Character Analysis Of The Corporal In All Quiet On The Western Front

The Corporal is an interesting person. He is sarcastic, rude, impatient, bossy, and manipulates people. Although he has all these bad traits, he is also very experienced, which is good if you fight in a war, and turns out to be more sympathetic than at the beginning. Even with him manipulating Jonathan at the end of the book, the Corporal becomes nicer than he was at the start. Because of this, I believe that the Corporal has become calmer and sympathetic throughout the story.

With a bad, red, blemished face, the Corporal is also very large and has broad shoulders. He wears an old jacket, dirty shirt, muddy boots, and a tiny hat. At the beginning, the Corporal is controlling towards the men, but that is because it is his job. He did not

like joking around, especially when the enemy was nearby, which is fair choice. The Corporal also would rather kill someone than spare them, even if they’re harmless, which is definitely not reasonable. Overall, the Corporal was demanding and snobby towards the men and Jonathan.

Throughout the story, from his bossy attitude to the end of the book, the Corporal is less snarky. He believed that the kid that Jonathan found was French and that his parents were Tories, so he killed them for no good reason. His attitude for killing people had not changed. Additionally, the Corporal wasn’t as bossy as usual. For example, at the beginning of the story, he yelled commands at the militia to dress their lines and hold their shot. Now, the Corporal only yelled to the Hessians to surrender. He also is nicer to Jonathan. The Corporal offered him johnnycake, but he still commanded Jonathan to tell him where the Hessians were. Yet again, he killed more people that had done nothing to him. The Corporal did something no one would expect him to do, and that was sympathizing for the enemy. Respectfully, he shut their eyes, which is something that was surprising.

All in all, from start to finish, the Corporal had made some changes. Not drastic modifications, but some small, which were his attitude and actions. Even though he killed the Hessians and the boy’s parents, his standpoint still changed. Also, he changed by giving Jonathan more care than he had at the beginning. So, that is why the Corporal became more sympathetic.