“Ah! Mother, Mother! You still think I am a child- why can I not put my head in your lap and weep? Why have I always to be strong and self-controlled? I would like to weep and be comforted too…” (Remarque 183)
There is no question in one’s mind that War changes man, but how much does war change man? What does war change about man? The quote above is Paul Baumer’s answer to himself about his dieing mother’s advice for the war. As Paul comforts his mother that he will be alright and look out for himself when he goes back to the front, one sees that it is actually Paul who needs the comforting, not his mother who sits safely at home. It is Paul that the war has changed more than his mother. The war has changed Paul so much in fact that Paul has been stripped of his youth, forced to mature rapidly, and ultimately changes his life, especially his civilian life.
As most recruits, Paul is most likely eighteen or nineteen, the midst of his youth, when introduced into the war. Paul never gets to go to college at the normal age, he never gets to enjoy his transformation to a young adult, and won’t have the good memories of his youth. Instead, the war will strip Paul of his youth, throw him headlong into a man’s game, and force him to mature at an abnormal rate. As seen in countless examples of war literature (for example, Red Badge of Courage,), war forces man, especially the inexperienced and immature youth, to mature quickly, or to learn quickly or die. Maturing after all is learning; without learning and experience one will not change their ways of life, therefore not maturing. When an average person is expected to learn quickly, in school per say, there is no life threatening circumstances; therefore, the person will learn by trial and error with the only threat of a bad grade if they fail. In war, when one is expected to learn quickly, one cannot fail to learn quickly for the reward is death. This is not to say that all deaths in war are the result of failure to mature quickly, but merely to suggest that many of the surviving have gone through a rapid maturity, learning the ways of war (when to duck, when to run, when to be quiet, when not to run). When one in war reflects, one will see their own transformation of maturity through their actions and thoughts. One of the most prominent ways one recognizes their own transformation is when one returns to normal civilian life.
In All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul has a six-week leave. During this time Paul returns home to be with his family. The minute Paul steps off the train one can see how he has changed and how he will never interact with civilian life as he once did. One of his first reactions to civilian life is that of irritation. When he steps off the train is immediately bothered by a “helping” woman who offers him coffee as if they knew him, even calling him comrade. How can this woman who has never seen him and has no relationship to him call him comrade? She has nothing in common and has shared no hard times with Paul. One can see that it is no wonder that he dismisses the woman. Another obvious change to his reaction with civilian life is when he sees his family. At first he is happy and overcome with emotion, but these emotions are soon overcome with the realization of how different he has become and how he will never be able to return to living like this. Paul states, “But now I see that I have been crushed without knowing it. I find I do not belong here any more, it is a foreign world” (Remarque 168). He tries to recall the good memories of his childhood while lying in his own room, but cannot hold on to the memories. Later his father takes him to talk his buddies but Paul doesn’t enjoy the interaction with the civilians and does his best to get away. One can obviously see Paul’s dislike for normal, civilian life.
His youth denied to him, the war forcing him to learn quickly, his distaste for civilian life, Paul nor anyone cannot doubt that the war has changed him. One can see how Paul’s maturity, due to the war, has ultimately altered his life forever. No more will Paul par take in childish games, or think in childish ways. Paul is a man in a youth’s body. His actions and thoughts are forever shaped by his maturity in the war.
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