All Quiet on the Western Front Essay

All Quiet on the Western Front Essay

Essay Question: This World War I novel is a story of powerful bonding among men. Using examples from the book, explain how Remarque develops his idea of comradeship in the face of battle.

War engulfs the innocent, overtaking their young lives. The boys undergo a transformation throughout their time in the war, both physically and mentally. In order to avoid losing themselves completely, the youth must form a trust among one another, or risk being consumed by this life-long struggle against death.

At first, all of the young recruits are uncomfortable in their new situation. Upon entering training, they find themselves lost in this unfamiliar world. Paul reflects on this, saying, “I well remember how embarrassed we were as recruits in barracks when we had to use the general latrine” (7). They were in a place unlike anything they had previously considered “normal.” Suddenly plunged into a world outside their comfort zone, the men felt that they “could be reviewed all at one glance, for soldiers must always be under supervision” (7). They had quickly lost their privacy, but just as quickly they had grown comfortable with one another, like a family. And soon they “learned better than to be shy about such trifling immodesties. In time things far worse came easy to [them]” (8). Using the latrine together became a time for talk and bonding rather than an independent activity. The men found that there were some things more important to the war than being embarrassed about their daily tasks. Together, they transformed their ways of life to that of a soldier.

Once they open their eyes up to this new lifestyle, the men begin to recognize the reality of their situation. They see all of the lies that they had been told by people they had trusted—parents, teachers, the government. All they had known to be true about the war had been false, in a way, a government scam. Most of what they had heard was just the German military’s propaganda. Their parents and teachers encouraged them to volunteer, but they themselves knew nothing. The boys had been told that they would become heroes, the “Iron Youth” (18), while in truth, “no one had the vaguest idea what [they] were in for” (11). They had even somewhat peer-pressured each other into the war. Joseph Behm, one of their classmates, had not wanted anything to do with the war, but he also didn’t want to be called a coward. Eventually, Behm “did allow himself to be persuaded, otherwise he would have been ostracized,” (11) by those who he was closest to—his parents and his classmates. It turned out that Behm had been right after all, for he was the first of his classmates to die.

Now that the men see this truth, they are broken. They realize that the war is just this never-ending vortex, sucking them in and spinning them every which way. They cannot escape; there is no way. The boys that volunteered for the war are now old soldiers. The sad part is that they realize this for themselves, as Albert Kropp says,“The war has ruined us for everything” (87). Their lives used to be worth something, and now they have crumbled, and only shambles are left. They already call themselves the “Lost Generation,” since they are forever lost, changed by the brutality of the war. The soldiers are merely left with the sense of brotherhood that they have in one another. They feel as though no one else in the world could possibly understand their situation besides their comrades, their brothers who fight right along side of them. However much the boys want to flee this world, they cannot; they must survive, for the sake of one another.

When one is hurt, the entire family is hurt. When one feels pain, the others feel the pain of their brother. Paul and his fellow comrades stand by one another, through both darkness and light. Paul makes sure that his brothers are in good hands. When Kemmerich is on his dying bed, Paul is the one to see that he is not in pain, but instead in comfort when it is time for him to pass on. He “…get[s] hold of an orderly outside and ask[s] him to give Kemmerich a dose of morphia” (17). At first the orderly turns down Paul’s request, but that is not the end of it, for a soldier does not give up that easily. Even when he knows Kemmerich is going to die soon, Paul still feels for his comrade, and so he decides to give the orderly some of his cigarettes in exchange for morphia. This way, Paul is able to somewhat comfort Kemmerich on his dying bed. Even when both Paul and Kropp are injured later on, Paul makes a similar trade. He does this to make sure that he can stay with his comrade, to look over him and comfort him, like a brother should.

Paul risks his own life for his comrades. Even the new recruits find comfort in Paul. During a bombardment, the men hide in a graveyard, and one new recruit looks to Paul for protection. It is all very new to these young recruits, so when one gets scared, “like a child [he] creeps under [Paul’s] arm,” seeking a sense of safety that Paul is able to provide him. It is as though the new recruit is a child and Paul is a sheltering father, guarding his child from all harm.

The lives of the boys have been crushed by battle. By the end of the war, the soldiers’ “…only comfort is the steady breathing of [their] comrades asleep,” (275) for this is the only thing left that has any meaning. When they hear each other breathing, at least they know that they are not alone in this world. It is a scary thought to be the only one left. Paul tries to save all of his comrades, but they slowly die before his eyes, one by one. When Katczinsky dies, Paul’s mind is fragmented; he doesn’t even realize what he says anymore. Blinded by the cruelty of the world, he answers an orderly’s question about Kat, claiming, “No, we are not related,” (291) when in fact Kat was the only family Paul had left. Paul’s life is irretrievable, for he is already too far gone. Without his brothers, he is lost.