All Quiet On The Western Front Character Analysis

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A startling depiction of the harsh reality of war, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a novel which illustrates the destruction of a soldier’s humanity through the eyes of Paul Bäumer. Paul is a nineteen-year-old German boy who enlists in World War I alongside his classmates, deluded by the romantic ideas of heroism and honor. However, he quickly discovers the brutality of combat through the deaths of his friends and the vivid horror of life on the front. His identity as an idealistic, sensitive schoolboy is shattered and he is forced to disconnect himself from human emotions in order to survive. Paul himself becomes an example of the harshness of war; he is stripped of his humanity and both mentally and emotionally fragmented. …show more content…
They learn to detach themselves from feelings of sympathy and compassion to avoid the crushing despair and pain that comes with death. The boys are trained to become emotionless, revealed in the statement, “We became soldiers with eagerness and enthusiasm, but they have done everything to knock that out of us” (Remarque 22). This separation from their former human emotions is exposed when their friend, Kemmerich, dies. One of the other soldiers, Müller, sees his death only as a means of securing Kemmerich’s well-made boots. Paul agrees with this, commenting, “We all three have the same thought: even if he should get better he would be able to use only one- they are no use to him,” illustrating that war has hardened the soldiers into callous creatures with little regard for sympathy

Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

the conditions that they used to live in because of the oppression they faced. After he talks to the man who is training his troops, he understands the seriousness of his job. He realizes that if he does not get his troops trained properly, they will all die. After this he becomes more serious and lets his sergeant-major train his troops more strictly. 2. The soldiers who were free, like Thomas, were shown how the other blacks lived. They were shown the harsh conditions the others endured. For example…

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Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

Standing in the way of whizzing bullets is a brave and selfless task. Several soldiers who participate in this charitable act are scarred beyond repair, and come home to friends and family who can’t understand what they’ve went through. In the face of this ultimate ostracization, courageous soldiers are the true war heroes. They haven’t faced the most wounds or suffered the hardest tragedies, they are the people who work continuously to improve their lives and the lives of other soldiers who are…

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Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

"I told you that this visit was useless and inappropriate." Duke Simonyi, who stood with Ladislas and Duke Berganza behind Rollo, said looking with disdain at Elsa. The Duke was obviously displeased by what he considered a sign of weakness of his future wife. Anna noticed a brief gleam of fury in Rollo's eyes. The Captain of the Imperial brigantine put the cover in its place hiding the deformed body and looked with sympathy at both sisters. "I'm sorry, but I warned you that it would be unpleasant…

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Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

environment void of hope and will to fight. Erique Remarque describes this environment through his novel, All Quiet On The Western Front. However, amidst the struggle of war, the characters, Paul and his comrades, find that their purpose to fight is not for their country, but for each other, creating a strong sense of camaraderie. This camaraderie creates a bond between the soldiers, since they all face the hardships of war together, share a sense of security, and have a cause to fight for. Camaraderie…

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Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

horrific conditions of trench life and the fragility of the human condition. It also highlights the absurdity of war and the lengths soldiers go to in order to distract themselves from the apprehension of an imminent bombardment which torments the characters for the entirety of the play. The tight demanding structure of the three Acts with a plot which requires for most of the time a sense that nothing is happening clearly signifies how Sheriff wants the audience to understand just how tense the prolonged…

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Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

Scene one: The stage is a large cross section of a trench and above on the projector is an airplane raid. In the trench is one man, alone, (he his writing for about 5 minutes and then as another plain goes over, he starts reading): “Hundreds of rows, so many people’s bros, blown away like crows in the wind. Gone. So many lives lost, defending their country at any cost, and when they fail, there just tossed away, like you toss away an old bale of hay.” (Then the stage fades out as the soldier slowly…

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Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

The most evident repercussion of this traumatic event is Paul’s disconnection from society. This disconnection from society is first seen when Paul is eating alone and Cather says, “He had no especial desire to meet or to know any of these people; all he demanded was the right to look on and conjecture, to watch the pageant.” The fact that Paul sits alone and has no desire to speak with anyone else establishes that Paul is disconnected from those around him. Before New York Paul is still able to…

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Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

thoughts. We learn how Paul’s outlook on the world has changed due to his endeavors through gore, blood, and justice, all the stories told about tragedies of war, are true. War, looked up in a dictionary, is a state of armed conflict between different…

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Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

summit of a hill near his camp, drawn up in line of battle, his men divested of all their superfluous blankets, well armed and mounted on their best war steeds, all decorated with war paint and presenting a formidable appearance.’ Forse was looking for a solution, not a fight, and he recognized the Nez Perce advantage. ‘Joseph could have fallen upon the settlers in detail,…

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All Quiet On The Western Front Character Analysis Essay

In All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Paul is a twenty year old boy who joined the war for pride and glory. He did not know, however, that was was a horrible thing. Paul witnessed things that no one should witness. He witnessed death, suffering, and combat. The war turned him into a man and he lost his innocence. He was no longer the boy he was when he first joined the war. Paul changed, and not necessarily for the better. Throughout the war, Paul is completely…

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