Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

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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 also coming home to a population who is estranged from the soldier’s perspectives. Kreb’s story is one of a religious upbringing, a culture that he couldn’t believe in the face of his enemy’s guns. He came back from war with no one to talk to, and his mother even “[got] bored” (Hemingway) …show more content…
They are dropped “into the State” (Jarrell), and practically left to fend for themselves on the battlefield. And once they come back home, they have been “loosed from [the] dream of life” (Jarrell), unable to come to terms with the world they return to. But in the face of both these misfortunes, there are those who fight, those who serve to create a better home for the abandoned and neglected soldiers. These are veterans such as Krebs and Smith. Krebs worked to encourage soldiers that their experiences are not simple, but extremely complex, and they have the right to reject and notions of war that are forced upon them by friends or family. In Krebs’ case, he fought against religion, something he couldn’t believe in after his exposure to the horrors of war. Smith motivates soldiers to return home and fight for themselves. He advocates for the healthy renewal of these brave individuals into modern society and leads his generation through the hardships that may entail. With war heroes like these, soldiers will no longer feel estranged from home, but rather welcome it as a chance to reform