AQWF Response #2

Author's Note: Continuing with All Quiet on the Western Front, I have noticed that many of the men in the army act like children.  Here is my analysis about what I have observed.

Adulthood is defined in different ways by many different people; some say it is literally being the age of eighteen, some say it is when you are finally on your own, and some say it is when you are completely grown up.  In All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, adulthood is shown in many of the men by how much power they have - yet, it commonly shows as a childlike state as well.  They act high and mighty when they are put in that place of power, but there are many instances in which they act in ways that five year olds would, showing that adulthood is when you cross over from childhood into a state of maturity and responsibility.

The soldiers in the army display their immaturity multiple times throughout the novel thus far.  For example, the main character, Paul, has "exchanged [his] chewing tobacco with Katczinsky for his cigarettes" (2), just as little kids in middle school trade foods in their lunches.  The trade of tobacco and cigarettes shows adulthood because of the fact that they can openly take or use the substances.  Yet, it also shows that sense of childhood because children often trade goods with each other to satisfy their own needs.  When new recruits arrive, Paul comments saying, "'Seen the infants?'" (35), showcasing that sense of self-recognized adulthood in the way that he and his friends have more experience than these recruits have coming into the army.  Although Paul and his buddies act immature about the new recruits, it is obvious that they only act in that way because it gives them a sense of power over other men, just as their own leaders have power over them.  Once people realize they are adults, they seem to look back and wish that they could have their childhood back, even if they do possess the power that they desire.  Even as adults, some of that immaturity will still linger and those people will always partly be in that childhood state.

All Quiet on the Western Front Response #1

Author's note: We are reading All Quiet on the Western Front in english class right now and conversing (a.k.a. text coding) with each chapter.  It is a novel about World War I and the struggles that came with it while soldiers were in war.  The point of the novel is to show what adulthood truly is and show the difference between expectation and reality.  Here is my response on what chapter two in the book is trying to convey.

Being an adult comes with many new adventures like the ability to vote, live on our own, join the military, and multiple other things.  Mostly, though, being an adult means that we have a new sense of power; people younger than us must follow our commands without questioning them.  In the book "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque, power is shown by the soldiers and their officials through imagery of the soldiers following ridiculous commands.  Adulthood in this novel means power, yet it is made clear that although adults are clever and have experience, each generation that comes after outsmarts them, overcomes them, and obtains the power that the adults previously held. 

Baumer, a soldier in the war, says that he has "remade his [disciplinarian's] bed fourteen times in one morning" (23), which leaves one wondering: How does making one's bed relate to training for war?  He goes on to tell all of the unnecessary things that this disciplinarian makes them do, like kneading boots until they are "as soft as butter and not even Himmelstoss, [the disciplinarian, can] find anything more to do with them" (23).  The author of the novel uses this imagery to show that these tasks are only given in a way that abuses the power that the officials have.  Although Himmelstoss finds ways to make Baumer look like a fool, Baumer and his friends always come back with a way to disobey him and surpass what commanded them to do.  These young men see it as they have nothing to lose, so they try their hardest to outsmart the adults in their army just to add some fun to a devastating war.  Adults have power, but younger generations figure out schemes to become more clever than them and make them look like the fools.  Therefore, being an adult, as shown in this novel, gives you power, but it is in no way unlimited.