Character Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul, the main character is a nineteen-year-old man who voluntarily joins the German army to fight in World War I against the French. Paul went into the war full of nationalism and ready to fight for his country. Soon after entering training, Paul began to realize that there is way more to war than just fighting for his country. Because it contains evidence of dehumanization and disconnectedness with the world, Erich Maria Remarque’s novel All Quiet on the Western Front reveals soldiers who are blindsided by the effects war has on them.

Throughout the novel, Paul, the main character faces many adversities that cause him to become less human. There are many instances where Paul and his fellow soldiers

In the novel, the men have this sense of alienation that completely takes over them. They feel as though after the war, their life has become meaningless and unimportant, “A sense of alienation becomes overwhelming . . . The young soldiers feel cut off from their now- meaningless prewar existence, unable to visualize a future after the war . . .” (Armitage). Paul finds it difficult to imagine a life without war and to remember how he felt before the war. He feels uncomfortable wearing the attire any other normal man would wear on a daily basis. He feels as though he cannot live a normal life with a suit on, “I feel awkward. The suit is rather tight and short; I have grown in the army. Collar and tie give me some trouble” (Remarque 149.) Paul finds it difficult to speak with his family now since he has returned from war, “These requests all lead to Baumer’s alienation from life at home. . .As the war’s madness increases, home fades into alienation for Baumer” (Schileper). “Some men may even begin to doubt the purpose of their mission, question the reason they are fighting and distrust the justifications of their leaders . . .the more cold- blooded they become in their own thoughts and actions”