Shells were whizzing and thoughts were racing as a tired looking soldier hopped down into a deep trench and let his feet sink into the Earth, breathing a sigh of relief to have been given just a few more hours of life. Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front was one of the first novels to capture the brutality of modern war through the experiences of German soldier Paul Bäumer and the men in his company. By retelling the events of World War I, Remarque expresses the idea that this war, for many of the younger men like Bäumer, was about more than just another fallen comrade, but rather the transformation of these men from naïve idealists to hopeless wanderers. Likewise, after being a part of some of these horrendous, gruesome
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However, psychological research shows that early adulthood is a stage where a person begins to form his or her own identity as well as intimate, lifelong relationships with people outside of the immediate family. By enlisting as young adults, these men missed an extremely crucial developmental stage that caused them to often feel stuck between two generations, belonging to neither the older nor younger. Because each of these men was never able to form his own identity, he was forced to put his hope in the war alone. When Paul returns home for a few weeks of leave during the war, the feeling of not belonging hits him very hard. He quickly realizes that his family, specifically his mother, will never be able to fathom the cruelty of the war and therefore, distances himself from them. Paul explains the whole situation best when he says, “We are forlorn like children, and experienced like old men, we are crude and sorrowful and superficial—I believe we are lost” (123). These young men came in with eyes wide open ready to fight only for their many dreams to be shattered by the reality of
However, psychological research shows that early adulthood is a stage where a person begins to form his or her own identity as well as intimate, lifelong relationships with people outside of the immediate family. By enlisting as young adults, these men missed an extremely crucial developmental stage that caused them to often feel stuck between two generations, belonging to neither the older nor younger. Because each of these men was never able to form his own identity, he was forced to put his hope in the war alone. When Paul returns home for a few weeks of leave during the war, the feeling of not belonging hits him very hard. He quickly realizes that his family, specifically his mother, will never be able to fathom the cruelty of the war and therefore, distances himself from them. Paul explains the whole situation best when he says, “We are forlorn like children, and experienced like old men, we are crude and sorrowful and superficial—I believe we are lost” (123). These young men came in with eyes wide open ready to fight only for their many dreams to be shattered by the reality of