All Quiet on the Western Front - Term Paper Example

?All Quiet on the Western Front All Quiet on the Western Front is an antiwar novel written by Erich Maria Remarque a German boy who was drafted into the Germany war in 1916 to fight the world war I. in this war, Remarque was badly wounded and 10 years after the war, he was motivated to write this book with the purpose of bringing into light what ordinary German soldiers go through during times of war. The book is narrated by Paul Baumer a 19-year old man who was also fighting for Germany in the World War I but died before real peace could be achieved (SparkNotes Editors, 2). War, its effect on the individual soldier and generations of soldiers Through this book, Remarque expresses his strong feelings against war. He uses it to bring out his view that the bad/wrong thing behind war is that it makes enemies of people who do not or have never had any grudge against each other (Murdoch 68). Through this story, Remarque portrays impact of war on an individual soldier and generations of soldiers. One of them is that it results to injuries and casualties. Soldiers come back with wounds of various severities as a result of fierce fighting with soldiers of the enemy camp. Some of the injuries could be serious to an extent that they require the amputation of some body parts and the products of this is permanent disabilities and depression on the soldiers. Apart from sustaining injuries from war, soldiers can also experience a lot of pain and suffering as a result of the brutal type of training they could be subjected to. It makes the soldiers to exist in constant physical terror and to develop a strong negative attitude towards war. For example, they lose faith in it as an honorable or glorious thing and perceive themselves as being ruined for the sake of peacetime. At the extremes, soldiers loose their lives due to war or mistreatment. As a result of this, those who remain alive loose friends and live lives engulfed by fear. Bloom (120) states that war can make a soldier to lose the spirit of patriotism and nationalism in them. This happens mainly if the soldiers go through unpleasant experiences that are inflicted by people from their own country or camp. An example is what Paul, the narrator of this novel, and his friends went through in their training. For 10 weeks, they went through brutal training in the hands of the cruel Corporal Himmelstoss. This unimaginable cruelty of life made them to disregard the ideals of patriotism and nationalism as simple empty cliches. War could result to many soldiers being assembled in one or a small place. In such a place, life is dependent on having more power than another soldier. Such a scenario forces soldiers to adapt inhuman characters like tormenting others, oppression and tyranny. Soldiers could also contract diseases and other poor health conditions during war. These are attributed to the poor living conditions and treatment that the soldiers are exposed to while away on war. War could take a long time before it ends. Because of this, makes soldiers to live lives full of uncertainties. For example, some of them do not know what to do with themselves after the war. Soldiers attitude towards the teacher and officers. War made soldiers to change their attitudes towards those who motivated them to join in it, those who trained them or their leaders. As seen from the story, Paul and his friends, war could also make soldiers to hate and stage vengeance against the officers. This stems from bad treatment of soldiers by such officers. In this book, Tjaden, hale, Paul and Kropp plotted to revenge upon Himmelstoss because of how he had mistreated them (Firda 192). The group succeeded and beat the Corporal senselessly one night. As for those who motivated them to join them like teacher Kantorek, solders tend to hate them from deep within themselves. It was his patriotic speech that stirred them to leave school and join the army. Relationship of soldiers to the people back home War separates soldiers from their family members and sometimes, this can be long periods of time. This puts them in the dark in regard to what is happening to their family members back at home. The family members could end up suffering a lot and even die quickly because they (soldiers) were not near. For example, Paul went home only to find that his mother was dying from cancer. If he was home, maybe he could have helped her to get good medical attention to prolong her life. If they go back and find that all is not well, soldiers could end up being oppressed and feel akward. This is because at such a time, they cannot be able to share their experiences with their hurting family members. War can also make soldiers to lose taste for relationships for example when Paul went back home, he was unable to recapture his relationship with a girl he knew. War had consumed his feelings and time and thus he felt that restoring a relationship was impossible. Bauner in the trench and the Frenchman When Paul stabbed the Frenchman in the trench or shell hole who had followed him right to this hiding place, he was immediately overcame by feelings of regret as to why he had stabbed the man Murdoch (182) explains that although France was their enemy in war, his action made him to feel and acknowledge that the man was not his enemy. Instead, he was a victim of war just like him. It made clear the evil thing behind war, that is, making enemies of people who have or have never had any grudge against each other. Stabbing the Frenchman compelled Paul into being concerned about him for example he wanted to know more about him. He also mourned his death when the norms of war dictated that he should be celebrating for having killed an enemy. Conclusion When war breaks out between two or more nations, some people, out of the spirit of nationalism and patriotism, are ready to offer their strength and time in defense of their nation. Such individuals normally anticipate that the war will end soon and thus they will have another chance to pursue their various ambitions of life. However, all these expectations can also turn to be the reverse when they happen in reality. Soldiers are wounded, go through difficult times, spend a lot of time in war and some end up losing their lives. This can cause great losses and change of attitude in the affected individuals. Works Cited Bloom Harold. All Quiet on the Western Front: Modern Critical Interpretations. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 2000. Chickering Roger. Imperial Germany and the Great War, 1914–1918 (2nd Ed). New York: Cambridge University Press. 2004. Firda Richard. All Quiet on the Western Front: Literary Analysis and Cultural Context. New York: Twayne. 1993. Murdoch Brian. The Novels of Erich Maria Remarque: Sparks of Life. Elizabethtown., NY. Camden House. 2006. “SparkNote on All Quiet on the Western Front.” Online: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/allquiet/citing.html. Retrieved on 8th November, 2011. Read More