Chapter one shows one view of the soldier's struggle. Chapter two shows yet another view of the soldier's struggle. Discuss.
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Anonymous
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In "All Quiet on the Western Front," in both chapters one and two, the view of the soldier's struggle is altered, for the concentration on external experiences shifts to the recognition of the soldier's inner feelings. In chapter one, the horrors of the war are clearly evident, but do not seem to affect Paul's thoughts or opinions. To him, the war is an excuse to escape from the burdens of his "simplistic" lifestyle, for he feels that engaging in battle will bring more excitement into his life. The main struggle that Paul encounters in the first chapter is the rationing of food. When in the midst of trench warfare, or any sorts of warfare in general, obtaining necesseties such as food can prove to be extremely difficult. Thus, for Paul and his fellow soldiers, the fact that so many innocent men are helplessly dying around them, does not bother them, for at that time, not receiving enough to eat is their biggest worry. As well, Paul and his comrades struggle to fulfill their roles as commendable soldiers. Required to portray men of incredible courage and bravery, the young boys are asked to never settle for anything less than perfect, and always obey the commands of their veteran leaders; who are rather strict and uptight. In contrast to the first chapter, in chapter two, Paul deals with horrific circumstances, which make him realize that the concept of death is of greater importance than obtaining food. It is in this chapter, that the youthful soldier discovers that within seconds so many innocent people are losing their lives, for something that isn't even worth fighting for. Unfortunately for Paul, the gruesome details of the war have taken their toll on his body and mind, for he now struggles to remain sane in such an insane environment. When Franz Kemmerich, a close friend of his dies, after having a leg amputation, Paul understands that the war which he volunteered to fight in, is gradually turning out to be the worst experience of his life. Struggling to survive under such harsh conditions, Paul must now deal with his mixed emotions and feelings, and not allow them to get the best of him.
Chapter One of "All Quiet on the Western Front" portrayed the 'surface' struggles that Paul Baumer, the main character of the story, is going through. First and foremost, the struggle to attain sufficient nourishment so as to be physically capable is a struggle for all soldiers. Paul and friends such as Katczinsky and Muller were striving to fill their stomachs, so they could fulfill their duties and serve their superiors successfully during times of fighting. As a determined group, they confronted the cook, Ginger, and insisted that they be given the food, despite the fact that there was a substantial excess. Being the soldiers that they are, they certainly did not dwell on the possibility of receiving too much food. Other struggles afflict Paul Baumer in the first chapter as well. "For us lads of eighteen they ought to have been mediators and guides to the world of maturity, the world of work, of duty, of culture, of progress - to the future." This quote, which is referring to the men and women who taught these young soldiers the importance of hard work for a good future, shows that Paul Baumer feels he has essentially been let down. His entire life his elders have preached peace, honesty, goodness and other virtuous behaviour, but now that he is beginning to witness fully the terrors of war he sees that this was all useless. Seeing his friend Kemmerich in his deathbed was obviously quite shocking. Paul Baumer, like his comrades, is a young man who likely never expected to go through such hell. Justifiably, Paul may feel confused, or angry even. His entire childhood and much of his adolescence was spent learning life lessons, only to have all these theories and ideas be destroyed as the first gunshot sounded. It is comparable to a man spending years of his life learning to drive a car and then when finishing discovering that their is a new form of transportation. You feel lost and confused. The meaning of life is suddenly unknown. Chapter Two shifts the focus to different struggles for Paul Baumer. One of these is his acceptance of authority. Paul Baumer and his comrades dislike serving their platoon leader, Corporal Himmelstoss. However, Paul realizes that in times of war, however much he dislikes a man, it is necessary that orders are followed. An army can in no way be successful without the obeying of orders and a sense of camaraderie. As conditions and events worsen, Paul finds it exceedingly hard to fulfill the demands of Himmelstoss. Struggling to accept the death of his close friend Kemmerich strengthens the disdain Paul feels towards the war he is so involved in. More significant inner feelings and responses arise in this second chapter, since Paul is continuously being thrown deeper and deeper into the abyss of death, grief, terror and sadness.
