Final answer:
Paul, in 'All Quiet on the Western Front', sees the younger soldiers' lives as a wasteland because their youth was consumed by war, leaving them little experience outside battle. Whereas older soldiers' lives were merely interrupted as they have previous lives to return to post-war.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, the protagonist, Paul, believes that the younger soldiers' lives have become a wasteland because their youth has been consumed by the horrors and experiences of war, leaving little left of their innocence or untainted perspectives. They have not had the chance to establish their lives outside of battle, resulting in a perceived 'wasteland'. On the other hand, the lives of the older soldiers have merely been interrupted, because they have already had experiences and established lives outside of the war. When the war ends, they have previous existences to return to, while the younger soldiers have a harder time returning to civilian life without the background of the pre-war experience.
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