A personal reflection on All Quiet on the Western Front
Erich Maria Remarque’s highly successful novel All Quiet on the Western Front, surprisingly, was not immediately welcomed in his homeland, although it is considered one of the most truthful and genuine portrayals of war in literature. Yet as a seventeen year old student in Kazakhstan, the story deeply resonated with me.
In the spring of 1917, almost three years after the beginning of World War I, 17-year-old Paul Bäumer joins the ranks of the German Imperial Army along with his school friends Albert Kropp, Franz Müller, and Ludwig Behm. They listen to a patriotic speech by the school principal and receive the uniform of soldiers who had fallen in the previous battle. After being sent to Northern France to La Malmaison, they get to know Stanislaus Katczinsky, an older soldier. Their romantic notions of war are shattered by the realities of trench warfare on the Western Front at the conclusion of their first night.
When I read the book, I feel personally connected to Paul because I, too, am on the cusp of adulthood. But I have also always been afraid of leaving home to study abroad. While this fear is nothing compared to experiencing war, I worry that the circumstances will change me completely, as they changed him.
The book clearly demonstrates the hopelessness of the soldiers’ situation. The guilt they feel for murdereding people–especially new recruits who have little experience and no mental preparation to take human beings’ lives (if anyone can be prepared for that at all)–devours each character.
I understood the soldiers’ train of thoughts. As if in real life, I saw Paul and his comrades being scared, relieved, worried, or confused. The author gave me a sense of true fellowship, which is very close to a brotherly bond. My friends and I feel the same range of emotions when we discuss our future professions, universities and careers. During our senior year, we are trying to juggle as many tasks as possible, balancing family, friends, part-time jobs, hobbies, exams, and home responsibilities. It’s extremely challenging to maintain this tight schedule and not to be on the verge of a breakdown.
For Paul, the soldiers’ world is completely different. They forget about their past lives, now they have a mission and they must fight until the end. “We’ve been cut off from real action, from progress. We don’t believe in those things anymore. We believe in the war” he says. What I exclusively liked are the descriptions of the tense moments. As Remarque points out, the earth becomes the soldiers’ only refuge during an attack–a refuge they cling to and bite deeply into as if it could shield them from danger. Or the moment when there was a need to kill another soldier at a close range. It is imprinted in my head.
Paul Bäumer’s deep love for his mother stirs my spirit, as I, too, constantly worry about my parents’ physical and mental well-being. While he shielded his mother from the horrors of the war and the emotional traumas he endured, I can’t claim to share his experience. Still, having an enormous desire to make my parents proud, I do my best to keep up with excelling at school, helping my little brother with homework, securing first place in competitions, passing exams, managing housework and babysitting my niece on Sundays. Like Paul, I carry the significant weight of responsibilities, each one shaping me into a resilient and strong individual. Even though we’re only 17, Paul and I feel pressured and accountable for our parents’ future.
I felt Paul was simply a young lad that hasn’t lived life yet and that made me empathize with him even more. It was a challenge for him to return home when he was on leave. Paul changed so much that he couldn’t imagine doing the routine things he used to do before. “The spines of the books stand side-by-side. I know them all, and I remember putting them in order. With my eyes I implore them: Speak to me – take me up – take me up again, you old life – you carefree, wonderful life…” But he can’t do that.
Fortunately, I haven’t had to go through anything as horrifying as Paul did. Although, I face my personal battle with the cultural biases that do not let Kazakhstan’s youth live the way they want. Every time my relatives make me explain why I believe women and men must have equal responsibilities and why I do not wish to clean my brother’s room, I get frustrated. My personal achievement is that I almost convinced my mother in the fact that both men and women are able to do the housework.
Erich Maria Remarque’s perfectly written novel suppresses ethnic hatred and shows another side of the coin. Contrary to other war novels of that time, I do not hate any of the war participants; I sincerely sympathize with all of the victims: the citizens, the soldiers, their relatives, even their animals. All Quiet on the Western Front is a powerful reminder of the horrors of war. It is the book that, I am certain, everyone should read, as its lessons remain relevant even a century later. It resonates with me and in a tumultuous world, I hope it will resonate with new readers as well.
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Kamilla Skakova is a 17-year-old college student from Kazakhstan, studying interpretation. She is passionate about singing, dancing, writing, video making, playing on guitar. She enjoys reading books of different genres in Kazakh, English, and Spanish. Writing is her hobby, although at times it is hard to write in English, her third language. She loves hamsters.
