All Quiet on the Western Front

A detailed Summary of All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front demonstrates to me the tragedy of war when young men are sent off to battle. At a very young age these men were forced into military training and battle; forced to live without any contact with their families; forced to live isolated from others, and forced to sacrifice all they had for the good of their country. These things led to the premature aging and loss of connection with family with most of the characters in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front.

I found the young men in the novel All Quiet on the Western Front were expected to take part in military training and battle. When the boys were in school the teacher would try very hard to persuade them to join the army. Most of the boys would listen to their teacher and fight. Paul, the main character in the novel, realizes once he had reached the front, how betrayed he had been by his teacher and the older generation. He said, "The idea of authority, which they represented, was associated in our minds with a greater insight and a more humane wisdom." This bitter quote shows that after the war is over their generation does not know what will be left for them. The characters felt betrayed. This idea of betrayal is dominant in the los

The life that the soldiers once had at home was probably a good one. When many returned home they had trouble relating to what was going on because they had lost that connection with their family. When Paul returned home, he experienced something like this. He stepped into his home and was greeted by his sister. When his sister went to get his mother, he froze. Paul says, "and so I stand on these steps, miserable, helpless, paralyzed and against my will the tears run down my cheeks." Paul had become merely a soldier; a government robot and he was beginning to realize how stupid what he and the rest of the soldiers were doing was. Paul realized he had left another place that he had called home, the front. He also realized that he had become so caught up in the war that he had forgotten what was truly important, his family. He had taken the other soldiers in as a surrogate family, one to replace the family he had had left behind and he was not sure if he was ready to return to his true family. When Paul got past his trouble he returned to his room and dressed in his civilian clothes. He said, "This suit is rather tight and short. I have grown in the army." This growth can be recognized two ways, the first way is physically and the second is metaphorically. The growth in the army is a metaphor for his growth in life and understanding that he is no longer a child; that he no longer is as innocent as he once was. Paul had realized that he was separated from his former life and that his leave had made him more aware of this. At the end of Paul's leave he said to himself, " I ought never to have come here. Out there I was indifferent and often hopeless-I will never be able to be so again". Paul knew that he should never have taken leave. He knew that he was only a soldier and that was all he would ever be. He also realized that he has been robbed of his true family and of his life. This is w

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Approximate Word count = 1291
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History