Myumi Kalinowski Professor Dinan Modern History 4 November 2013 Findin t!e "ost #eneration $in%e t!

e be innin of %ivili&ation' !undreds of millions of !uman lives !ave been lost to war( )ar is usually !eavily romanti%i&ed* stories of lory' !onor' !eroism' and +atriotism rin louder t!an tales of destru%tion and deat!( ,y t!e time of )orld )ar -' millions of men !ad died at t!e !ands of %ombat in wars and t!eir le a%ies were ins%ribed in te.tbooks and novels as a life of bravery and !onor( However' )orld )ar -' or t!e #reat )ar as it was referred to at t!e time' was t!e most brutal and devastatin war in !istory( /!e invention of t!e ma%!ine un and +oison as made mass murder +ossible' every battle leavin !undreds of men in t!e bloody devastation( 0emar1ue2s novel All Quiet on the Western Front is t!e narrative of t!e youn #erman soldier' Paul ,aumer' based on t!e aut!or2s a%tual e.+erien%es as a soldier in t!e war( ,aumer2s e.+erien%e illustrate a more realisti% view of war from t!e view+oint of a youn soldier( ,aumer and t!e ot!er soldiers like !im are +art of w!at is known as t!e 3lost eneration(4 /!e 3lost eneration4 refers to t!e masses of youn men w!o drafted into t!e war and !ad t!eir minds war+ed by t!e %arna e and in!umanities of warfare' w!ere ori inally t!ey believed war to be an !onorable and +atrioti% duty( ,efore 0emar1ue be ins !is novel' !e states t!at t!e story is not one of 3adventure4 and t!at wit! t!e novel !e +lans to 3tell of a eneration of men w!o' even t!ou ! t!ey may !ave es%a+ed its s!ells' were destroyed by t!e war(4 1 /!e first few %!a+ters e.+lain !ow numb t!e boys !ave otten to t!eir environment' es+e%ially deat!( /!e men !ad %ome ba%k from battle' nearly !alf of t!eir %om+any dead( However' instead of remorse' t!ey feel almost not!in ( -n fa%t' t!ey even find reason to demand

1 0emar1ue' 5ri%! Maria( All Quiet On the Western Front. 6M78 "ittle' ,rown' and 9o' 1:2:;' 2(

t!e dead soldiers2 +ortion of t!e rations as a bonus to t!eir own( 2 5ven w!en a +ersonal friend of t!eirs is on !is deat!bed' t!e rou+ of %omrades are more %on%erned about w!o will in!erit !is boots t!an t!e fa%t t!at !e is dyin ( /!eir insensitivity to deat! is due to t!eir sudden overe.+osure to it after bein drafted into t!e war( /!e boys believe t!at in order to survive' t!ey must re+ress t!eir all of t!eir emotions( ,aumer s+e%ifi%ally states t!at !e must re+ress !is mind and be%ome a !uman wea+on' runnin solely on animal instin%t on%e at t!e front' t!at on%e t!ey 3rea%! t!e &one w!ere t!e front be ins and be%ome on t!e instant !uman animals(4 3 He no lon er mourns t!e dead or fears deat!( Near t!e end of t!e novel' all of ,aumer2s %omrades !ad died from battle and disease( He be ins to list ea%! one' w!et!er t!ey are dead or dyin ( 7nd yet' !e s!ows no em+at!y towards t!em or t!eir deat!s' only statin t!at 3)e %an do not!in else' it is a s!eer ne%essity( )e want to live at any +ri%e* so we %annot burden ourselves wit! feelin s w!i%!' t!ou ! t!ey mi !t be ornamental enou ! in +ea%etime' would be out of +la%e !ere(4 4 ,aumer believes t!at t!ere is no +la%e for emotion on t!e battlefield( -f !e were to s!ow any remorse for !is %omrades it would be wort! not!in ' and it would +ut !imself at risk for deat! as well( -nstead !e %ontinues to fi !t' sim+ly to avoid deat! in !o+es of outlivin t!e war( /!e boots t!at on%e !ad more value t!an !is dyin friend are +assed onto !im as t!e +revious in!eritor !ad died in %ombat( /!e boots are eventually t!e only t!in t!at remains of any of t!e soldiers' as ,aumer' too' eventually dies in battle( /!e boots are symboli% towards t!e fra ility of a !uman soldier( 7 +air of boots are less fra ile t!an a !uman mind and body in wartime' as t!ey are t!e only t!in s t!at seem to remain relatively undama ed t!rou !out t!e +ro ression of t!e story( 5ventually' ,aumer is sent ba%k !ome in #ermany on leave( 5ven away from t!e front' ,aumer feels alienated from !is family and t!e entire %ommunity( 3/!ere is my mot!er' t!ere is my sister' t!ere my %ase of butterflies' and t!ere t!e ma!o any +iano<<but - am not myself t!ere( /!ere is a distan%e' a 2 0emar1ue' 5ri%! Maria( All Quiet On the Western Front. 6M78 "ittle' ,rown' and 9o' 1:2:;' =( 3 0emar1ue' 5ri%! Maria( All Quiet On the Western Front. 6M78 "ittle' ,rown' and 9o' 1:2:;' 2>( 4 0emar1ue' 5ri%! Maria( All Quiet On the Western Front. 6M78 "ittle' ,rown' and 9o' 1:2:;' =?(

