Essays on Paul Baumer

The novel "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque explores the psychological and physical conditions of German soldiers fighting in the World War I, instead of focussing on heroism and military accomplishments. That is the primary distinction between the novel and its contemporaries. The novel tracks the life of Paul Baumer, as he joins the army together with his friends (Muller, Kropp and Kemmerick) at the urging of their school teacher Kantorek. While at the base, they meet Kat, an older soldier and a former shoe cobbler with whom they form a deep friendship and he ...

Foot Soldiers vs., Commanding Officers

As common with every war, there was a divided point of view among various stakeholders of the World War I. One of the most conspicuous divisions of this of point of view was between the foot soldiers of this war and their commanding officers. When the war first broke out, a sense of nationalism swept through Europe and a lot of individuals dutifully volunteered. Many of these volunteers thought the war would be an enthralling adventure that they could not afford to miss. Some even lied about their ages to be allowed to enlist. They were however in for a rude awakening ...

Foot Soldiers vs. Commanding Officers

During the World War II, foot soldiers were infantry troopers who fought on foot. Most of the foot soldiers did not hold any official ranks and were mainly comprised of enlisted civilians from the public. The foot soldiers spent a lot their time in the trenches except in situations where their commanding officers decided they could stage surprise attacks on their enemies. According to Massie, the World War II came at time a general feeling of naturalism, patriotism and loyalty was sweeping through Europe (72). In fact when the countries started declaring wars on each other, there were open celebrations ...

Introduction

Very many civilians are of the opinion that soldiers live extremely secretive lives. They believe that the soldiers are always in battle with enemies or they are constantly getting bombed and mortared. The civilians therefore believe that danger is a constant thing in the soldier’s life. On the soldier’s part, most of them view the civilian life as bland and boring. They perceive that most of the civilians have unimportant jobs that contribute to the boring nature of their lives. The major difference between the military and civilian lives is that soldiers are expected to lead disciplined and ...

Erich Maria Remarque’s classic novel All Quiet on the Western Front effectively eulogizes the sacrifice of Old World values and sensibilities on the killing fields of France and Belgium. Traditional European notions of chivalry, honor and patriotism were obliterated by industrialized, mechanized war and the trivializing of human life. Remarque’s story is, among other things, a scathing indictment of nationalism and the manipulation of human emotion. Fired by nationalist fervor, Paul Baumer, the story’s main protagonist, goes to war expecting glory and victory but is soon disillusioned by the horror of trench warfare and the aimlessness of ...