In 1914, a war broke out between two alliances: the Central Powers and the Allies. Germany and Austria-Hungary made up the Central Powers, and the Allies consisted of Britain, France, Russia, and the United States. This great battle became known as World War I, an event where millions of people died over a four-year span for an unnecessary cause. In order to gain military power, help allies, and imperialize, these countries used all their reserves and maximized their efforts to win this war. Countries motivated men to join the war with fame and nationalism. For example, in All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, a German soldier, named Paul Baumer, joins the war because he was taught to believe that war was easy, and he would be recognized as a hero. Unexpectedly, he encounters many disturbing moments during …show more content…
These consequences are most impactful because of how dehumanization allowed the soldiers to kill mercilessly, which connects to how they gain a sense of guilty after the war when they have time to reflect. Unfortunately, their guilty consciences became so unbearable to the point where some would commit suicide. This exact scenario occurs to Paul in All Quiet on the Western Front. During a battle, Paul lost his senses as he is caught in the heat of the battle. Suddenly, a random body falls on him and “[Paul] strikes the [French soldier without thinking] at all” (Remarque 216). As a soldier fighting in battle, Paul is unable to “think at all” during these desperate situations. His actions of “[striking the soldier]” viciously emphasizes how he had become desensitized, which also reveals his animalistic nature because of how he follows his instincts of “[striking the soldier without thinking]” about the consequences. Paul, like many other soldiers in WWI, was forced to kill more people “[without any thought]” for the preservation of his own life allowing him to develop inhuman behavior. Throughout the war,
In chapter two, we see Paul reminiscing over his poems and plays that he wrote abundantly while at home. Paul and the other soldiers have lost their zeal and human need for curiosity and growth as a person. When out on the front, the risk of them dying is high and survival is of utmost priority. The men are currently living at the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a psychological theory, in the Physiological section. This means that the top priorities of the men are eating, sleeping, and basic bodily functions while they did not spend time or energy focusing on meeting their personal potential or “self-actualization”, which is at the top of the pyramid.
Before World War I, all of Europe in 1914, was tense and like a bomb or a fire was waiting to erupt. Europe had not seen a major war in years, but due to Militarism, Imperialism, Alliances, and Nationalism tensions grew high. Each country was competing to be the best by gaining more territory and growing in their military size and successful economies. World War 1 was waiting to happen and the assassination of the Archduke was the spark that lit Europe up. In All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque we see the effects of the assassination.
War- a time of nationalism and comradery struck by intense passion for one’s country. Men, who are most likely still boys at the time, sent off to fight for what seems like the good of the homeland. Paul Baumer and his classmates in All Quiet On the Western Front are thrown into war immediately out of high school, and must learn quickly how deal with the hardships and trials of war. Many of them do not possess the needed roots of experience and joy before the war, must throw away their youth during the fights, and must learn how to cope with no life during time off from the battles.
Paul and his mates are compelled to act against their moral principles, including taking human lives, which causes them to question their own identity. They're stripped of their unique personalities and become parts of the war machine.
Empathy vs. Dehumanization is depicted throughout All Quiet on the Western Front by showing how Paul can be both empathetic and indifferent on the battlefield, such as when he pitied a French soldier he wounded, or when he was reflecting on how a word of command could make Russians his enemies. Furthermore, on page 144 of All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul is hesitant to kill a wounded French soldier and states that "The eyes follow me. I am powerless to move so long as they are there." In this instance, empathy is represented through Paul feeling remorse for the soldier and Paul's lack of response. His emotions can be best explained as empathy, because his body freezes from guilt when noticing the scared soldier watching him.