veil between us(4 ? He %annot talk about !is e.+erien%e as a soldier wit! !is family' friends' nor ot!er soldiers( ,aumer !as re+ressed all of !is emotions in order to survive mentally on t!e front' and it !as dis%onne%ted !im from t!e +eo+le !e loves( He feels t!at ot!er soldiers also feel t!is way' and !is entire eneration is +ermanently traumati&ed( /!ey !ad one from %!ild!ood strai !t into war' and it !ad war+ed t!eir +er%e+tion of t!e world and life( ,aumer %laims t!at !e now knows not!in but war and %arna e' and %annot !andle livin as an emotional bein ( He believes t!at t!e war will never end for !im* even if !e were to survive it' it will be all !e knows and remembers( -n fa%t' it is only in deat! t!at ,aumer finds +ea%e wit! !is e.+erien%e on t!e front( 3He !ad fallen forward and lay on t!e eart! as t!ou ! slee+in ( /urnin !im over one saw ((( !is fa%e !ad an e.+ression of %alm' as t!ou ! almost lad t!e end !ad %ome(4 = ,aumer2s +er%e+tion of deat! was not t!e only t!in t!e war !ad %!an ed( ,aumer and !is %omrades learned t!at aut!ority and t!e !ierar%!y of man !ad only ever led to t!eir sufferin ( /!eir s%!ooltea%!er Kantorek was t!e man w!o ins+ired t!em to draft t!emselves into t!e war( He s+oke of war as an !onorable duty of man( @n%e t!ey !ad been re%ruited and one t!rou ! ri orous and %ruel trainin t!ey reali&ed !ow naive and fi%titious Kantorek2s stories of war and lory were( 7s t!ey %ontinue t!rou ! t!eir trainin ' t!e men row to !ate Kantorek( 5ventually Kantorek is drafted into t!e front as well' and +roves to be a terrible soldier( Kantorek is re+resentative of t!e idea t!at war makes a man2s !eart row stron ( His inability to +rove !is wort! as a soldier s!ows t!at t!ese ideals are invalid and romanti%i&ed( @ne of ,aumer2s %omrades %laims t!at t!e army is arran ed so t!at +etty men %an ain +ower over anot!er' and t!at any man iven t!at %!an%e would take it in order to be %ruel to ot!ers' sayin t!at 3-n !imself man is essentially a beast' only !e butters it over like a sli%e of bread wit! a little de%orum( /!e army is based on t!at* one man must always !ave +ower over t!e ot!er(4 > ,aumer reali&es t!at !uman nature and so%iety is %om+letely %orru+t' and t!at war is t!e %learest ?0emar1ue' 5ri%! Maria( All Quiet On the Western Front. 6M78 "ittle' ,rown' and 9o' 1:2:;' >?( = 0emar1ue' 5ri%! Maria( All Quiet On the Western Front. 6M78 "ittle' ,rown' and 9o' 1:2:;' 140( >0emar1ue' 5ri%! Maria( All Quiet On the Western Front. 6M78 "ittle' ,rown' and 9o' 1:2:;' 22(

e.am+le of t!ese flaws( -n %on%lusion' All Quiet on the Western Front +resents t!e e.+erien%e of t!e youn men fi !tin in t!e tren%! warfare of )orld )ar -( -nstead of a tale of trium+! and +ride' t!e story dis+lays t!e weakness and flaws of man' and t!e deterioration of t!e youn mind of soldiers( -t vividly des%ribes details of t!e dama es of war on t!e land' body' and soul( /!e %!ara%ters are all vi%tims of t!e war t!at turns t!em and ot!er boys like t!em into t!e 3lost eneration4' t!e era of boys traumati&ed by t!e %ruelties and barbarity of war(