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All Quiet On The Western Front Character Analysis

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During World War I, "All Quiet on the Western Front" depicts the brutal experiences of young German soldiers, with the film centering on Paul Baumer, who enlists in the army with his classmates due to patriotic speeches given by their teacher. Yet, once on the front lines, they face the true horrors of war, constantly surrounded by danger and the deaths of their fellow soldiers. The film exhibits the emotional toll that war characterizes upon soldiers, showing the treacherous conditions in which they live, with rats and disease-ridden trenches, and the inhumanity of war. The mercilessness of battle and the loss of fellow soldiers start to weigh down on the young troops, making them contemplate why they're even fighting. The movie portrays how these soldiers struggle to retain their humanity amid war. Paul and his mates are compelled to act against their moral principles, including taking human lives, which causes them to question their own identity. They're stripped of their unique personalities and become parts of the war machine. …show more content…

His youth is marked by the cruelty he witnesses during World War I and the atrocities he confronts as a soldier. Despite these traumatic experiences, Paul maintains his inner strength and empathy for his comrades, creating enduring relationships with them throughout the movie. Paul, a relatable and likable character, faces an internal battle against the dehumanizing effects of war and a search for purpose in a pointless struggle. This character arc presents an emotional tale that is a strong reminder of the terrible toll war takes on youth. Overall, Paul is a well written character that adds depth and emotion to the movie. My favorite moment of his is when he is forced to kill an enemy soldier but still treats him with respect and shows empathy and sadness toward him in his last moments showing that even in such a horrific war, he is still

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The book cover of, All Quiet on The Western Front, quotes to be ‘’the greatest war novel of all time’’. The author, Erich Remarque, experiencing war himself; uses the protagonist, Paul Baumer, to express his own background and horrors of World War One. With this, it alternates between his vividly dying memories of the times before the war and the nightmares of trench warfare; although a first person narrative. Erich served in combat during WW1 in Germany and was wounded five times. The last injury was very severe and kept him out of the war.

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Esteban Gonzalez Professor Voth Humanities Oct 7, 2014 All Quiet on the Western Front Paper This story wastes no time getting into the hardships and devastation that war has on a young soul. Our protagonist Paul, a young man who has voluntarily joined the war out of amongst many of his friends and classmates have undergone 10 weeks of mentally and physically exhausting both in training and on the front lines.

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Because how Paul and his comrades were so young. They started to see the world differently after joining the war to the point, they start to feel saddened in living their life. “We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world, and we had to shoot it to pieces. ”,(pg 87). During the war, Paul loses so much, even control of himself that all he felt in the war was mostly

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Paul was a young soldier who did not have much to go back home to besides his family, but many other soldiers had families of their own. We saw Paul go through many challenges if it being watching his friend die, going back home, or killing his enemy. Paul was by his friends side the whole time that he was dieing. Paul friend Kemmerich had got his foot amputated and had died from all the bleeding and pain. In the novel we saw at the hospital how poorly the patients got treated and how quickly they got kicked out.

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After the traumatic experiences he suffered through, Paul made mental growth in the human aspect. He figured out that “there are still human faces” even in his enemies. Further in this realization he sympathizes with the rest of the wounded soldiers stuck in similar hospitals all over the enemy lines. This identification attaches Paul to the enemy, positively affecting his mental condition. He recognizes that he is not as drastically different as he thought which ultimately changes his outlook on the war.

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In many ways it develops comradeship between the two as they begin to see each other as equals. Another important event is when Paul cares for the young soldier he kills. He looks at the young man and tries to let him know that he wants to provide aid so the young soldier will not be in pain (219). Paul even reaches down for his canteen and when he cannot find it goes and collects water from the ground which the man rapidly drinks (219-220). This shows camaraderie because Paul is feeling guilty for killing this young man and because of this he works to help the young man by making his last hours on Earth less painful.

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Paul has learned a whole new level of survival. He's taught himself to survival intense shelling, and survive in a dirty and unequipped trench. All the men in his trench are his new family. At the end of the book Paul explains how death doesn't take him by surprise anymore. When Kropp and Paul both become injured severely, Paul gets let out early.

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Although Paul and his friends are raised by the older generation, the real enemies of Paul and his friends are the older generations because of the kaiser and the people in the country. Paul realizes that they are not fighting for themselves or the country but for the older generation instead. Paul points out that World War 1 is not needed, it is the kaiser that commands them to the war in chapter 8. He also compares with one of the soldiers he has killed and finds out that he has a family and friends just like Paul in chapter 9. Paul illustrates that french is not their enemy by telling the soldier that he will do what the man wants.

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Throughout the book we can see the change in the main character Jean’s attitude toward the war. During the beginning of the war he enlists due to his strong want to have an adventure that he will remember for years to come and a feeling of duty to his nation, France. This was common among men during the beginning of the war, they saw it as their right of passage, the great adventure that they were all waiting for to save them from their boring lives. His time in basic training proved to him that he is not the ideal candidate for a soldier. After he was denied becoming an officer, he would try to avoid basic duties that normal soldiers were assigned.

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As a soldier fighting in battle, Paul is unable to “think at all” during these desperate situations. His actions of “[striking the soldier]” viciously emphasizes how he had become desensitized, which also reveals his animalistic nature because of how he follows his instincts of “[striking the soldier without thinking]” about the consequences. Paul, like many other soldiers in WWI, was forced to kill more people “[without any thought]” for the preservation of his own life allowing him to develop inhuman behavior. Throughout the war,

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Paul is in the middle of a war, his mother is dying, his friends are dying, death surrounds him, and he has firsthand killed a man to protect himself and his hiding place. Mentally, he has experienced more stress and trauma than most of the people his age. His transition from reckless teenage years

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Throughout the story Paul shows that he cares about his comrades by protecting them from the dangers of war, and he also displays that he will guide them in war. Paul uses his skills of intelligence to guide his team in the trenches and at the front, and he passes on his knowledge and tricks of war to the new recruits. Not many soldiers have all of these qualities, which makes Paul stand out more than his comrades. Even today some men don't express the passion and leadership Paul shows in All Quiet on the Western Front, which brings up the fact that the war needs more men like Paul. To sum up, Paul is an honest and true man who will always be there for his comrades when needed, and he is a man the troops are proud to say is a patriotic

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All Quiet on the Western Front is a very largely anti war book. Erich Maria Remarque bases the story off of some of his experiences in World War 1. Remarque writes about soldiers from the German perspective in World War 1. This discusses the brutality and senseless portion of war which really takes a toll on soldiers’ lives. It also broaches the idea of how world leaders are so disconnected from what atrocities that these soldiers are committing and how this is slowly ruining their life.

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In addition, Paul was injured in the book and goes home and stays with her family while he recovers. He is no longer able to relate to his family, since it is very difficult to think and have emotions and at the same time with much death all around him in the war. There is much talk of how he and his friends do not think about deep things, but just think about eating and silly things. His father and people over all his people want me to tell them stories of war and hate Paul because their experiences are horrible. Paul has just returned to the fight and basically everyone in the book is wounded and dies.

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804 Words | 4 Pages

After experiencing the horrors of World War I, Paul believes he is “nothing but an agony for myself, for my mother, for everything that is so comfortless and without end” (Remarque 185). Paul is in fact guilty for his involvement in the violence of the war. He realizes this fact and becomes dispirited because he bemoans allowing himself to get involved in such cruelty. Despite the fact that Paul experiences adverse emotions because of it, he learns from his past blemishes. Even though he can never really rescind his previous actions, he still uses them as a guide towards refraining from repeating the same missteps.

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