Growing Sense of Esprit de Corps

1. Paul offers 'a strong, practical sense of esprit de corps which in the field developed into the finest thing that arose out of the war - comradeship" (26-27) - Examine this concept through the first 4 chapters of the novel.

In "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque, the word esprit de corps is brought up multiple times. Esprit de corps is a feeling of of pride shared by a group. This word could be understood as companionship. In the story, the feeling companionship is always increasing between the soldiers, at first during training and even after it. During training the soldiers were put on the "same level", meaning they were all treated harshly and beaten down until no ego stood out. After this phase in their training the men are "brought back up" and a feeling of esprit de corps comes out of the training, just as the narrator Paul Bäumer says (26-27) "It awakened in us a strong, practical sense of esprit de corps, which in the field developed into the finest thing that arose out of the war—comradeship." Another time which expands on the idea of esprit de corps is the scene in the hospital with Kemmerich and Paul. As both men come to face reality Kemmerich hands over his boots to Paul and Paul realizes that Kemmerich only has a few hours left to live. Unable to let Kemmerich die alone Paul stays to comfort the now crying Kemmerich as his life slips from him. Both Paul and Kemmerich here show companionship with Kemmerich handing over his boots to Paul and afterwards Paul watching over his friend as his life ebbs out of him.