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.