“I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know of life only despair, death, fear and stupid superficiality thrown into an abyss of pain” (Remark 263). All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque tells the story of 19-year-old Paul Bäumer, a soldier fighting for the Germans during the First World War. He describes his experiences as he fights alongside his friends and realizes that they are struggling because the new recruits are too young to fight properly. Paul has learned to focus on fighting to ensure his survival, but the new recruits cannot control their fears and die. Through the juxtaposition of innocence and experience in All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque reveals that soldiers must rid themselves of their emotions to survive the horrors of war. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay More experienced soldiers are able to put aside their emotions to be effective in war. Paul describes what he feels when he is on the front lines: “Men who have stood up as often as we have have thick skins. Only the young recruits are restless. Kat explains to them: “It was a twelve-incher. You can find out from the report; now you will hear the burst.” . . Suddenly there is some in our veins. . . increased vigilance. . . The body in a single leap is in full availability” (Remark 53-54). Veteran soldiers have learned to prepare for the shock of bombing, but recruits have no experience. The veterans try to help the recruits by explaining the difference between the bombs to calm them down. Recruits must lose their fear in order to be “fully ready” and handle the stress of war. Through constant exposure, Paul developed “thick skin” to withstand the terror of the attacks. This mental discipline gives him heightened senses that allow him to interpret the battlefield and survive. New recruits must still learn to leave their emotions behind to prepare for combat. He sees the recruits struggling around him during a battle and thinks, "As much as we need reinforcements, the recruits are almost more trouble than they're worth." . . They are killed simply because they can hardly distinguish shrapnel from explosives. . . and only moan softly for their mothers and cease as soon as they are looked at” (Remark 129-130). The recruits try to do good, but they lose heart when they see the attack and don't know what to do. Their innocence prevents them from fighting effectively, so they panic in the face of real danger. Instead of looking at the battlefield, they cry for their mother and give up. They fail to see every threat and defend themselves and their comrades. Because of their innocence, they have become “more trouble than they are worth.” They must put aside their emotions and learn to fight smarter, not harder. They will be effective in war if they focus on the fight rather than their fears. Even with this experience, soldiers must adapt to life outside of war because, at some point, they still have to return home. Soldiers must put aside their emotions to protect their families and themselves from the experience of war. Paul comes home to visit his family and his mother is concerned for his safety and says, "'Yes, but Heinrich Bredemeyer was here recently and said it was terrible there now, with the gas and everything else.' . . . She doesn't knownot what she says, she just worries about me. Should I tell him how we found three enemy trenches? . . where men stood and lay, with blue faces, dead? (Note 161). Paul wants to protect his mother from the horrors of war, so he puts aside his emotions for her. He would rather she question what war is than worry about him every day, knowing all the effects of war. His mother is already suffering from the stress of the war. Knowing "all the rest" would only give him more anxiety, and perhaps his health would deteriorate more quickly. Paul is also protecting himself, so he doesn't need to share his feelings with anyone and not think about how the war has affected him. Seeing death regularly is difficult to deal with and it's easier not to think about it. Paul also lost his carefree happiness. He sits in his room, trying to connect to his old life and thinks: “Speak to me – take me – take me, Life of my youth – you who are carefree, beautiful – receive me again –. . . And at the same time, I fear bothering him too much, because I don't know what could happen then. I am a soldier, I must hold on to that” (Remark 172-173). Paul cannot be free and unburdened like he was in the past because of all the trauma he experienced. He reverts to a soldier's mindset to protect himself from the fact that he will never be the same. The “life of his youth” was destroyed by the trauma of war. He's too experienced to recapture his childhood happiness, so he falls back into his new identity, suppressing his emotions like a soldier. Paul is afraid of pushing too hard because he doesn't like what he sees in himself. He doesn't want to face his "beautiful and carefree" past because his current life is ugly and dismal. Soldiers only know how to let go of their feelings because they have been taught that it is the only way to survive. They can't let their emotions take over them, or they will die. Paul and Kat notice a recruit acting strangely and trying to leave the bunker during an attack: “'I'll be back in a minute,' he says, and tries to pass me. . . We have it. . . If we let him go, he would run everywhere regardless of his cover. He is not the first. . . they were sent straight from a recruiting depot to a dam that would turn an old soldier's hair gray” (Remark 109-110). Young recruits cannot stand the stress and fear of random bombings, so they lose control. Veterans know that they will make mistakes if they cannot manage their emotions, and that those mistakes will lead to death. The recruits are too innocent to realize that they must focus on survival and not let their fears control them. Little do they know that if they leave the bunker during an attack, they will most likely die. They want to escape the claustrophobic bunker and would run "anywhere, whatever their cover." They let their emotions take over them, which prevents them from thinking rationally. The “depot-recruitment” did not prepare them to endure the ordeals that “turn an old soldier’s hair gray.” They expose themselves to unnecessary danger when they are not mentally prepared. Even Paul was caught off guard. Paul fell asleep during a bombing and was surprised by an explosion nearby: “Waking suddenly with a start, I don't know where I am. . . I lie in the pale cradle of twilight, . . - am I crying? I put my hand over my eyes, it's so fantastic, am I a child? . . . I recognize the silhouette of Katczinsky and . . . he said: “That scared you. It was just a hood, it's..