The Effect of War on the Soldier (All Quiet on the Western Front Essay Example)

📌Category: All Quiet on the Western Front, Books
📌Words: 1504
📌Pages: 6
📌Published: 07 April 2022

World War One was a dark time, where soldiers experienced much more than someone should. The novel All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, outlines the story of Paul and his comrades who are nineteen-year-old boys, taken under the influence of war. It follows along their journey and hardship they face as young soldiers while they continue to fight battles at the front. Most soldiers in the book believe they are nothing more than pawns that have to fight the battles of war. That is not how an average person would view war, but the soldiers' experiences led them to believe that is all they were useful for. Remarque shows the purpose for the novel by stating; “It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by war” indicating the hopelessness moreover, how war ruins a soldier’s mental health and overall devastates their identity.

In the novel, Remarque illustrates how war takes a toll on a soldier's mental health, scarring them forever. Throughout the book, the realities of war and its effects are shown in a plethora of situations. During battle, Albert Kropp is severely wounded in his leg, which led to the amputation of his leg. Paul was observing Kropp, thinking to himself, “He continues not to talk much, and is much more solemn than formerly. He often breaks off in his speech and stares in front of him. If he were not here with us he would have shot himself long ago” (Page 268). Due to this traumatic event, Kropp remains listless and unlike his usual self. This makes sense as the information given to Kropp is hard to grapple with. When Kropp breaks in his speech and stares in front of him, he visibly enters a depressive state. This further exemplifies how traumatic events take a toll on a soldier mentally. While Kropp does survive, he will have to live with not only the physical disability from war but how he was left mentally from the trauma he endured. As Remarque said, “even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by war,” which refers not to the physical damage from the war, but the mental damage that leaves a mark. To illustrate another example of the long-term mental health effects of soldiers, Paul encounters a French soldier that falls into the shell-hole with him. His first instinct was to immediately start to stab him. With instant regret he exclaims, “why don't they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours…Forgive me comrade; how could you be the enemy?” (Page 223). Once Paul realizes that he killed the soldier with his stabs, he feels instant remorse and guilt. Paul sympathizes with the soldier, as he further understands that he was no more than a man, just like him. Paul finds the soldier's wallet and sees his name with a picture of a wife and child. Paul utters, “his name, it's a nail that will be hammered into me and never come out again. It has the power to recall this forever, it will always come back and stand before me” (Page 224). Paul describing the guilt as a nail hammered into him that will never be able to get out shows the long-term effects that stabbing the soldier imposes on him. No matter what, Paul will be forever affected by this instance, it's described almost as if this situation will haunt him. He repeats, “Forgive me comrade” adding extra emphasis on how this situation has affected his thoughts. Paul goes to the extent where he even promises the soldier's dead body that he would write to his wife and explain everything to her, as well as to support his child and parents. Paul clearly was promising quixotic ideas, although the trauma was affecting him. It was evident by the description of the scene and the actions of Paul that he was having some sort of panic attack. This is understandable since he did stab a man to death. This part of the book ultimately foreshadows the long-term effects that disturb Paul's mental sanity, as killing another human is not something someone would necessarily take lightly and would be something he will live with forever.

Frequently, the novel illustrates how the war corrupts one's identity, permanently changing them and how they view life. After the exhausting battles of the war, Paul gets the opportunity to go home on leave in chapter seven. One may presume that his experience would be very relaxing, and reassuring the comfort in his own home. Although that's not how Paul truly felt, he says, “out there I was indifferent and often hopeless…. I was a soldier, and now I am nothing but agony for myself, for my mother, for everything that is so comfortless without an end. I ought to never have come home on leave” (Page 185). Paul feels useless and he struggles with trying to feel the same way he once did in his home. Paul continues to say he has nothing but anguish for him and his sick mother battling cancer. War caused this identity ‘crisis’ with Paul, he feels like a hopeless soldier that can not even feel at ease at home on rest. Paul feels as if he is now a different person than who he was before he left for the war. Furthermore, this shows how war can destroy a soldier's identity. Earlier in chapter seven, Paul and Albert admire a beautiful lady on some sort of advertisement poster. Additionally, focusing on how cleanly she was, and how she would bathe twice a day. Paul thinks to himself, “the girl on the poster is a wonder to us. We have quite forgotten that there are such things, and even now we hardly believe our eyes…She certainly doesn’t have dirt under her nails” (Page 141). Paul and Albert have forgotten what the feeling of cleanliness is, and now views showering as a privilege. For instance, the idea that Paul views cleanliness as something that he can hardly believe shows how war has changed how he views life. When Paul mentions how the girl unquestionably does not have dirt under her nails, it shows that everything he views can remind him of the effects war has on him. He is comparing himself to this poster as he sees that he looks more worn out and dirty than the girl. While he could’ve admired the poster, Paul brought attention to his appearance. This ultimately shows the change in overall identity he has since everything starts to relate to the effects war has on him.

Remarque indicates how war often leaves soldiers hopeless and lonely which changes how they view war. Paul and the other soldiers displayed their perspectives on war throughout the book based on experiences they had. Specifically, Paul’s perspective was displayed in chapter eleven when most of his other comrades died and he had to say goodbye to one of his closest friends, Albert. He says, “shells, gas clouds, flotillas of tanks-shattering, corroding, death. Dysentery, influenza, typhus, scalding, choking, death. Trenches, hospitals, the common grave, there are no other possibilities” (Page 283). Without truly explaining the outcomes of war, the reader can identify the purpose of this part of the novel. Paul feels a sense of hopelessness and desperation, with him believing the only outcome of war is death. The idea is especially apparent when Paul associates war with the common grave. This quote can be interpreted as a timeline for soldiers in Paul's view, he lists battlefront dangers that ultimately lead to death, then the diseases that accompany war, also leading to death. Finally, the outcome of a hospital, where he shows his internal feelings of his hopelessness when he notes that there are no other possibilities other than death that come out of war. This leaves Paul to retain these hopeless feelings until his last breath. As mentioned previously, Paul had to part ways with his fellow comrade Albert Kropp due to his inability to serve at the front because of his leg being amputated. Paul says, “parting from my friend Albert Kropp was very hard. But a man gets used to that kind of thing in the army”(Page 269). Paul is not able to properly cope with his feelings and is forced to move on rapidly to continue fighting at the front. Furthermore, the quote not only shows how the war imposes these difficult situations on soldiers but how one must forget and estrange any emotions that follow it. Additionally, it shows the loss of hope that a soldier has during war because Paul was accustomed to being separated from someone he shared a close bond to, as well as getting over the sorrow that he abruptly felt.

Overall, Erich Maria Remarque exemplified many crucial topics about war in the novel, especially the hopelessness that the soldiers face throughout it. Doing this by revealing the soldiers’ real perspective on war, and how that forever changes them. It brings attention to how the mental health of soldiers is eroded during war, and how that ultimately affects them long-term. He further explained how injury and death predominately impacted Paul’s mental health. The concept of a soldier's identity being altered from war, not allowing them to live a fulfilling life as they don’t feel comfortable in their own homes, and aren’t familiar with hygienic practices, are all too common issues soldiers face. Essentially Remarque proves his statement in the prologue of the book, “It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by war” to be accurate.

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