World War One Changed Peoples Way of Life

In the movie All Quiet on the Western front, Paul is morphed from an innocent child into a war veteran who has a new look on society. Paul used to have a carefree life where he was able to be a kid, but when he enlisted into the army it all changed. World War one warped his mind into a killer. He no longer felt comfortable at his own house, his new home as horrible as it sounds was on the western front.

Every one supported the idea of fighting for your country, even Paul’s school teacher strongly urged his classes to enroll in the war. As a boy Paul enjoyed drawing and writing literature, his life goal was not to join the military. But persuaded by the hype he decided to go and fight for his country. After enrolling in the military he was trained to kill, he would shoot at anything not wearing his color. “Comrade, I did not want to kill you…But you were only an idea to me”-Paul. Paul said had told this to an enemy who he severely wounded. He realized that this enemy was no different from him, that he had a family just like himself. Paul’s country put this idea that instead of meeting and befriending people his new objective was to kill them.

Knowing that at the end of the day there is a chance some of your friends will not be alive can be a terrifying thought. Especially since his friends were all he had on the front. The sight of seeing a person be murdered is enough for a sane person to go crazy, but if the person murdered was a good friend the result can be devastating. Paul’s childhood friend Kimmerich was injured and had to have his leg amputated. Paul and his buddy’s would visit him daily, and one day their friend Muller asks Kimmerich if he can have his boots. This makes Kimmerich very disturbed, thinking about not having use for his boots anymore tears him apart. A few days later Kimmerich passed away. Paul’s captain Kat had also been injured in the leg, and Paul had to carry him to the nearest hospital. When Paul arrived at the hospital Kat was no longer talking and the doctor told him that Kat was dead. Paul was so shocked because we was just talking to him no more than 10 minutes ago. Seeing close friends die is horrifying and can result in many terrible ways.

Paul’s only purpose in life now was to kill. Out of 20 of his friends 13 were dead four were missing one was in a sane asylum and him and one other friend were alive. Paul’s ambition for life had been chipped away by the war. Seeing the horrible sights of the war haunted him. He could not even feel at peace in his hometown. The war owned Paul and he knew it, this is why he could not stay at home.

The war affected many people in horrible ways; Paul was one of those people. With only one of his friends from the war still alive he was unsure of his accomplishments in life. He was persuaded to join the war and fight for his country, he watched all but two of his friends die, and now Paul had nothing left. Paul will never be at peace with himself again.