All Quiet on the Western Front - Book Report/Review Example

One of the characters, Paul (a German soldier and American enemy in the past) uses anecdotes to portray the hardship and tough times that must be faced by him and his peers (Clardy). These include (but are not limited to) escaping dreadful injuries, desperately hunting for food and tackling with traumatic events (Novel Guide). The psychological injury that has been depicted surpasses the physical injury in war which leads to one of the most gruesome and mentally captivating scenes in the book.

The intensity of traumatic events is exemplified by events such as rats feasting on the bodies of dead soldiers, shooting in the head and the stomach, the unearthing of an old graveyard where soldiers fall as they fight and severe combat resulting in the lungs of one of the soldiers being exposed (Remarque). Furthermore, one of the lead characters, Paul, seems to display symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as he is unable to imagine his life without war (Hunt). Family ties and bonds seem to take a backseat as they are overshadowed by the rugged theme of war.

It suggests the distraught and misery of soldiers who not only sacrifice their bodies but also their hearts during times of war. The resulting emotionless state of these soldiers leads them to become mentally and physically crippled when they are injured. In one of the cases, suicide seemed more plausible than surviving with an amputated limb (Remarque). The callow and uncouth life of a fighter banishes innocence from the lives of these soldiers such that war is the only thing that dominates their minds and controls them.

According to psychological research, it is critical for a traumatized individual to establish an account about the traumatic event (Hunt). This insight can be related to this novel since Remarque has been a victim of depression and desperation following his experiences of