Entry Three: Development of Plot

                For the majority of the second reading section, Paul Bäumer describes the chaotic life along the Western Front first-hand.  The young German soldier is sent to the battle front along with the rest of the Second Company, and they must remain there for a few weeks.  Most of the nights are spent in dugouts designed to protect the men from light fire, but they are still constantly at risk of being killed by heavy artillery or being suffocated by the poison gas of the French army.  During the day, they spend most of their time in the trenches becoming, “Thugs, murderers, into God only knows what devils…seeking and fighting for nothing but our deliverance” (Remarque 114).  The horrific way in which Bäumer describes himself indicates that he has completly given up his hope of ever returning to life as a normal civilian.  I have included a video which consists of actual footage from World War I in an attempt to illuminate what life was actually like for Bäumer and his fellow soldiers.

 

Due to the fact that the Western Front was considered to be so crucial to victory in World War I, many new military technologies were first deployed along the battle front.  Included in this video are various weapons which were recently created at the time, and these new military technologies often had devastating effects on both armies.   By the end of the Second Company’s time along the front, what was once a force of one-hundred men has been reduced to thirty-two.  The sheer number of these casualties obviously has a devastating effect on the rest of the company, and I predict that eventually this constant loss of life will begin to traumatize Bäumer if it hasn’t already begun to do so.  

Before the Second Company is dispatched to the Western Front, the narrator has a discussion with a few of his close friends regarding what they would do once the war ended.  Again, the author stresses the disconnect between a soldier’s life during World War I and typical civilian life.  This is emphasized by a statement made by one soldier when he says, “But nobody at home seems to worry much about it.  Two years of shells and bombs—a man won’t peel that off as easy as a sock” (Remarque 87).  When I began reading All Quiet on the Western Front I had imagined that the novel would focus more on the stresses of combat rather than stresses of life after combat.  To Bäumer and his peers though, this seems to be one of their main concerns.  They feel as if the war has so greatly separated them from their previous lives that it will be impossible for them to ever survive again in a civilian setting.  With Bäumer and the other members of his company, this separation is felt by the thousands of other German soldiers, most of them just out of high school.  Because the average German soldier is so young, they are in a difficult situation once they leave the army because they have no job to return to when they head home.  Luckily, Bäumer and his friends share the same problems concerning the return to civilian life and therefore are able to rely on each other for support.

The friendships Bäumer holds with the other members of his company, especially with the veteran named Kat, appear to be keeping him alive during these difficult times.  Together they have matured greatly and survived hardships, and these shared experiences are the reason behind most of realtionships.  For example, Bäumer almost seems to be describing himself when he states that his friend Kat is, “A little soldier…and if anyone were to caress him he would hardly understand, this soldier with the big boots and the shut heart, who marches because he is wearing big boots, and has forgotten all else but marching” (Remarque 95).  Together with Kat and the other members of his company, Bäumer has managed to survive and keep himself together even under stressful situations, such as being trapped in the dugout. 

                I have included the link to a website detailing the facts of World War I and particularly of the battles along the Western Front.  I included this link in order to provide some context for Bäumer’s narration and to understand what the young soldier must face along the battle front.  http://www.richthofen.com/ww1sum/

I also hope that this link will help allow readers to understand why Bäumert may seem as if the intial reasoning behind going to war was substantial, but after seeing the devastating effects it had on Germany’s youth, it may seem much less worthwhile.  I look forward to reading more of All Quiet on the Western Front and I continue to be impressed by Erich Remarque’s powerful writing.