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Characterization Of Paul Quiet On The Western Front

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A Worthy Protagonist I enjoy following the journeys of Paul Baumer. Out of all the characters in All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul has the most diverse personality along with the most complicated inner conflicts. By making an interesting protagonist, Remarque shows details of Paul that make him a more enjoyable and interesting character. Paul is a guy who acts like a young adult. I am able to relate to Paul more than other characters because he is an ordinary guy who thinks about simple ideas. He is only at a point where he has "his parents, some enthusiasm, a few hobbies, and [his] school" (Remarque 26). His possessions resemble a typical teenager's life which I can rely to because all we have is our parents, hobbies, and school. In addition, he describes him and his friends as “old folks” who were teenagers a “long time ago” (Remarque 24). Like a typical teenager, Paul thinks that he is ready to deal with war and other conflicts, but in reality, he is still a young adult that has not experienced life. Paul's naive and child-like personality gives me an interesting …show more content…

Unlike other military men, Paul has the ability to see through the enemy military members’ perspective to the extent that he could see their struggles. He believes that the enemies from Russia are as “kindly as the peasants in Friesland” (Remarque 190). Paul’s analyzes that the eastern side enemy begs and acts just as humane as the peasants in Friesland, Netherlands because both side want to survive and have a good life. Furthermore, Paul connects to the person who he had slain by describing that his “mother is just as anxious as [theirs]”, and they have “the same fear of death” (Remarque 223). Remarque shows this comparison between Paul and the dead man because he wants to show how Paul has the ability to look into his enemy's’ side of the war. Overall, Paul is more likable because he could find struggles within himself and

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