All Quiet on the Western Front - Essay 12

Jack Fecko
Pd. 5
AQOTWF Essay

Almost anyone in the world could agree that people who are willing to fight for their country in a war are making one of the biggest sacrifices possible.   From the non-stop bombardments and shelling of the opposing troops, to the always limited supplies necessary for living.   Besides the dedication these soldiers display, physical and mental toughness is a requirement they must have to be able to perform at the peak of their abilities.   The military prides itself on being able to get people in the best shape of their lives.   In the German army’s case, Corporal Himmelstoss is a strict and dictatorial drill sergeant who pushed his trainees to the limit.   As Paul and his fellow enlistees may not have realized, but because of Corporal Himmelstoss, they greatly benefited from the tough and rigorous training that Himmelstoss put them through.
Corporal Himmelstoss, a fierce, uncompromising, but still normal human being, did not relate a whole lot to the job he assumed during the war.   In his normal life, he was a mailman who just went through life doing what he had to do not caring how he did it.   This philosophy carried over to when he was training Paul and the rest of his squad.   The ferocity of his training methods pushed them to the brink.   At the time that the troops were in training with Himmelstoss, it was only basic training, but he found sadistic pleasure in excessively training them and driving them beyond what he was supposed to.   As a result of the extreme methods, Paul and his mates wanted to fight back and let Himmelstoss know how they really felt.   Despite their anger rages, they didn’t realize that Himmelstoss was helping them out by getting them in better shape than they were supposed to be in.   The group was soon to be deployed to the war, and being in great shape is always a huge part of being successful in war.   As once said by George Washington: “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of...