Destiny In All Quiet On The Western Front

Most children fantasize about their bright future beyond their early years. In All Quiet on the Western Front, author Erich Maria Remarque defies this notion with Paul, his part–autobiographical protagonist fighting the Great War. As a soldier in the Imperial German Army, Paul ponders post–war existence and—as the narrative progresses—turns increasingly negative toward the life he has ahead. His experiences during his leave, his own words, and his own death all point to a very uncertain future. Initially, Paul is hopeful that he can return to his innocent childhood at home.
Paul fails to return to his civilian mindset on leave. While sitting in his room, this military man grasps for his past to no avail, among his books and toys. He expresses how “A terrible feeling of foreignness suddenly rises up in me. I cannot find my way back, I am shut out though I entreat earnestly and put forth all my strength” (172). The experiences in war have changed Paul more than he expected, to the point to where he no longer understands himself as a person. This initiates his realization of his new being: he is no longer an innocent child, and war played a larger role in his story than he ever imagined. A new destiny has surfaced for this soldier, one where he feels like he cannot escape.

As armistice approaches, Paul reflects on his own expectations for the near future.

Paul describes a world where the veterans are alienated from both their elders and the youth, each unable to comprehend the problem that they have. Injured in both muscle and mind, he says “… [those that fought and himself] will be weary, broken, burnt out, rootless and without hope. We will not be able to find our way anymore” (294). The experiences he shared with his comrades influenced his pessimistic view of the future, where he witnessed shot, blown, hacked and pierced people on the front line; among those his friends. These bloody thoughts scar him for the rest of his

life.
Paul’s final known words and his death solidifies his argument. Without very much hope, Paul’s account ends in strength, courage, and acknowledgment of pure defeat; Not against the enemy, but against the war itself. He describes feeling “…so alone, and so without hope…” and acknowledging that his life is in “[his] hands and [his] eyes” (295). Shortly after, a new narrator describes how Paul dies on an otherwise quiet day: flat on his front—as though sleeping—and calm. The audience can infer that Paul played an active part in his own death, potentially to not worry about his unknown life after the Great War. The death of Paul becomes ironic; one where after surviving the bloodiest war in history, this man decides to end his life because of its safety.
In conclusion, Paul transitioned from a confident boy to a man unable to cope with the responsibility of his future. Paul returns home to a different person than he thought he was, one that does not understand the world that surrounds him. Then when he looks deeper, he sees his entire tattered generation lost to war and conflict. When mixed together, both let his mind get the best of him, and decides to prevent his destiny. Either way, a sour afterlife became his ultimate destiny, much like those before him.