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All Quiet On The Western Front Death Quotes

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Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, follows the life of a German Soldier, Paul Baumer, serving in the trenches in France during World War I. This novel is told from Baumer’s perspective and depicts the horrors of living in his shoes during this time. Paul and several other young soldiers volunteered for the war after their instructor in school, Kantorek and other authority figures back home filled their heads with glorious ideas about the war. Very quickly, he discovers the reality- gas attacks, fatal illness, starvation, rat infestations, and bloody trenches. This dehumanizing war affects Paul and the soldiers who fought in it by destroying their physical and emotional well being, changing their views on the meaning of life and death, obliterating their sense of nationalism by betrayal, and …show more content…

“We have almost grown accustomed to it; war is a cause of death like cancer and tuberculosis, like influenza and dysentery. The deaths are merely more frequent, more varied and terrible.” [271] This quote explains how “normal” death is when fighting in war and that it is so inevitable, the soldiers become accustomed to it. Even when all of Paul’s friends have passed and Kat is the only one left, his reaction to his death is uncaring. “All is usual. Only the Militiaman Stanislaus Katczinsky has died.” [291] Kat is one of Paul’s closest comrades and this reaction would normally be surprising but he refuses to let himself feel any emotions. Paul and the young soldiers have become numb to death. The meaning of their lives is shattered and is consumed by war. “We are fleeing. We fly from ourselves. From our life. We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces.” [88] The minute that they joined the army was the minute that the only purpose for their life was to kill or be killed. “Our knowledge of life has been limited to death.”

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War is a harsh reality that is inflicted upon the unwilling through the “need” of it’s predecessors and those whom wish it. All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is about 19 year old Paul and his friends in the “Second Company”. Even though they are just out of school age, they have already seen things that many could not bear to even think about. Eventually, all of his friends die, and even Paul too, dies. Remarque uses diction and syntax as literary devices to express his anti-war theme, or lesson.

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720 Words | 3 Pages

We don't talk much, but I believe we have a more complete communion with one another than even lovers have” (Remarque Page 45). While the two sit together in silence, they have a connection, unlike others. Paul later mentions that he and Kat did not have a single thought in common before the war, but now, it’s as though their thoughts are connected. As the night continues, Paul even mentions that he loves Kat and is like a brother; their connection is more robust than that of a couple because they never argue or disagree and are in unison. While in No-Man’s Land, Paul comes across a French Soldier and in order to save his own life he has to kill the soldier in hand-to-hand combat but once the soldier is dead, he immediately regrets it: “‘Comrade, I did not want to kill you.

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626 Words | 3 Pages

During the scene, Paul describes how he “[does] not think” and “make[s] no decision” which shows that the suffering of war has made Paul not consider the enemy as real people (216). The detachment that Paul demonstrates contributes to the idea that the notion of war makes people detach from empathetic views of the soldiers fought

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894 Words | 4 Pages

[…] Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy? If we threw away these rifles and this uniform you could be my brother just like Kat and Albert." (Chapter 9) In this quote Paul realizes how wrong he has been this whole time, he says if they were not in the war, both men could have possibly been close friends for all they

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182 Words | 1 Pages

The soldiers innocence is shattered because of the emotional toll from horrifying images of death. It is hard for Paul to show emotion when talking about Kemmerich’s death because “when a man has seen so many dead he cannot understand any longer why there should be so much anguish over a single individual”(Remarque 181). Paul has seen many of his comrades die. Over time, as Paul witnesses more deaths, his mind dulls. It's hard for him to show or expose his feelings because he has seen so much death that Kemmerich’s death loses its significance.

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1245 Words | 5 Pages

In the year 1914, a war started that would turn innocent people against each other, and have aftermaths that include thousands of people dead due to new equipment like tanks, gas attacks, and hand-to-hand combat. In this war there was a soldier named Paul Bäumer who is a German nineteen year old who has made friends that will last a lifetime during this experience, but has also felt immense pain. His daily routine is to sleep, eat, and fight in the trenches, and he experiences death every day. Most soldiers view death as a recurring event, but Paul views it as wretchedness, which makes him different from others by caring about his comrades more than others. Paul shows many qualities through this experience of being a soldier in the First World War, and he learns what is necessary in life, which takes some people years to figure out.

