All Quiet Essay, Research Paper

Imagine being in an ongoing battle where friends and others are dying. All that is heard are bullets being shot, it smells like gas is near, and hearts race as the times goes by. This is similar to what war is like. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator, Paul Baumer, and his friends encounter the ideals of suffering, death, pain, and despair. There is a huge change in these men; at the beginning of the novel they are enthusiastic about going into the war. After they see what war is really like, they do not feel the same way about it. During the war the men experience many feelings especially the loss of loved ones. These feelings are shown through their first experience at training camp, during the actual battles, and in the hospital.

Training camp was the first actuality of what war was going to be like for the men. They thought that it would be fun, and they could take pride in defending their country. Their teacher, Kantorek, told them that they should all enroll in the war. Because of this, almost all of the men in the class enrolled. It was in training camp that they met their cruel corporal, Himelstoss. The men are in shock because he is so rude to them; they never thought that war would be this harsh. Paul and two of his friends are ridiculed the most by him. They have to lie down in the mud and practice shooting and jumping up. Also, these three men must remake Himelstoss bed fourteen times, until it is perfect. Himelstoss puts the young men through so much horror that they yearn for their revenge. Himelstoss is humiliated when he goes to tell on Tjaden, and Tjaden only receives an easy punishment. Training camp is also the first sign of change in the men. From this experience they become tougher, which is needed while fighting in a war. Also, they start to see the other aspects of war, such as death and destruction. Training camp is just a glimpse of what war really is. The men do not gain full knowledge of war until they go to the front line.

The front line is the most brutal part of the war. The front line is the place in which the battles are fought. Battles can only be described in one word- chaos. Men are running around trying to protect themselves while shooting at others. Many people are stumbling with lost limbs or other major injuries. There are two battles that really stand out. First is the battle where Paul is in the trench with an unknown man from the other side. This battle begins with shells bursting as they hit the ground and machine guns that rattle as they are being fired. In order to ensure his survival, Paul must kill the other man. First, Paul stabs the man, but he struggles for his life. He dies shortly after, and Paul discovers who he has killed. The man is Gerald Duval, a printer. After Paul realizes what he has done, he is ashamed. Having to deal with killing others is one of the horrors of war. The men which are killed and the people who kill them could have been friends, if only they were on the same side.

The other important battle leaves both Paul and Kropp with injuries. Before this battle, the men are starting to feast on pig and some other foods. All of a sudden they realize that something is wrong because the observation balloons have spotted smoke from their chimney. Soon after shells begin to drop on them. They race down to the house and feast for four hours. Outside houses are burning, shells are propelled down to the ground. In eight days the men are told to return. Only a few days later are they ordered to evacuate a village. While on their way, Kropp and Paul see people fleeing out of the village with distress, anger, and depression. Everyone is silent as the two walk by them, even the children holding on to their mothers for dear life. In a few minutes, a shell races down and the men throw themselves to the ground. The next moment, Paul feels a blow on his left leg. Albert is right next to him, and he cries out to Paul. The men scurry to a nearby ditch. They are hurt, but do the best that they can to run to another ditch. Albert is straggling behind, and Paul helps him to continue by holding him up. They reach the dug-out where Paul bandages up Kropp s injury, a bullet right above the knee. Paul sees his bloody pants and arm, and Kropp attends to his wound. There is no way that Kropp can move his leg so Paul calls out for an ambulance. The ambulance picks them up, and they are given an anti-tetanus shot in their chests. When the dressing station is reached, Paul and Kropp make sure that they are lying next to each other. The surgeon examines Paul and tells someone to chloroform him. Paul objects to this order, and the doctor does not do it. The surgeon takes out a piece of shell, and puts Paul in a plaster cast. The two men are to be put on the same train, which leaves in the morning. To be sure of this, Paul gives the sergeant-major some cigars. When they are brought on the train, Albert develops a high fever so he needs to be taken off the train at the next stop. In order to stay with his friend, Paul fakes a fever and they reach a Catholic Hospital together. Paul is operated on and recovers faster than Kropp. His leg is amputated, and he later goes to an institute for artificial limbs. Paul is called back to his regiment and returns to the front. These two battles, plus many others have caused a major change in the men. They watch others struggle while they run with deformed body parts, or lost body parts, and they are thankful that it is not them who are in danger of dying. By receiving injuries, Paul and Kropp experience the war from a different perspective. This new perspective makes them realize how lucky they were not to be mortally wounded.

Another cause of change in the men besides the battles, results from seeing friends in the hospital. The first display of this sorrow is Kemmerich s death. He was a good friend to all the men, especially Paul. When the men see him lying in his bed about to die, they feel terrible. Because they feel this way, they tell Kemmerich that he is going to be okay. The hospital scene with Kemmerich dying is meaningful and touching to the readers, because it too shows a change in the men. This change shows the hate and anguish of the battlegrounds, contrasted with compassion towards a close friend who is in need. This scene also lets the reader know how many people received injuries each day. When Paul goes to tell the doctor that Kemmerich is dying, the doctor asks who Kemmerich is. Paul says that he is the man with the amputated leg. The doctors response was that he already amputated five legs that same day. The reader sees why when one person dies, it really does not mean anything to the doctors, except a free bed. This scene plus the others which take place in the hospital show change in the way that men pull together when someone is in need. The hospital scenes also show that men are so accustomed to death, they know when someone is going to die, and can tell the degree of an injury when it happens.

There is a major change in the men in this novel. At first, they are excited to join the army in order to help their country. After they see the truth about war, they learn very important assets of life such as death, destruction, and suffering. These emotions are learned in places like training camp, battles, and hospitals. All the men, dead or alive, obtained knowledge on how to deal with death, which is very important to one s life.