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

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

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

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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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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Himmelstoss's Character Analysis From 'All Quiet On The Western Front'

with the young brunette shows that Paul will never be young and happy again Paul wanted to go back in time and become a young and happy boy again, but when he had his encounter he noticed this would never happen. While Paul is with the brunette girl all he can think about is wooing the girl on the poster. Paul thinks about wooing the girl on the poster because he has never had the chance to experince a real…

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Fictional Analysis Essay

Fictional Analysis Title/Author of the book: The title of the book is All Quiet on the Western Front. The author of this book is Erich Maria Remarque. The meaning of the title of this book is basically what the title reads. It takes place on the Western Front of the German side of World War I. The front here is the front lines of the section of the war between Germany and the French and the British. And the quiet implied in the title is kind of opposite to its meaning. Nothing is ever quiet on…

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All Quiet On The Western Front Analysis Essay

Book Analysis: All Quiet on the Western Front Erich Maria Remarque’s war novel All Quiet on the Western Front was one of the most iconic war stories written about World War I. The novel covers the years of the war starting when Paul, the main character, is drafted in and ending with Paul’s death in October of 1918. It is centered on death and the emotions of young, innocent men sent way to fight for their country. People across the world consolidate with the novel, as it was translated in over twelve…

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information, please visit: http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide−razors−edge/ Copyright Information ©2000−2007 BookRags, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The following sections of this BookRags Premium Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further…

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