Between the first two chapters the view of the soldier’s struggle during the war is portrayed particularly different. In both the main character Paul Baumer depicts his account of how the war was like using his actions and feelings. Right away on the first page it’s already evident that a hardship experienced by soldiers was their rations. And luckily for the main character he was able to receive a double ration. Which, appears to make him more at peace even though he had recently returned from the front lines. Also the main character remains to stay grateful that he was able to receive a double ration, though knowing that it was originally intended for his whole company. But since only half returned he was able to receive more. From this, we can infer that at this time the main character seems to be more concerned about what he is digesting and smoking rather than the fallen soldiers in his company. Agreeing to what Manvir said Paul and his close group of young companions don’t fit into the ideal soldier being incredibly valiant and commendable. However, it is understandable because Paul and his close crew of friends are still relatively young and question why and how their superiors order them around. And it appears that Paul is indeed recognizing that there is a war, but he speaks as though the brutality of the war doesn’t affect him. Almost as if it were in the background or something he has to put up with. For example, particularly on page nine he portrays it somewhat soothing though noting that a war is taking place. Closer in as the first chapter ends; we learn that one of Paul’s comrades is in the dressing station due to a flesh wound. Which Paul and the rest of his comrades decide to visit him as though he was just ill. However, there isn’t a sudden transition between the views of the soldier’s struggles starting at the next chapter. It starts at the end of chapter one when the main character comes into sudden realization that the war comes out with an overwhelmingly high number of wounded and dead. This is shown when he notices the many soldiers dead and wounded while on the way to visit his wounded friend, and when he realizes that his fallen companion might not live the following day. And In chapter two, his companion dies and leaves Paul confused and distressed when he leaves running away from the dressing station. Also in this chapter it shows the struggle of having to deal with the training for the war. Which is shown when Paul describes his training with his companions.
It seems that in the first chapter of "All Quiet on the Western Front" Paul, the main character, in a way describes the hardships of being a soldier in a war were simple. There was a big fuss about not getting enough food. For almost everyone, when people think of war, they think of tragic innocent deaths. But in this chapter, Paul doesn't seem to see the war in this perspective. It seems that he is more worried about not getting more cigarettes, than being worried about dying. Instead of all working together, and being grateful of all the food that they were already receiving, he complains about food. His friends and he seem to also still be in the mood to joke around, as if still in a high school cafeteria, while they are in a war zone. Even when they go to visit their friend with the amputated leg, Paul's friend Muller is more concerned about getting the boots, than actually whether or not his friend will stay alive. At the end of chapter 1, and chapter 2, that is when Paul begins to describe the deeper, and more known hardships of war. The perspective of Paul's friend's death began to be described differently. Instead of the boot being the only thing that mattered, the actual death of the friend is not explained to readers as also important, and saddening. But it also describes why Paul's group of friends act the way that they do. It is sad to read that, during war time, they have in a way been immune to seeing deaths of fellow soldiers and friends. It was their duty to not let things like this affect them, and to think clearly and move on. Thinking clearly was exactly what Muller was doing. Knowing that his friend wasn't going to live, he thought past that, and immediately thought of those boots that could possible help him survive in the war. So while, in the first chapter the hardships of war described in the first chapter, doesn't seem realistic. Chapter 2 describes the other hardships, and also explains why they must deal with these hardships, and move on.
In the first two chapters of the story, “All Quiet On The Western Front”, by Erich Marla Remarque, it tells of the changing view of a soldier named Paul Baumer on war. The story starts out with Paul narrating the story. Paul and his friends had just returned from the battle front, and experienced an unexpected heavy loss of their own soldiers. However, they did not seem really affected by this fact, but were more concerned about the amount of rations that they were getting and the poor conditions that they were living in. For example, Paul and his friends were annoyed when Ginger, the cook, refused to give out more food and double rations of tobacco to the soldiers. In the end, The commander had to come in and order the cook to give the soldiers what they wanted before they started a fight; Paul and his friends could not be more satisfied. They were happier about the amount of rations they got, rather than upset about the loss of their fellow soldiers. To them, the amount of rations were much more important than the deaths of strangers they didn’t know. They would always laugh and complain, but did not give a thought about the fact that war could make them lose their closest ones, and even their own life. Later, the death of Behm, a soldier in Paul’s class, and also the badly wounded Kemmerich, slowly made the soldiers to think about death, and the situation they were in. In the second chapter, due to the death of Bhem, Paul soon realized that there was no one to blame for his friend's death; not even the people in command who sent the soldiers into war without knowing the truth of the combat. This was where Paul started to face the ugliness of the war. Kemmerich, Paul’s friend, was very badly injured; so badly injured that Paul felt difficult to take a look at his friend. He thought about Kemmerich's mother, who had cried and asked Paul to help look out for her son. Now the war had not only made Paul suffer physically, but also mentally. Paul remembered back to when they were still young and innocent; they were romantic, and had no real plans for the future. They were just boys. But now, he noticed that the war was not what he thought it would be. They were not heroes… but more like tools. At the same time, Paul visited Kemmerich again, and encouraged him to stay strong, but at the end, he had to watch helplessly, as Kemmerich died in front of him. He had seen death before, but it was really hard for him when the loss was an old friend. Paul ran back to the camp, struggling between the sadness of the loss of his friend, and the happiness of himself still being alive. The war had taken away Paul's innocence and gave him selfishness. Now, he does not feel troubled from not getting enough rations, but instead more troubled about the war, the losses it brings, and the future the war holds. Paul must now conquer these feelings and learn to face the deaths around him, and maybe even his own.
