My Artefact

In the mist of warfare, the defining line between triumph and being conquered relies on the soldier’s preparation and the capability of personal perseverance. While soldiers usually train six months the number was severally shortened for most German soldiers during WW1 in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. In a situation where time is not an issue, it is shown that training makes a good soldier; however, Paul and the rest of his seven classmates have shown repeatedly that their training did not prepare them physically, mentally, and tactically for the war.

How would one describe the perfect soldier? Answers would vary from physical attributes of strength, agility, etc. but, due to incompetent training Paul did not have those attributes. The propaganda used was that the war among nations would be an invigorating experience, while it was truthfully the complete opposite. As soldiers enlisted to fight for their countries and their allies, propaganda was standing over their shoulders. Lying to the good men willing to sacrifice themselves for their country, saying how war is a great experience and that you would come back a certified hero. A warning should have been stated how war is. A mental and physical warfare. Training begins. Most men don’t know how to fill the chamber of a gun with a bullet. With training they learn this. “We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had shot it to pieces. The first bomb, the first explosion bursts in our hearts” (C.5, P.88) Paul states as his mental capability plumets from the artillery bursting upon his trench. Was eighteen-year-old Paul prepared to face mania because not a living soul warned him? This could have been avoided instead of “The war has ruined us for everything” (C.5, P.87) Training the brain could have avoided mental scars that these soldiers have. Informing the soldiers that fighting on the frontlines is a mentally tough task, some could have prepared, and entered the war with different expectations. The German military could have explained expectations and trained soldiers’ brains to cope with the depression and fatality of the war. This could lead to a type of training that strengthens the mind, making soldiers more of an animal than human.

Soldiers need to have strength. Avoiding shelling, wriggling through barbed wire, taking a chance of being impaled by a rusty, muddy bullet. All these single things take great efforts of strength. Strength does not come naturally. You see someone going to the gym, working every day to be muscular. This takes months, even years, of training, similar to a soldier. For a soldier to become the best version of themselves, a couple weeks of tactile and boot camp training won’t achieve that. “We became soldiers with eagerness and enthusiasm, but they have done everything to knock that out of us” (C.2, P.22) The “three weeks” (C.2, P.22) of basic training was not enough for Paul to gain the strength he needed to participate in the grueling war. Training had to be extended by months, more intense, it had to simulate the feeling of the actual war. Paul would have been a better soldier, a better ally to the soldiers around him. Creating a simulation of war in the boot camp would frighten new recruits but they would leave after a dozen months with double the strength they came with.

Fight, flight, or freeze. A characteristic that every human has on this planet of ours. Soldiers need to have these three-senses turned up all the way. This does not come naturally, with training and help these senses could become lethal to a soldier. The quick second decisions might be life or death on the frontlines. Soldiers need to have this ability to think faster because it may be the split decision between life and death. “A surprise gas attack carries off a lot of them. They have not yet learned what to do” (C.6, P.131) If these soldiers that Paul had to teach how to use the

gas masks, were trained to that extent. To the extent where they may be killed by gas they would be standing beside Paul. “Their condition is hopeless; they choke to death with hemorrhages and suffocation” (C.6, P.131) Survival is the main topic of war, it is kill or be killed. Sadly, that is the reality, but the soldiers should have been taught that trait. A simple number of traits could have been taught to these soldiers to make them better fighters but, it simply didn’t happen. When the soldiers were being trained if one sergeant commented “you are going to die, unless you change your fate” how many soldiers would truly go to the frontlines showing their best combat side. Many. Training is what makes a soldier the fighter they are. With none, it’s hard to kill, easier to be killed, soon as you add years of training, they are the ones doing the killing.

Throughout history, wars have taught humanity the importance of high-level training when it comes to building a good soldier. In ‘All Quiet on the Western Front,’ however, the characters showed that their training did not prepare them physically, mentally, and technologically/tactically for the first World War. Given only “three weeks” (C.2, C.22) to prepare for the biggest event of their lives, the German military convinced these young men that they would be recognized as national heroes, while leading them down a path of self-destruction and pain. One issue that this novel depicted was war propaganda. While this was very relevant in earlier world wars, many nations have continued to spread the rhetoric that fighting for your country is the most patriotic job in the world. Repeatedly, young men and women have gone off to war with brave faces, yet they come back with shattered hearts, or do not come back at all. Erich Maria Remarque’s novel can be used not just for historical knowledge, but as a lesson regarding the possible negative effects when blindly following orders from one or the government. Especially in a situation that is so unpredictable as a war.

If all the soldiers, including Paul, were trained properly and informed what would be expected, then maybe Paul and his comrades would have returned home and told stories of what great soldiers they turned out to be.

Curricular Competency Reflection

The artefact I chose was the essay we wrote about what makes a good soldier. I chose this because I believe my best work was translated here. This was a fun write to finish and I think how I structured it was close to perfect. Throughout this unit of war, euthanasia and soldiers I learned about a lot there is to know about that. The arguments we had with classmates truly expanded my knowledge within the subject. I hope that when I write another essay I relate back to this one to compare them in quality. This will set me apart because I knew this was a strong point of writing for myself.

Core Competency Reflection

I can contribute to and work with criteria to improve my own work; evidence of that …

Throughout the course I have improved on my writing significantly. From the first essay, to the Good Soldier essay my mark has improved and it has been evident within my work. I am happy I feel accomplished that improvement has been shown throughout the course. Very happy towards the end of the course what I have achieved.

An example of where I built upon someone else’s ideas is…

During this course I have realized that a decent amount of it is collaborating with different peers and classmates. So, when we had the arguments I kept those thoughts in the back of my mind to build on those arguments for my essay. This was in fact a argumentative essay and during these circles/talks there were points that were shared that fit right into the topic.