In chapter nine of All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque uses diction and imagery to establish the theme that the people who are thought to be one’s enemies in war can actually turn out to share some similar qualities with one another. After Paul stabs the soldier who unexpectedly enters the shell hole Paul is in, he instantly regrets the action he has performed. As he watches the man’s life slowly fade away, Paul speaks to the nearly lifeless body and says, “If we threw away these rifles and this uniform you could be my brother just like Kat and Albert” (Remarque 9-10). Paul realizes that what he knows about who his enemy is is all based on the color of the uniform each person is wearing. He uses the word “brother” to describe the inner