5 comments:
In "All Quiet on the Western
Front," in both chapters one and two, the view of the soldier's struggle is altered, for the concentration on external experiences shifts to the recognition of the soldier's inner feelings. In chapter one, the horrors of the war are clearly evident, but do not seem to affect Paul's thoughts or opinions. To him, the war is an excuse to escape from the burdens of his "simplistic" lifestyle, for he feels that engaging in battle will bring more excitement into his life. The main struggle that Paul encounters in the first chapter is the rationing of food. When in the midst of trench warfare, or any sorts of warfare in general, obtaining necesseties such as food can prove to be extremely difficult. Thus, for Paul and his fellow soldiers, the fact that so many innocent men are helplessly dying around them, does not bother them, for at that time, not receiving enough to eat is their biggest worry. As well, Paul and his comrades struggle to fulfill their roles as commendable soldiers. Required to portray men of incredible courage and bravery, the young boys are asked to never settle for anything less than perfect, and always obey the commands of their veteran leaders; who are rather strict and uptight. In contrast to the first chapter, in chapter two, Paul deals with horrific circumstances, which make him realize that the concept of death is of greater importance than obtaining food. It is in this chapter, that the youthful soldier discovers that within seconds so many innocent people are losing their lives, for something that isn't even worth fighting for. Unfortunately for Paul, the gruesome details of the war have taken their toll on his body and mind, for he now struggles to remain sane in such an insane environment. When Franz Kemmerich, a close friend of his dies, after having a leg amputation, Paul understands that the war which he volunteered to fight in, is gradually turning out to be the worst experience of his life. Struggling to survive under such harsh conditions, Paul must now deal with his mixed emotions and feelings, and not allow them to get the best of him.
Chapter One of "All Quiet on the Western Front" portrayed the 'surface' struggles that Paul Baumer, the main character of the story, is going through. First and foremost, the struggle to attain sufficient nourishment so as to be physically capable is a struggle for all soldiers. Paul and friends such as Katczinsky and Muller were striving to fill their stomachs, so they could fulfill their duties and serve their superiors successfully during times of fighting. As a determined group, they confronted the cook, Ginger, and insisted that they be given the food, despite the fact that there was a substantial excess. Being the soldiers that they are, they certainly did not dwell on the possibility of receiving too much food. Other struggles afflict Paul Baumer in the first chapter as well. "For us lads of eighteen they ought to have been mediators and guides to the world of maturity, the world of work, of duty, of culture, of progress - to the future." This quote, which is referring to the men and women who taught these young soldiers the importance of hard work for a good future, shows that Paul Baumer feels he has essentially been let down. His entire life his elders have preached peace, honesty, goodness and other virtuous behaviour, but now that he is beginning to witness fully the terrors of war he sees that this was all useless. Seeing his friend Kemmerich in his deathbed was obviously quite shocking. Paul Baumer, like his comrades, is a young man who likely never expected to go through such hell. Justifiably, Paul may feel confused, or angry even. His entire childhood and much of his adolescence was spent learning life lessons, only to have all these theories and ideas be destroyed as the first gunshot sounded. It is comparable to a man spending years of his life learning to drive a car and then when finishing discovering that their is a new form of transportation. You feel lost and confused. The meaning of life is suddenly unknown.
Chapter Two shifts the focus to different struggles for Paul Baumer. One of these is his acceptance of authority. Paul Baumer and his comrades dislike serving their platoon leader, Corporal Himmelstoss. However, Paul realizes that in times of war, however much he dislikes a man, it is necessary that orders are followed. An army can in no way be successful without the obeying of orders and a sense of camaraderie. As conditions and events worsen, Paul finds it exceedingly hard to fulfill the demands of Himmelstoss. Struggling to accept the death of his close friend Kemmerich strengthens the disdain Paul feels towards the war he is so involved in. More significant inner feelings and responses arise in this second chapter, since Paul is continuously being thrown deeper and deeper into the abyss of death, grief, terror and sadness.
Between the first two chapters the view of the soldier’s struggle during the war is portrayed particularly different. In both the main character Paul Baumer depicts his account of how the war was like using his actions and feelings. Right away on the first page it’s already evident that a hardship experienced by soldiers was their rations. And luckily for the main character he was able to receive a double ration. Which, appears to make him more at peace even though he had recently returned from the front lines. Also the main character remains to stay grateful that he was able to receive a double ration, though knowing that it was originally intended for his whole company. But since only half returned he was able to receive more. From this, we can infer that at this time the main character seems to be more concerned about what he is digesting and smoking rather than the fallen soldiers in his company.
