All Quiet on the Western Front: Appreciation Notes Essay

All Quiet on the Western Front: Appreciation Notes

All Quiet on the Western Front is, as we all know, a classic anti - war film that, unlike some other films, does the job of deterring people from war and leaving them in an existential dread perfectly, at least in my opinion. It is an extremely well-made piece of art, both the movie and the book. First I would like to talk about the main story of the art piece.

All Quiet on the Western Front tells the story of war through the eyes of Paul Bäumer who starts as a naive enthusiastic student who is very keen to fight for his own country. So he and his friends happily take off from school and enroll in the German army in 1917 Paul even fakes his health report, so he can join the army. But as the story unfolds, we discover that fighting in a war isn't an adventure as the teachers in the lyceum have painted it to be, it is a desperate, cruel, and meaningless slaughter and fight for life.

I would now like to talk about some specific excerpts from the book or scenes from the movie, that I think are really important, made me think a lot, or I just like for any reason. I will try my best to keep it in some order and put themes or scenes together, so it's a bit easier to read. Either way, I think that the text will be best read cut in fragments and ordered or categorized in any way you feel like doing.

Paul's vacation

We can see in the book how the war completely shifts the perspective of a person and deteriorates one's mind when Paul returns home for a 2-week vacation. When his sister meets him at home one of his first thoughts is poetically directed at his gear,

“I nod, my pack bumps against the bannisters; my rifle is so heavy.”

that is now odd in this environment. In the dialogue with his family, we see that Paul has been through something he can never explain to anyone because no one will ever be able to imagine the pain and cruelty he's been through, neither he wants them to imagine or understand. He is an extraordinarily patient and empathetic being, even after all the suffering he's been through he doesn't turn bitter. He doesn't need people to understand his hurt, or at least he doesn't force them to, he knows what a burden it is to bear. I think that this behavior is an example of an extremely mature way of dealing with the slaughter and torment he has seen in the war. We can see this mindset in this excerpt, where even though he has tremendous flashbacks about the war, he still chooses to remain calm and composed to not worry his mother and sister.

“Before my mother's tremulous anxiety, I recover my composure. Now I can walk about and talk and answer questions without fear of having suddenly to lean against the wall because the world turns soft as rubber and my veins become brimstone.”

I really like how this fragment shows someone dealing with war trauma and estrangement in a different way than turning bitter and turning against your family. We can hear these stories, and well justifiably I believe, all over the place. Someone had a dad who was in a war, and he turns resentful and takes it out on the kids and his wife. These stories are of course mainly justified, and I do not want to disapprove of them, but just seeing some, even if idealized, way of coping with this kind of trauma that doesn't involve turning against your loved ones, because of someone's inability to deal with the trauma is a nice read. It reminds me that all people cope differently and that it is never necessary to shove someone in a stereotype box, just because of something they've been through. It made me look at the character of a soldier in a completely different way. It made me see them as someone with empathy, and feeling that are just trying to do their best in their situation.

There are of course also excerpts describing his estrangement directly, how he doesn't want to really talk anymore, how sitting in quiet is all that he needs, and how people agree with him, but he knows that deep down they mean it halfheartedly, out of sympathy. There is also a page or two about his encounters, with “war experts” and their rude notes about what he should do, how they should act on the front, what they should conquer, and most importantly how uneducated he must be about the war, how he only sees his small part, and all that he should do is sacrifice his life for the “highest of honors”, the iron cross.

"Now, shove ahead a bit out there with your everlasting trench warfare--Smash through the johnnies and then there will be peace." I reply that in our opinion a break-through may not be possible. The enemy may have too many reserves. Besides, the war may be rather different from what people think. He dismisses the idea loftily and informs me I know nothing about it. "The details, yes," says he, "but this relates to the whole. And of that you are not able to judge. You see only your little sector and so cannot have any general survey. You do your duty, you risk your lives, that deserves the highest honour--every man of you ought to have the Iron Cross--but first of all the enemy line must be broken through in Flanders and then rolled up from the top."

“They talk too much for me. They have worries, aims, desires, that I cannot comprehend. I often sit with one of them in the little beer garden and try to explain to him that this is really the only thing: just to sit quietly, like this. They understand of course, they agree, they may even feel it so too, but only with words, only with words, yes, that is it--they feel it, but always with only half of themselves, the rest of their being is taken up with other things, they are so divided in themselves that none feels it with his whole essence; I cannot even say myself exactly what I mean.”

I'm not confident enough to talk about any of this, I have little to no experience, and I think I am simply too young to be able to understand things like these in a deeper light. Of course, we could say that with everything, but still, this is an excerpt that stuck in my mind, I just can't say much about it.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, I would be super grateful if, if you have any thoughts, you would share your thoughts with me in the comments/ dms.

See ya!

Anniette