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1410 Words | 6 Pages

Paul reaches this stage when he returns to the front after staying at the hospital due to a leg injury. In a moment of deep thought, Paul ponders, “...life is simply one continual watch against the menace of death;--It has transformed us into unthinking animals to give us the weapon of instinct...“ (Remarque 273-274). The soldiers may be courageous for their spontaneous acts but are thoughtless, controlled creatures. In this case, it is a negative as they are sacrificing their wits to

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1079 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout their lives, people must deal with the horrific and violent side of humanity. The side of humanity is shown through the act of war. War is by far the most horrible thing that the human race has to go through. The participants in the war suffer irreversible damage by the atrocities they witness and the things they go through. In the novel “All Quiet on the Western Front" is the description by Erich Maria Remarque of the graphic violence and gore and the psychological pain that the average soldier endured on the western front.

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665 Words | 3 Pages

Erich Maria Remarque was a man who had lived through the terrors of war, serving since he was eighteen. His first-hand experience shines through the text in his famous war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, which tells the life of young Paul Bäumer as he serves during World War 1. The book was, and still is, praised to be universal. The blatant show of brutality, and the characters’ questioning of politics and their own self often reaches into the hearts of the readers, regardless of who or where they are. Brutality and images of war are abundant in this book, giving the story a feeling of reality.

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1244 Words | 5 Pages

Day by day they’re going without food and sleep, but they can’t do anything because they have to be ready to fight once the enemy starts to attack. Towards the end, Paul was the only one remaining from his class and his leader Stanislaus Katczinsky died as well from a bullet in the head. The deaths of his close ones made him a stronger person. He pushed through and kept fighting until there was no fighting left to

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1064 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout the ages, wars have wreaked havoc and caused great destruction that lead to the loss of millions of lives. However, wars also have an immensely destructive effect on the individual soldier. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front written by Erich Maria Remarque, one is able to see exactly to what extent soldiers suffered during World War 1 as well as the effect that war had on them. In this essay I will explain the effect that war has on young soldiers by referring to the loss of innocence of young soldiers, the disillusionment of the soldiers and the debasement of soldiers to animalistic men. Many soldiers entered World War 1 as innocent young boys, but as they experienced the full effect of the war they consequently lost their innocence.

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1091 Words | 5 Pages

Moreover, commonly, soldiers are exhilarated to finally go home after long periods of time at the front, and the men dread when they have to return to battle. However, in Paul’s case, he desires to return to the front, rather than staying in his home town and seeing his mother in pain, he yearns to feel numb again. Therefore, Paul is in “agony” because before going on leave, he was hopeless and had no will to live, thus making him a better soldier. Although, after visiting his mother and sister, he has rediscovered a reason to survive, making it harder to go back. Moreover, the word, “comfortless,” illustrates how Paul feels isolated even at home, he feels little comfort where he grew up.

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776 Words | 4 Pages

The Impact of War on Individuals Wars are produced by the powerful. They take young faced men to fight, however the impact of war on those cannot be erased. Erich Maria Remarque the author of All quiet on the Western Front has taken the viewer through the eyes of young 18-year-old Paul Buemer and his horrific experience of being sent to fight on the Western Front during World War One. The novel takes the reader through the physical, social and the psychological effects of an individual impacted by war. Paul’s physical experiences of pain and loss has contributed to his character’s survival instincts and loss of innocence that he feels when joining the army.

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804 Words | 4 Pages

Paul learns that war obtains the capability to demolish society. War destroys so many innocent people’s lives, whether it kills innocent human beings or shatters the innocence of those who fight in

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799 Words | 4 Pages

"Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy? If we threw away these rifles and uniforms you could be my brother just like Kat and Albert (Remarque 223)". Comradeship among soldiers is a major theme throughout the novel, "All Quiet on the Western Front" because the soldiers knew each other before the war, protected each other during combat, and can relate to one another without having to literally speak. This story 's theme shows comradeship because Paul and the other soldiers were in class together before joining the war. In the beginning of the novel Paul introduces his friends he went to school with before going to war with. "

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