Agreeing to what Manvir said Paul and his close group of young companions don’t fit into the ideal soldier being incredibly valiant and commendable. However, it is understandable because Paul and his close crew of friends are still relatively young and question why and how their superiors order them around. And it appears that Paul is indeed recognizing that there is a war, but he speaks as though the brutality of the war doesn’t affect him. Almost as if it were in the background or something he has to put up with. For example, particularly on page nine he portrays it somewhat soothing though noting that a war is taking place.
Closer in as the first chapter ends; we learn that one of Paul’s comrades is in the dressing station due to a flesh wound. Which Paul and the rest of his comrades decide to visit him as though he was just ill. However, there isn’t a sudden transition between the views of the soldier’s struggles starting at the next chapter. It starts at the end of chapter one when the main character comes into sudden realization that the war comes out with an overwhelmingly high number of wounded and dead. This is shown when he notices the many soldiers dead and wounded while on the way to visit his wounded friend, and when he realizes that his fallen companion might not live the following day. And In chapter two, his companion dies and leaves Paul confused and distressed when he leaves running away from the dressing station. Also in this chapter it shows the struggle of having to deal with the training for the war. Which is shown when Paul describes his training with his companions.
It seems that in the first chapter of "All Quiet on the Western Front" Paul, the main character, in a way describes the hardships of being a soldier in a war were simple. There was a big fuss about not getting enough food. For almost everyone, when people think of war, they think of tragic innocent deaths. But in this chapter, Paul doesn't seem to see the war in this perspective. It seems that he is more worried about not getting more cigarettes, than being worried about dying. Instead of all working together, and being grateful of all the food that they were already receiving, he complains about food. His friends and he seem to also still be in the mood to joke around, as if still in a high school cafeteria, while they are in a war zone. Even when they go to visit their friend with the amputated leg, Paul's friend Muller is more concerned about getting the boots, than actually whether or not his friend will stay alive.
At the end of chapter 1, and chapter 2, that is when Paul begins to describe the deeper, and more known hardships of war. The perspective of Paul's friend's death began to be described differently. Instead of the boot being the only thing that mattered, the actual death of the friend is not explained to readers as also important, and saddening. But it also describes why Paul's group of friends act the way that they do. It is sad to read that, during war time, they have in a way been immune to seeing deaths of fellow soldiers and friends. It was their duty to not let things like this affect them, and to think clearly and move on. Thinking clearly was exactly what Muller was doing. Knowing that his friend wasn't going to live, he thought past that, and immediately thought of those boots that could possible help him survive in the war. So while, in the first chapter the hardships of war described in the first chapter, doesn't seem realistic. Chapter 2 describes the other hardships, and also explains why they must deal with these hardships, and move on.
In the first two chapters of the story, “All Quiet On The Western Front”, by Erich Marla Remarque, it tells of the changing view of a soldier named Paul Baumer on war. The story starts out with Paul narrating the story. Paul and his friends had just returned from the battle front, and experienced an unexpected heavy loss of their own soldiers. However, they did not seem really affected by this fact, but were more concerned about the amount of rations that they were getting and the poor conditions that they were living in. For example, Paul and his friends were annoyed when Ginger, the cook, refused to give out more food and double rations of tobacco to the soldiers. In the end, The commander had to come in and order the cook to give the soldiers what they wanted before they started a fight; Paul and his friends could not be more satisfied. They were happier about the amount of rations they got, rather than upset about the loss of their fellow soldiers. To them, the amount of rations were much more important than the deaths of strangers they didn’t know. They would always laugh and complain, but did not give a thought about the fact that war could make them lose their closest ones, and even their own life. Later, the death of Behm, a soldier in Paul’s class, and also the badly wounded Kemmerich, slowly made the soldiers to think about death, and the situation they were in.
In the second chapter, due to the death of Bhem, Paul soon realized that there was no one to blame for his friend's death; not even the people in command who sent the soldiers into war without knowing the truth of the combat. This was where Paul started to face the ugliness of the war. Kemmerich, Paul’s friend, was very badly injured; so badly injured that Paul felt difficult to take a look at his friend. He thought about Kemmerich's mother, who had cried and asked Paul to help look out for her son. Now the war had not only made Paul suffer physically, but also mentally. Paul remembered back to when they were still young and innocent; they were romantic, and had no real plans for the future. They were just boys. But now, he noticed that the war was not what he thought it would be. They were not heroes… but more like tools. At the same time, Paul visited Kemmerich again, and encouraged him to stay strong, but at the end, he had to watch helplessly, as Kemmerich died in front of him. He had seen death before, but it was really hard for him when the loss was an old friend. Paul ran back to the camp, struggling between the sadness of the loss of his friend, and the happiness of himself still being alive. The war had taken away Paul's innocence and gave him selfishness. Now, he does not feel troubled from not getting enough rations, but instead more troubled about the war, the losses it brings, and the future the war holds. Paul must now conquer these feelings and learn to face the deaths around him, and maybe even his own.
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