All Quiet On The Western Front Paul Bauumer Character Analysis

In “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Erich Maria Remarque makes the protagonist also the narrator of the novel; his name is Paul Baumer. In this writing, I will start of by telling you about Paul Baumer, his appearance and his bigger ideas and feelings towards life. Then I will explain a little about what he went through in the novel. Finally, I will give a few examples of literary elements that are noticeable. In the beginning, Paul Baumer never said much about how he looked, but he gave enough information for readers to infer. He’s a young man and in the army so he most likely has short hair. When he went back home and changed out of his uniform and into a suit he said it was “rather tight and short” because he had grown in the army (page

Paul had dreams that were put on halt when he enlisted and he thinks about that sometimes, especially when on leave; he wishes he could live a normal life and have a normal job. He also says that “it [the normal jobs and lives] repels me, it is so narrow, how can that fill a man’s life” (page 169). Paul used to collect books, he loved to read and learn and get lost in the stories. He also was writing a play called Saul that, like everything else, had to be halted when he went to war. Paul was kindhearted, he believed strongly in comradeship and grew strong bonds with his friends in his troop. He was an emotional person but was able to almost ‘turn off’ his emotions while fighting. When he went home on leave, he broke down in tears because he was overwhelmed with the safety of his childhood home. He cared strongly about his mother and always thinks of how much she sacrificed so that he could live a good life. He didn’t really know much about love because once again, the war halted him from experiencing much of it. Next, Paul went through many changes throughout the course of the novel. He volunteered for war right after high school, changing many things in his life. He had always loved reading books, the way he would get lost in them, “I want to feel the same powerful, nameless urge that I used to feel when