All Quiet On The Western Front

All Quiet On the Western Front, written by Erich Maria Remarque, is a war novel based on World War 1 with the German/French front. In this novel, Remarque applies the changes the war makes on the soldiers a probable and dependable theme throughout the novel that plays a climactic role in the growth of the characters. A soldier must fight against the physical and mental threats every second on the battlefield. Throughout the novel a young man named Paul Baumer, a 19 year old german soldier, narrates his story but is likely the explanation for all of the soldiers in the war at this time. Over the course of the story, one can see how his expeditions in the war changed him and his view on life and how the theme of the war affecting him begins.
The people at home have a conception of the war that differs from the experience at the front.” The duty slots on the front are where the most serious changes occur between solder and a human being. They march up with self respect of being a man, but end up becoming animals. Individuals are no longer recognized, people are categorized in groups, a column of men ready to go into battle. The human instinct is no longer there, but instead the need to survive is the only thing that one can see. Upon arrival back home for leave, there is a sense of awkwardness. Though one is “home” the sense of feeling like constant distance and not feeling himself was an agonizing pain. The amount of trauma from losing friends and the constant struggle of being at war had made Paul feel like the feeling and meaning of home was something of the distant
In two different instances where Paul is at his ultimate low thinking he is the same as every other soldier in the war. The first is when he is put in charge to guard Russian prisoners. As he is guarding the prisoners he notices that despite the horrible circumstances they are all sticking together in a little family. The prisoners remind him of his friends and family and he is one of the few guards that treat the prisoners with some respect. He splits tobacco with them and eventually gives them some of his homemade cakes. The second instance was when he had to kill an enemy soldier. Paul had to make shelter in a shell hole and when the other man tried to join him, he had no choice but to stab him. Upon stabbing him, he wrapped his wounds and gave him water and the man lived for a few more hours. He found a picture of his daughter and wife and promised the soldier to anonymously send them money, but then decided that he would break his promise. The experiences of seeing people die right in front of him is pure agony. The common theme throughout the entirety of All Quiet on The Western Front is the effects the war has on the characters.Remarque uses this theme throughout the book to effectively portray the mood and tone of the war novel. Paul Baumer is one of the prime victims that shows the change that happens to soldiers when they are traumatized at war. Erich Maria Remarque did