All Quiet On The Western Front Character Analysis

Nick Spaulding
Mrs. Pacheco
English 10 Period 3
28 March 2014
All Quiet On The Western Front
Erich Maria Remarque How do soldiers deal with relationships at home and while serving in a war? Paul was faced with many moral decisions brought on by the war. Paul and Kat struggled on what to do when they come up to the Fair Haired Recruit; latter Paul stuck with Kropp though his injuries to make sure he stayed safe. When Paul was on leave, he longed to be with back with his fellow soldiers, because being at home was complicated. In the book All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque, Paul’s life before the war was that of a school boy who had a healthy relationships and dreams. Paul says his future has been stolen and he is forever damaged because of what he has seen and experienced while fighting .
In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, he portrays the effect World War I had on soldiers, especially young ones like Paul. Through his many motifs, he creates the war as the cause for all the soldier’s feelings, emotion, and condition in the horrible face of death. The war seizes all the optimistic dreams of the young soldiers and makes them indifferent to life itself.
Paul’s generation can’t relate back to real life anymore and the memories that go with it, which shows they can never view life the same way again. When Paul goes home to see his family on leave from the army, he comes back wishing he never went home, showing he can’t fit into regular life anymore like as a child- the war has imprisoned him. When he has to leave and his mom is saying goodbye, she reminds him of everything he needs to be careful of, he screams inside, “Ah, Mother, Mother” (183) over and over because he is crying for help inside. He can’t find himself and who he used to be a youth and optimistic. Externally, he keeps repeating “yes mother, I will” (183), like a well-trained soldier of war. That’s what he is now and that’s why he didn’t want to go home anymore, because it reminds him of what the war has done to him and Just like when he put on his civilian clothes again, “The suit is rather tight” (p.164)…” I have grown in the army” (164). He can’t fit in with civilian life anymore, and his youthful clothes are a harsh reminder of that. The war has made him “grow” as a soldier, but break down as a human. He can’t have any more extra baggage of hopes and dreams, so the clothes are tight because the war has taken away that side of him. Now, he will always be part of the war, that’s the only thing he fits into, he is war, and indifferent to life- war isn’t life, but death. Paul can’t live a real and normal life anymore because he has been destroyed by “war”. He has no positive hopes and dreams anymore only disturbing dreams about the war. He is not the same person of his youth anymore. A little boy might dream of war, but Paul is in it, and all those dreams have ceased to exist because he knows the terror of war. Paul’s relationships with his comrades are better than his relationships with his parents throughout the book. Remarque made it very clear that he was aware of the pains men were forced to endure when he put Paul and Albert Kropp in the hospital. Paul was going on leave and asked Kropp if there was anything that he could get for him and Kropp said, “A gun.” (243). Paul shows his disapproval of this idea and Kropp said something to the degree of, “I would rather commit suicide than have my leg amputated.” (242). Paul faked his fever so he could stay with Kropp. Paul and Kropp were both sent to a hospital, Kropp was going also but Paul has to worried that he might kill himself if he does not stay with him the whole time. This shows that Paul has a very good relationship with Kropp. Paul was going on leave again, but he wanted to stay with Kropp because he is worried about the decisions Albert would make if they let him go. Paul says, “We could not do without Katczinsky, he has a sixth sense and Kat is the sharpest soldier I know” (20).
This plays a large part in the development of Paul’s relationships with his other comrades’. Paul admires Kat for these qualities, because Kat can find food, he can also calm the men after a crazy and scary fight. Paul inherits a lot of these qualities as his experiences continue; they look out for each other on the front no matter what. Latter in the book, Paul and Kat come up to this Fair Haired Recruit who is now missing his whole leg. During this, Paul wants to shoot him because he knows that this recruit/comrade is going to die if he is sent to the hospital. Paul and Kat stayed with him, and the reason of this was that Paul had comforted him during the bombardment in the creator that a bomb made. In one of the chapters, Kat is seriously injured in his leg. Paul clambers over many injured soldiers (crying for help) to get Kat (demonstrates strong relationship). Paul drags Kat to safety to a nearby ditch to stay out of the bombardment. This shows us that Paul’s developed a relationship with his comrades and that they would all die for one
another. In All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Paul’s ability to fit into society has been ruined by what he has seen and experienced in war. This is the reason that Paul had a hard time with relationships with his family at home, and how he didn’t feel like he should be here. Paul had better relationships with his comrades during the war because he has seen many of his best comrade’s die right next to him throughout the novel. This includes his decisions on whether or not to stay with Kropp and make sure he doesn’t kill himself to being with Kat and trying to help the fair haired recruit during the bombardment. This is a lesson we should all take in mined; do not let other people make your choices and decisions for you in life, just like Kanterack (Paul’s school teacher) had done with Paul’s life, plus the rest of Paul’s friends/comrades.