On the battlefield, innocence is lost and men are transformed; Yet all soldiers undergo a three-stage transformation that turns them into better soldiers, but also worse men. In the novel "All is Calm on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque and in many war poems, we notice a transformation among men in which they lose their innocence, become beasts and, most importantly, they abandon all civilized sensibility. a soldier leaves his daily life to go into the unknown world, he is exposed to the darkness and tragedies that war has to offer. When this happens, a loss of innocence is expected. The first example of this occurs when Paul realizes how wonderful it would be to be a child again. “Am I crying?” I put my hand to my eyes, it's fantastic; am I a child? (4.43). In this quote it is evident that it is almost a pleasure for Paul to cry because he is so deprived of feelings that it is the only way for him to survive. Paul also associates crying with being a child, showing his connection between innocence and youth. In the poem “Guns and the Boy” by Wilfred Owen, the connection between youth and innocence is clear when a child is introduced to weapons. When the narrator of the story says, “Let the boy try that bayonet blade.” As steel is cold and bloodthirsty,” he hopes that this bayonet blade will eliminate the boy’s innocence and replace it with a “blood hunger.” This kind of awareness in Wilfred Owens' poem convinces the boy that innocence is not necessary as long as he has weapons, which will make him the man he should be and no longer a child. Once a soldier's innocence is lost, he realizes that he is less of a m...... middle of paper ......l to the dead, they shoot for no reason, which results in relates to the theme of the quote in “The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy. “I shot him because… because he was my enemy.” This is an example of a soldier who shoots simply because he is told to, and he has lost all words for himself and is controlled by others. Civilized sensibilities motivate men to shoot a man, but without them, shooting a man is just another task we are asked to perform. Soldiers follow in the footsteps of their ancestors, even in modern warfare, as they embrace the lifestyle of madness or death if they are one of the lucky few. In Erich Maria Remarque's novel "All is Calm on the Western Front" and in many war poems, the reality and horrors that many soldiers experience daily are developed through the paths that men travel during the war, year after year..