Escaped the Shells

A detailed Summary of Escaped the Shells


Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front is famous as one of the most powerful war stories of all time. It is a story, not of nations, but "of men who, even though they may have escaped the shells, were destroyed by the war." The novel centers on Paul Baumer and his classmates, through whom Remarque depicts a generation of men that enlist for their idealized notions of war, but quickly degenerate into "weary, broken, burnt out, rootless [men] without hope." Through Paul's eyes, Remarque shows the inhumanity in this, man's first war, called for by no higher entity or cause. Paul and his generation were denied a transition between childhood and adulthood and upon entering the war at such a young age, they gained their identity as soldiers and once the war is over, their identity is all they have to live on.


Through the course of the war Baumer's idea of self-identity constantly shifts with his perception of his own inhumanity. Slowly Baumer begins to realize that death and the war aren't intangible forces, but actual characters in his life, characters that are his life. Thus, Paul's senses of identity and belonging in the world revolve around these two characters as they represent the most constant forces of his adult life. "...We have become wild beasts. We do not fight... we defend ourselves against annihilation."

s classmates enter the war as innocents; coming fresh from school, they knew nothing outside of their boyish hopes and idealizations. Setting out on the threshold of their adult lives, these soldiers knew war to be an opportunity for personal and national greatness, to be somebody and stand up for what they believe in. Labeled the "Iron Youth" these yo

Some common words found in the essay are:
Paul Baumer, Slowly Baumer, Youth Germans, Youth Youth, Western Front, ENEMY IDEA, Youth Paul, Iron Youth, iron youth, soldiers war, baumer classmates, characters life, escaped shells, rapid maturity,

Approximate Word count = 586
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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