Analysis Of Erich Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front is a fictitious novel written by Erich Remarque that speculates the adventures and life of World War I German soldier Paul Bäumer. Paul is a young man of nineteen who joins the army voluntarily with his friends because they believe being in the military is very honorable and patriotic. However, after experiencing brutal and horrific training, him and his friends realize that their ideas of what nationalism and patriotism are are simply false. Over the course of multiple battles and confrontations with the French military, many men of Paul’s company are killed in combat. Towards the end of the novel, Paul and his group of friends are given what seems an easy task of guarding a supply depot from fighting for three

weeks. However, a battle takes place where both Paul and Kropp are injured. After getting on the same medical train, they both arrive to the hospital where Kropp gets his leg amputated and Paul undergoes surgery. When Paul gets back to his company, he realizes that his army is giving in to the relentless pressure of the Allied forces. Each one of Paul’s friends are killed one by one. Paul is poisoned in a gas attack and is given a short time of leave. Then, in October of 1918, Paul is killed on a day of little fighting. The army report for that day simply reads “All quiet on the Western Front.” Paul appears as quite calm when he is dead, like he is relieved that the end has finally come.
The seating arrangement consists of seven of the most important characters from the novel. The host of the dinner is Paul Bäumer, the protagonist and narrator of the novel. The co-host of the dinner is Sister Libertine, a nun at the Catholic hospital. The two honored guests are Stanislaus Katczinsky (Kat), and Albert Kropp, both good friends of Paul. Next to Paul will be Kat, and next to Sister Libertine will be Albert. The other four members of the dinner are: Müller, Tjaden, Kantorek, and Himmelstoss. Müller will sit next to Tjaden and Kat. Next to Müller will be Tjaden, and next to him will be Kantorek, and next to him will be Himmelstoss who is an antagonist at first but later tries to make amends with Paul and his friends. At the table, the guests will talk about the war, and how it was growing up with each other in primary school. Everybody but Sister Libertine has known each other since they were very young, however, Sister Libertine has grown close with Paul and Albert since assisting them in the Catholic hospital.
At the table, all of them talk about the devastating reality of war and that their ideas of being good patriots were completely inaccurate.

They all particularly are frustrated with Kantorek because of the unneeded pressure he put on Paul and all of his friends to fulfill their “patriotic duties” by serving in the war. However, none of them dislike Kantorek. Also, Paul explains how the war has ruined his life and that his perception of enlisting in the army was far from what he thought. In chapter seven Paul says “...it is a damnable business, but what has it to do with us now--we live.” In these lines he is simply stating that a soldier disconnects himself from his own emotions in order to survive the horrors and terrors of war. Paul also shares deep thoughts about how a soldier transforms as they are heading into battle. He states this in chapter four when he says “We march up, moody or good-tempered soldiers--we reach the zone where the front begins and become on the instant human animals.”

To conclude, All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel that tries to depict the actual horrors of war. In the epigraph to the novel, Remarque states that the novel is “...a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.” Remarque, a WWI veteran himself, shows these events through the life of Paul Bäumer. At the dinner, everyone gets along well and dwells on the painful truths of war, which was painful for all. Remarque just wanted to show the real version of war, which is what he just did in the

novel.