Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

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Imagine being on the front line for weeks at a time waiting for the enemy to attack, hoping the shells do not hit your section of the trench. All of the sudden, a Corporeal runs over to give the order, it is time to advance on the enemy, it is time to go over the top. WWI was the war that saw the heavy use of machine guns, airplanes, and other mechanized infantry. The War involved the majority of the world powers of the early 1900s. Mainly, it was fought between the Germans and the allied powers. The novel All Quiet on the Western Front written by Em Remarque is through the eyes of the young and patriotic Paul on the German side who was inspired to join the war with his comrades by a teacher. However, Paul's idea of war is shattered when he …show more content…

Presumably due to fighting at the front, Kemmerich has been injured and now lies in the hospital with an amputated leg that has caused him to begin to die. "Come quick, Franz Kemmerich is dying."..."Which will that be?" He says: "Bed 26, amputated thigh." He sniffs: "How should I know anything about it, I've amputated five legs to-day" (Remarque 16). While Paul watches the suffering of his friend Kemmerich he realizes that war causes people to value life less. He sees that the doctor is not fazed by this news because he has been surrounded by death longer than Paul but Paul has seen very little of it so he still sees it as a tragic and horrible event. Paul also realizes in that moment that war has an effect on more than just him and his friends, he realizes that it changes the lives of others. Like the doctor who now helps wounded soldiers with gruesome injuries and all the other men that have had amputations that will majorly change their life. These drastically life changing events would not have occurred if there was no war. All of this happened illustrates the horrors of war through the way war ends lives and nullifies people to its

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