War changes a man. This is seen throughout both the film All Quiet on the Western Front and the book on which it was adapted. Coming under fire for the first time can turn even the most resilient and hardy soldier into a nervous wreck without even letting them have the full dose of warfare. No one knows how they will react to bullets zinging over their heads until they've experienced it. Of course, once exposed to such things for a while you can get accustomed to it all and know what to do when encountered as such. But it only takes one thing that you didn't think of or see that can spell out your end. Paul Baumer of All Quiet on the Western Front is a prime example of this. He was a veteran soldier, but after the deaths of all of his friends, he got so caught up in his emotions that he fell prey to a sniper. Paul also notes in several places throughout both the film and novel that they transform into animals during the fighting, and that it takes a while for them to return to human beings. This essay will analyse what war transforms you into while you're fighting and some suppositions as to why, what it is that gets you used to warfare and the after effects of it and the repercussions of being turned into an animal while fighting.
There are several things that you could turn into while fighting, some being an animal that fights on the adrenaline rush that the fighting itself brings; you could turn into an automaton, losing awareness that you are fighting, but doing so mindlessly or you could even turn into an animal that enjoys fighting. Each person would be affected in different ways, but a few things may influence us while fighting and if we continue or not. These influences could come from our animal heritage, and we are fighting for territory, just as animals do. Or we could be retaliating for something that someone else did and we are venting our anger by fighting them. We may also be influenced by watching someone older fight, and thinking 'they're fighting so it must be okay'. Another thing that could make us fight is if our name is taken and we become anonymous. After all, research has found that we are more likely to engage in anti social behaviour if we are not recognised or if we are part of a larger group. When we are alone or readily known, we are much less likely to engage in anti social behaviour such as looting or fighting. Paul Baumer does not explain what aids him in turning into an animal, but he does realize that war transforms him into something else, he doesn’t know what exactly but it is some kind of animal.
There is really only one way to become accustomed to warfare: get stuck in the thick of it with bullets and bombs going everywhere. Some people would get broken by such a thing, like what happened to Kemmerich in All Quiet on the Western Front. Even though he was in a dug out with several friends, the pressure of the allied artillery dropping bombs over their heads was too much for him and he freaked, fleeing out into the open and getting hit by shrapnel as a result. For those who survive their first attack, life in the middle of a battle zone becomes slightly less worrying as you learn to recognise the signs that each different bomb or bullet will bring. This is what happened to Paul Baumer. Paul grew used to the screeching of the different types of bombs and as a result, was able to know what to do when came near him. This had a trade off though, as when he returned to his home town for leave, as he wrote: “I’ve had a couple of shocks because the screeching of the trams sounds like a shell coming towards me (page 119).” This shows that there are good and bad repercussions about growing used to warfare, the good being that it helps your chances of survival a bit but the bad is that you get spooked by any sound that sounds like a shell or bullet coming for you when you do return to your normal life.
The results of turning into an animal while fighting may not be directly detrimental to you, but for whoever you’re fighting it could be fatal. The scene in the graveyard where Paul is trapped with a dying British soldier is an example of one such occasion. Notably though, Paul’s instinct to kill the man came back and bit him as he was forced to lie in the shell hole with the man he had sentenced to death until the shelling ceased. During that time, Paul’s actions of fighting like an automaton haunted him as he was forced to watch the man die, and soon felt extreme remorse for what he did. So in that situation, fighting like an animal was detrimental to Paul, but in an indirect way. But it should be noted that you don’t even have to be fighting to be turned into an animal, as on one occasion on pages 78-79 during a prolonged shelling, the following occurs: “One of the recruits cracks. I have been watching him for a long time, seeing the way he has been constantly grinding his teeth and clenching and unclenching his fists. We are all too familiar with those haunted, wild eyes. In the last few hours he seems to have quietened down, but it isn’t real. He has collapsed in on himself like a tree that is rotten inside. Now he gets up and creeps quietly through the dugout, then rushes for the door. I turn over on to my side and ask, ‘Where are you off to?’‘I won’t be a minute,’ he says, and tries to get past me.‘Hang on for a while, the shelling is already dying down a bit.’ He listens and his eyes clear for a moment. Then they take on that dull shine again, just like a rabid dog, and he pushes me aside without saying anything. ‘Just a minute, chum!’ I shout. Kat sees what is going on. As the recruit pushes me, Kat grabs him and we hold onto him tightly. Straight away he starts to rave. ‘Let go of me, let me out, I have to get out of here!’ He won’t listen, and flails out, spitting out words that are gurgling nonsense. It’s claustrophobia from being in the dugout, he feels that he is suffocating and has one basic urge: to get outside. If we let him go he’d run off somewhere and not take cover. He isn’t the first. Because he is raging and his eyes are rolling, there is nothing for it but to hit him, so that he comes to himself. We do so quickly and without mercy and manage to get him sitting quietly for the time being.” In this example however, it was necessary to become an animal and hit the recruit, because as Paul wrote: He isn’t the first. So as can be seen, turning into an animal either to fight or to do the unwanted is sometimes necessary. But it can have some nasty repercussions.
