Trauma In All Quiet On The Western Front

Trauma Within the Trenches
War is defined as a state or period of fighting between countries or groups. In the mind of a soldier, war is not as simply clear cut as the words on a piece of paper state. War has many levels that are only explored physically and mentally by the soldier lying on the battlefield in the soundly chaos of the explosions. The utter madness of war sticks in each nook and cranny of the soldier’s mind until his last breath. For Remarque, the author of All Quiet on the Western Front, World War I leaves behind a haunting reminder each day with not a single gruesome detail left out. The novel beautifully expresses Remarque’s personal challenges faced during his time in the war directly through the protagonist Paul. The ghastly
In one encounter involving innocent horses may never be forgotten and erased in the mind of protagonist Paul and his counterparts. “"It's unendurable. It is the moaning of the world, it is the martyred creation, wild with anguish, filled with terror, and groaning" (Remarque 62). Paul witnesses horses being disemboweled and groaning from utter torture. In relation to the horrific events witnessed by Paul, Remarque intertwines his own encounters with Paul’s timely affairs. “Erich Maria Remarque was himself in combat during World War I and was wounded five times, the last time very severely” (All Quiet on the Western Front). After becoming severely injured, Remarque stayed in a hospital for a while pondering on his prior traumatic experiences. After getting released, Remarque carefully crafted the war novel worldly known as All Quiet on the Western Front. The direct correlation between Remarque and his carefully crafted protagonist in the novel paints a picture for the reader of a deep connection and a camaraderie of sorts between the two. “Remarque would spend most of his life looking for a home, for places both inside himself and outside, where he felt comfortable, loved, and where he belonged” (The LIfe and Writing of Erich Remarque). Remarque entwines a deep connection to himself and Paul from this outlook. Paul also does not have a sense of belonging throughout the novel; he is always feeling that he does not fit anywhere, an outcast. His generation of young soldiers never got to settle down and start a family before leaving for the unknown tales of war. After the bloodshed would end, Paul realizes he has nowhere to call home, whether that “home” would be a place or