In Erich Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, the author uses metaphor and personification to convey Paul Baumer’s loss of self. Paul Baumer, the protagonist of the novel, joins the war as an innocent twenty year old boy who enjoys writing poetry, but transforms into a detached, stiff man who finds trouble relating to normal, innocent civilians. After witnessing plenty of bloodshed and catastrophe, Paul’s emotional connection to his humanity gradually dissolves. The burdens of war caused Paul to struggle relating to others, including his own family. Of the many consequences from which Paul suffered, his loss of self impaired him the most severely. Remarque incorporates figurative language to display Paul’s decline while at war.
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He explains that the soldier’s “...stillness is the reason why these memories of former times do not awaken desire so much as sorrow – a strange, inapprehensible melancholy. Once [they] had such desires – but they return not. They are past, they belong to another world gone from [the soldiers]” (Remarque 121). Paul implies that the hopes and dreams he once possessed have disappeared with the war, leaving him with only memories of his warm past. Although Paul was once passionate about his hobbies, he no longer understands how to enjoy them. Paul goes on to admit that “[he is] so alone, and so without hope... Whether [he has] subdued [his life], [he knows] not. But so long as it is there, it will seek its own way out, heedless of the will within [him]” (Remarque 295). Paul displays his weaknesses when he describes his tragic loss of hope. He explains that his life haunts him and he is simply waiting for it to vanish, as his humanity has. Ultimately, the anti-war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front conveys the many burdens of involvement with the war. The most significant impact that war inflicts on Paul and his comrades in this novel, is loss of self. As Paul ventures throughout the battlefield, his humanity is eaten away and eventually completely consumed by hostility. Remarque peppers the novel with metaphor and personification to
He explains that the soldier’s “...stillness is the reason why these memories of former times do not awaken desire so much as sorrow – a strange, inapprehensible melancholy. Once [they] had such desires – but they return not. They are past, they belong to another world gone from [the soldiers]” (Remarque 121). Paul implies that the hopes and dreams he once possessed have disappeared with the war, leaving him with only memories of his warm past. Although Paul was once passionate about his hobbies, he no longer understands how to enjoy them. Paul goes on to admit that “[he is] so alone, and so without hope... Whether [he has] subdued [his life], [he knows] not. But so long as it is there, it will seek its own way out, heedless of the will within [him]” (Remarque 295). Paul displays his weaknesses when he describes his tragic loss of hope. He explains that his life haunts him and he is simply waiting for it to vanish, as his humanity has. Ultimately, the anti-war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front conveys the many burdens of involvement with the war. The most significant impact that war inflicts on Paul and his comrades in this novel, is loss of self. As Paul ventures throughout the battlefield, his humanity is eaten away and eventually completely consumed by hostility. Remarque peppers the novel with metaphor and personification to