Subconscious Actions

Read through chapter 4 (up to page 75). In this chapter Paul states:

"At the sound of the first droning of the shells we rush back, in one part of our being, a thousand years. By the animal instinct that is awakened in us we are led and protected. It is not conscious; it is far quicker, much more sure, less fallible, than consciousness. . . . It is this other, this second sight in us, that has thrown us to the ground and saved us, without our knowing how. . . . We march up, moody or good-tempered soldiers—we reach the zone where the front begins and become on the instant human animals."

Why would Paul characterize himself and his comrades as "human animals"?

Your task: Discuss the meaning of this quotation and the experiences the boys are enduring internally. In addition to your posting, comment on one other student's post."

Animals always live off of instinct. There isn't much thinking or contemplating going on by them, which means that what they do every day is exactly the same. They find shelter, eat, reproduce, and are always ready to respond to danger.

Paul characterized soldiers as human animals because they react to danger so quickly that they don't even consciously decide to duck and cover. Since animals are so used to doing the same thing, they start to automatically do things without thinking about them.

We have acquired these instincts in the form of subconscious actions,and these actions will develop if we continue to do something repetitive. For example, if it wasn't for the development of instinct, or subconscious actions, it would take me forever to type up this post since I would have to think consciously about every button I press!

This is quite fascinating because some of our subconscious actions have developed over lifetimes into instincts so we won't have to learn them all over again! This is what Paul is talking about, which means that humans must have been through the same type of life-threatening situations many times before.

One big point that Paul was trying to make is that war seems to be less than human, since killing is a far step back into our past instincts. Humans have moved on and have become intellectual beings, and it is like the soldiers are being thrown back in time to when humans needed to fight to live. However, it is not necessary that we have to fight other people in war in order to live! That's animal thinking!

Here are two quotes that I also found interesting in the book:

"I glance at my boots. They are big and clumsy, the breeches are tucked into them, and standing up one looks well-built and powerful in these great drainpipes. But when we go bathing and strip, suddenly we have slender legs again and slight shoulders. We are no longer soldiers but little more than boys; no one would believe that we could carry packs. It is a strange moment when we stand naked; then we become civilians, and almost feel ourselves to be so." Page 29.

"In himself man is essentially a beast, only he butters it over like a slice of bread with a little decorum. The army is based on that; one man must always have power over the other. The mischief is merely that each one has much too much power." Page 44.