelings which, though they might be ornamented enough in peacetime, would be out of place here" (Remarque, Erich. All Quiet on the Western Front). This quote symbolizes how much war changes your humane mentality. The soldiers that died were thrown in shell holes. Close friends became victims in war, and that no longer bothered the

In the book, Paul often cares more than anyone else. He cares for his friends and even the enemy. “I take out my cigarettes, break each one in half and give them to the Russians” (Remarque, Erich. All Quiet on the Western Front). During the war, the Russians were enemies with Germany. But Paul had empathy for them. He thought of them much like himself. Throughout the story Paul has a very caring personality. He is very strong, mentally and physically. The physical strength came from the extensive training from Himmelstoss. But the mental strength was something he developed. He had dealt with his mother being sick, the deaths of friends, war, and humiliation from the general in the street who ordered him around. Paul went through a lot, and still came out more peaceful, and caring then the rest of the army. People with mental endurance can do well in war, as demonstrated by Paul often throughout the book, but others are scarred by the conditions they were put