Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

World War I was the war to end all wars. Many young men went of to war filled with romantic notions of war and patriotism for their country. In the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, we meet Paul Baumer, the narrator of the story. Paul and his friends were convinced by parents and teachers, that they had a duty their country. Their duty was to enlist in the Army and fight in the war. They came to realize, these people they trusted had betrayed them. War has come at a cost to these men. They lose their youth, innocence, and their sense of belonging to their community. What would become of them after the war was over? The only life they have really experienced was the war. They soon became disillusioned by the senseless killing and loss of life. They began to question …show more content…
At eighteen, they were just staring their lives as adults, but that life was cut short because they went to war. Paul states, “and even if these scenes of our youth were given back to us we would hardly know what to do.”(Pg. 122) They feel they have no place in life anymore. Albert states, “The war has ruined us for everything.” (Pg. 87) They cannot relate to the life they left behind and are feeling hopeless that they have a future, “We were eighteen and had begun t love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces. The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts. We are cut off from activity, from striving, progress. We believe in such things no longer, we believe in war.”(Pg. 88) They cling to the present, as it is all they have and know. They cannot relate to the older soldiers in the war, for they had a life before the war they will have one after. These men had no jobs, wives, or children to go home to and start their lives over with. Paul describes their life experiences perfectly, “Our knowledge of life is limited to death.”(Pg.