In All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrative is shaped by two central themes: war and the "rites of passage," which interact and enhance one another. In literature, war often acts as a crucible where young individuals experience significant rites of passage. This idea is explored in works like Crane's The Red Badge of Courage (1895) and Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms (1929). Paul Baumer explicitly recounts his own initiation into warfare, and, as is typical of such rites, he gains new insights from his experiences. He recalls that when he and his twenty classmates enlisted, they "were still crammed full of vague ideas which gave to life, and to the war also, an ideal almost romantic character." However, these ideals quickly crumble in the face of war's brutal realities as Baumer witnesses his classmates and comrades losing limbs, faces, sanity, and lives.

During his leave from the battlefront, he is painfully aware of feeling isolated and estranged from his family and townspeople, who cannot comprehend what he has been through or how his experiences have changed him. He finds himself almost eager to return to the front lines where his comrades are, saying, "I belong to them and they to me, we all share the same fear and the same life." On a broader level, Baumer's rites of initiation mirror the experiences of his classmates and friends who face the same challenges, fears, and shared existence.