As shown, you can quite easily turn into something else when doing something you don’t particularly want to do, but the effects of doing so can be pretty bad. Paul found it so, and he is not the only one, as when Kat is comforting him, he notes that is the first time Paul had killed someone close up. Kat knows how it feels as he has been through it before, you can tell by his actions when calming Paul down. It can also be seen that it is relatively simple to become used to warfare. You just have to live long enough to do so, but the trade off is the more familiar you become with war, the less you can cope with civilian life in peacetime. What it all boils down to is that if you want to stay familiar with normal civilian life and not turn into something that’s unknown to you, don’t get involved in a war, and keep highly aware and in control of your actions.
There are several things that you could turn into while fighting, some being an animal that fights on the adrenaline rush that the fighting itself brings; you could turn into an automaton, losing awareness that you are fighting, but doing so mindlessly or you could even turn into an animal that enjoys fighting. Each person would be affected in different ways, but a few things may influence us while fighting and if we continue or not. These influences could come from our animal heritage, and we are fighting for territory, just as animals do. Or we could be retaliating for something that someone else did and we are venting our anger by fighting them. We may also be influenced by watching someone older fight, and thinking 'they're fighting so it must be okay'. Another thing that could make us fight is if our name is taken and we become anonymous. After all, research has found that we are more likely to engage in anti social behaviour if we are not recognised or if we are part of a larger group. When we are alone or readily known, we are much less likely to engage in anti social behaviour such as looting or fighting. Paul Baumer does not explain what aids him in turning into an animal, but he does realize that war transforms him into something else, he doesn’t know what exactly but it is some kind of animal.
There is really only one way to become accustomed to warfare: get stuck in the thick of it with bullets and bombs going everywhere. Some people would get broken by such a thing, like what happened to Kemmerich in All Quiet on the Western Front. Even though he was in a dug out with several friends, the pressure of the allied artillery dropping bombs over their heads was too much for him and he freaked, fleeing out into the open and getting hit by shrapnel as a result. For those who survive their first attack, life in the middle of a battle zone becomes slightly less worrying as you learn to recognise the signs that each different bomb or bullet will bring. This is what happened to Paul Baumer. Paul grew used to the screeching of the different types of bombs and as a result, was able to know what to do when came near him. This had a trade off though, as when he returned to his home town for leave, as he wrote: “I’ve had a couple of shocks because the screeching of the trams sounds like a shell coming towards me (page 119).” This shows that there are good and bad repercussions about growing used to warfare, the good being that it helps your chances of survival a bit but the bad is that you get spooked by any sound that sounds like a shell or bullet coming for you when you do return to your normal life.
The results of turning into an animal while fighting may not be directly detrimental to you, but for whoever you’re fighting it could be fatal. The scene in the graveyard where Paul is trapped with a dying British soldier is an example of one such occasion. Notably though, Paul’s instinct to kill the man came back and bit him as he was forced to lie in the shell hole with the man he had sentenced to death until the shelling ceased. During that time, Paul’s actions of fighting like an automaton haunted him as he was forced to watch the man die, and soon felt extreme remorse for what he did. So in that situation, fighting like an animal was detrimental to Paul, but in an indirect way. But it should be noted that you don’t even have to be fighting to be turned into an animal, as on one occasion on pages 78-79 during a prolonged shelling, the following occurs:
“One of the recruits cracks. I have been watching him for a long time, seeing the way he has been constantly grinding his teeth and clenching and unclenching his fists. We are all too familiar with those haunted, wild eyes. In the last few hours he seems to have quietened down, but it isn’t real. He has collapsed in on himself like a tree that is rotten inside. Now he gets up and creeps quietly through the dugout, then rushes for the door. I turn over on to my side and ask, ‘Where are you off to?’‘I won’t be a minute,’ he says, and tries to get past me.‘Hang on for a while, the shelling is already dying down a bit.’ He listens and his eyes clear for a moment. Then they take on that dull shine again, just like a rabid dog, and he pushes me aside without saying anything. ‘Just a minute, chum!’ I shout. Kat sees what is going on. As the recruit pushes me, Kat grabs him and we hold onto him tightly. Straight away he starts to rave. ‘Let go of me, let me out, I have to get out of here!’ He won’t listen, and flails out, spitting out words that are gurgling nonsense. It’s claustrophobia from being in the dugout, he feels that he is suffocating and has one basic urge: to get outside. If we let him go he’d run off somewhere and not take cover. He isn’t the first. Because he is raging and his eyes are rolling, there is nothing for it but to hit him, so that he comes to himself. We do so quickly and without mercy and manage to get him sitting quietly for the time being.”
In this example however, it was necessary to become an animal and hit the recruit, because as Paul wrote: He isn’t the first. So as can be seen, turning into an animal either to fight or to do the unwanted is sometimes necessary. But it can have some nasty repercussions.
As shown, you can quite easily turn into something else when doing something you don’t particularly want to do, but the effects of doing so can be pretty bad. Paul found it so, and he is not the only one, as when Kat is comforting him, he notes that is the first time Paul had killed someone close up. Kat knows how it feels as he has been through it before, you can tell by his actions when calming Paul down. It can also be seen that it is relatively simple to become used to warfare. You just have to live long enough to do so, but the trade off is the more familiar you become with war, the less you can cope with civilian life in peacetime. What it all boils down to is that if you want to stay familiar with normal civilian life and not turn into something that’s unknown to you, don’t get involved in a war, and keep highly aware and in control of your actions.