In All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Paul Bäumer participates in the bloodiest war of all time, and he develops the skills of intelligence, leadership, and loyalty. In
In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque tells us about the impact of World War I through a solider named Paul Baumer. Before the war, Paul was an empathetic, understanding young man who was full of patriotism and wanted to fight for his country. However, throughout the war, the fear and constant apprehension disconnected him from his emotions and completely changed the person he used to be. One event that had a major impact on Paul was when he stabbed an enemy soldier who jumped into his shell hole in the middle of a bombardment. When Paul realized the enemy soldier wasn’t dead right away, he used his own supplies to bandage the wound, even though he knew death was inevitable for this man.
The book All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque gives us a good understanding of what war was like for the people fighting on the front. When reading this book people can get a front hand experience of what it is like being in battle. Remarque wrote this book so well that often times you picture yourself actually with Paul and all his friends. The one thing you specifically get to see is how humanity affects warfare. Humanity affects our decisions in warfare because humans are selfish, have fear, and seek revenge.
The Cruel Realities of War In war, is there anything honorable about violence, murder, and cruelty? After becoming a soldier and being exposed to the cold realities of war, Paul Bäumer, a 20-year-old, realizes that the government has lied to the soldiers; they told them that it is an honor to fight for their country. The theme of the anti-war novel “All Quiet on The Western Front” is that war changes you for the worse. Remarque conveys to the readers that it is not an honor to fight for your country through the use of irony, symbolism, and imagery.
Throughout the ages, wars have wreaked havoc and caused great destruction that lead to the loss of millions of lives. However, wars also have an immensely destructive effect on the individual soldier. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, one is able to see exactly to what extent soldiers suffered during World War 1 as well as the effect that war had on them. In this essay I will explain the effect that war has on young soldiers by referring to the loss of innocence of young soldiers, the disillusionment of the soldiers and the debasement of soldiers to animalistic men. Many soldiers entered World War 1 as innocent young boys, but as they experienced the full effect of the war they consequently lost their innocence.
From 1914 to 1918 World War One occurred due to the murder of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, by a Serbian group named the Black Hand. Additionally, several powerful countries, including Germany, France, and Britain, established a series of alliances that amplifies the size of the war. Likewise, the war expanded by the strong nationalist beliefs of each country, therefore a countless amount of men desired to fight the war, in order to support their country. This sense of nationalism is a theme explored throughout Erich Maria Remarque's novel All Quiet on the Western Front, through the lense of a young German Soldier. The protagonist, Paul, a 19 year old soldier, explores the horrors of war through strong comradeship, the death of companions,
This can be seen in All Quiet on the Western Front when Paul sees the Russians prisoners and the French soldier that he killed. He realizes that they are nothing like the illusion depicted them to be. The illusion made them seem to be cruel and wicked when they are just like any other man. After realizing how terribly wrong he has been he states, "But now, for the first time, I see you are a man like me. I thought of your hand-grenades, of your bayonet, of your rifle; now I see your wife and your face and our fellowship.
Things are horrendous throughout the war, but the real effect of it happens outside of the war. Things such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and also the loss of very close friends. Near the end of the book, Paul is the last survivor of his original classmates who enlisted. “Now if we go back we will be weary, broken, burnt out, rootless, and without hope” (Remarque 294) This captures the feelings Paul has towards the war.
Erich Maria Remarque, a World War I veteran, took his own personal war experience to paper, which resulted in one of the most critically acclaimed anti-war movement novels of all time, All Quiet on the Western Front. The voice of the novel, Paul Baumer, describes his daily life as a soldier during the First World War. Through the characters he creates in the novel, Remarque addresses his own issues with the war. Specifically, Remarque brings to light the idea of the “Iron Youth,” the living conditions in the trenches, and the sense of detachment soldiers feel, among other things. Therefore, All Quiet on the Western Front criticizes the sense of nationalism, which war tends to create among citizens by quickly diminishing any belief regarding it as a glorious and courageous act.
People’s personalities are often the result of the environment that they’re in. Harsh environments such as war can foster negative personality traits in people. You see examples of this in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. In the novel, Paul Bӓumer is a 19 year old soldier in the German army during World War I. During the story he has to learn how to deal with the harshness of war.