The way one views his or her setting can affect actions and thought processes greatly; for example, if the present situation seems hopeless, one’s decision-making abilities will be skewed, as he or she would believe there is nothing that could possibly be done to salvage the current state of affairs. The topic of discouragement and desperation influencing one’s outlook, as well as how it can or cannot affect the course of action, is explored heavily in Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet On The Western Front through the central character, Paul Baümer, and how his outward view of his state during his time on the western front in World War I affected the course of his story. There are parts of his story in which Paul is hopeful for the future, and sees an end to his current bad situation, but there are also parts in which all he sees in his future is seemingly inexorable suffering and then death. The decisions and choices he makes during these time periods of optimistic, hopeful sanguinity and ultimate despair and despondency alter the course of his story; however, the idea of fate would interfere with this idea. the concept of fate dictates that this trajectory, although not exactly linear, is predetermined.…
