Back in 1914 when WW1 took place, Germany was running out men and sent untrained young kids to the battle field. The book All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque displays a group of young boys sent into war. What makes Remarque’s book so compelling is because it exhibits a dazzling loss of innocence in the characters of the book. As we read through the book we realize that the main character name is Paul Baumer and one of his only reason that he and his classmates enlisted to the army was because of their school teacher. The teacher filled the young minds of a perception that war is something to be proud of. “When we went to the district commandant to enlist, we were a class of twenty young men, many of whom proudly shaved for the first time before going to the barracks.” [pg. 33] these young teenagers still haven’t entered the battlefield
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Soldiers had to get rid of their innocence in order to survive. “Yes, that’s the way they think, these hundred thousand Kantoreks! Iron Youth! Youth! We are none of us more than twenty years old. But young? Youth? That is long ago. We are old folk.” [pg. 27] Paul Baumer, our narrator, learns to loose innocence very quickly when many of the people around him die. “Comrade, I did not want to kill you” [pg. 237] But you were only an idea to me before, an abstraction that lived in my mind and called forth its appropriate response.” [pg. 237] “Forgive me comrade; how could you be my enemy?” [pg. 237] Paul mumbled these words to a French soldier whom he was just killed with a dagger. After killing this man Paul realizes many things, war is forcing men to create enemies with other men and fight each other. Paul is now fully soaked into the mist of war. His instincts have changed drastically during the war. Paul wouldn’t have stabbed the French soldier when it was the beginning of the war. Now he has lost his innocence to keep himself
Soldiers had to get rid of their innocence in order to survive. “Yes, that’s the way they think, these hundred thousand Kantoreks! Iron Youth! Youth! We are none of us more than twenty years old. But young? Youth? That is long ago. We are old folk.” [pg. 27] Paul Baumer, our narrator, learns to loose innocence very quickly when many of the people around him die. “Comrade, I did not want to kill you” [pg. 237] But you were only an idea to me before, an abstraction that lived in my mind and called forth its appropriate response.” [pg. 237] “Forgive me comrade; how could you be my enemy?” [pg. 237] Paul mumbled these words to a French soldier whom he was just killed with a dagger. After killing this man Paul realizes many things, war is forcing men to create enemies with other men and fight each other. Paul is now fully soaked into the mist of war. His instincts have changed drastically during the war. Paul wouldn’t have stabbed the French soldier when it was the beginning of the war. Now he has lost his innocence to keep himself