Fatima Saavedra

World War I In Literature and History

Goodbye to All That Sunday Film Option Essay

Baumer has seen the atrocities of war. He cant fathom how people back home are seeing
the war. They all see war as a glorified and noble way to defend the country. Their patriotism
seems to irk Baumer because the people back home cant seem to understand what the war really
means-a fight for survival.
Baumer is careful around his family. He is trying to give them comfort-especially his
mother- because he doesnt want her to worry too much about him. He tries not to upset his
mother who is ailing. He is afraid to make her condition any worse. He tries to downplay the true
dangers of the war. He seems to be more compassionate towards his family, which is
understandable, because he doesnt want to cause them any torment. He doesnt want them to
know how easily he could die once he returns. He kind of reflects on his childhood in the movieabout how he used to cry in his mothers lap. He certainly cant do that anymore. He has to stay
brave and keep fighting for himself and his family. He is keeping up his lie to his family to
keep them from knowing what true war is really like. He becomes a different man in front of his
family because he wants to protect them from the undeniable truth (his impending death).
To others-like the scene in the bar- he is a little more critical. In the bar scene he doesnt
really express his dislike about their discussion, but one can tell he is bothered by the way they
talk about war. The men at the bar are trying to strategize like an officer would probably do,
yet they have no idea what is truly going on. They just do it to speculate, and to presumably keep
themselves involved in the war. I feel like the men want to try to be involved because they
ultimately know that they wont be a deciding factor in the war. They are worried about the
outcome, but they dont know how to deal with the fact that they wont be able to influence what

Fatima Saavedra
World War I In Literature and History

the outcome will eventually be. The men are trying to stay positive with the information that they
have. Baumer stays quiet and respectful to the men around him because he doesnt want to insult
them-the men are much older than him. Its a bit of an irony that Baumer, a much younger man,
seems to know more about the war that the older men in the bar.
One of the last places that Buamer visits is his old school. He hears his old schoolmaster
giving the same speech that he gave them about the war-encouraging them to enlist. Baumer
seems a little outraged by the way he is portraying the war. He gets angry when the schoolmaster
continues to glorify the war. The schoolmaster asks him to talk about what its like to fight for
his country-his nation. Baumer doesnt really want to contribute saying he cant really say much
else about the war because they have already heard what there is to it. His old schoolmaster
doesnt back down, and continues to pester him to talk about it. Baumer eventually snaps, and he
starts talking about how the war isnt what it is portrayed to be. He talks about how the new
recruits almost always die within their first few months-how they are recruiting children that
wont last. He is outraged by the fact that they continue to glorify war when all it is, is death. He
cant fathom why others would want to enlist, yet he went through the same phase. These
children and teenagers believe themselves to be unstoppable. They want to be glorified. They
want to be the heroes. They dont even think about all the horrendous things that the war can
bring. Baumer is so outraged by their willingness to enlist that he says he would rather be on the
front than still at home. He doesnt want to hear any more of the glorified lies that they keep
sprouting everywhere. War is not a pretty thing. War is gruesome and unbiased. It doesnt matter
who you are or who you think you are because in war there is no one that is safe.
Baumer is tired of the patriotism at home. Sure, patriotism increases the morale of many,
but it also hinders the mental state of those who enter the war. They dont expect the death tolls.

Fatima Saavedra
World War I In Literature and History

They dont expect the implications that can be drawn from so many dead. They dont understand
why they are at war. Why are they fighting? Yes, they are fighting for their nation, but why are
they at war? What caused the war to spindle so out of control? In the movie, there is a scene
where they talk about why the war is occurring. They talk about why they are killing the British
soldiers. Why are they killing them? They didnt want to shoot them, just like they were sure the
British soldiers didnt want to shoot them, so then why where they at war? What was the cause
of so many deaths? So many obscurities within the war separated their united nations. The
soldiers at the front, and the people back home were strangers to each other. They were separated
by their interpretation of the war. They were separated by the glorification, the death, and the
conclusion of the war. Why were they fighting? What did the outcome hope to bring? Was it
worth it?