ipl-logo

Analysis Of Paul Bäumer's All Quiet On The Western Front

1183 Words5 Pages

All Quiet on the Western Front is narrated by Paul Bäumer, a young man of nineteen who fights in the German army on the French front in World War I. Paul and several of his friends from school joined the army voluntarily after listening to the stirring patriotic speeches of their teacher, Kantorek. But after experiencing ten weeks of brutal training at the hands of the petty, cruel Corporal Himmelstoss and the unimaginable brutality of life on the front, Paul and his friends have realized that the ideals of nationalism and patriotism for which they enlisted are simply empty clichés. They no longer believe that war is glorious or honorable, and they live in constant physical terror.

When Paul’s company receives a short reprieve after two weeks …show more content…

Pounded by artillery, they hide in a graveyard, where the force of the shelling causes the buried corpses to emerge from their graves, as groups of living men fall dead around them. After this gruesome event, the surviving soldiers return to their camp, where they kill lice and think about what they will do at the end of the war. Some of the men have tentative plans, but all of them seem to feel that the war will never end. Paul fears that if the war did end, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. Himmelstoss arrives at the front; when the men see him, Tjaden insults him. The men’s lieutenant gives them light punishment but also lectures Himmelstoss about the futility of saluting at the front. Paul and Kat find a house with a goose and roast the goose for supper, enjoying a rare good …show more content…

Detering, one of Paul’s close friends, attempts to desert but is caught and court-martialed. Kat is killed when a piece of shrapnel slices his head open while Paul is carrying him to safety. By the fall of 1918, Paul is the only one of his circle of friends who is still alive. Soldiers everywhere whisper that the Germans will soon surrender and that peace will come. Paul is poisoned in a gas attack and given a short leave. He reflects that, when the war ends, he will be ruined for peacetime; all he knows is the war. In October 1918, on a day with very little fighting, Paul is killed. The army report for that day reads simply: “All quiet on the Western Front.” Paul’s corpse wears a calm expression, as though relieved that the end has come at

Show More
Related

Summary Of All Quiet On The Western Front

843 Words | 4 Pages

I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another” (263). As the war comes to a gruesome end, Paul realizes how the war aged him. And how he went into the war a young man with a hopeful life ahead of him and ended the war as an exposed, aged

Read More

Analysis Of Paul B채umer's All Quiet On The Western Front

699 Words | 3 Pages

After the 14 days of fighting, they got to be able to rest from the war. However, almost half of their regiment is gone, only having 80 members of the 150 of them. Bäumer then explains about his day after the 14 days of fighting and who the soldiers really were. He introduces Leer, Müller, and Kropp, and explains that they were all friends from the same school, same age, and they all in the same class who volunteer to join the war. He also meets two new friends name Tjaden and Westhus, who they became friends with when they enlisted for the war.

Read More

Dialectical Journal Chapter 9

1087 Words | 5 Pages

Paul explains that his friend Haie is dead, but feels like he and his rest of his friends are lucky to be alive today. He also explains that he is also lucky because he doesn’t need to fight in the war. Paul decides to go to patrol with Kat, and explains, “in very short time, we have collected a dozen eggs and two pounds of fairly fresh butter.” (Remarque 233) Also, when on patrol, they hunted down two pigs, which they had slaughtered later on and eat them for 4 hours.

Read More

How Is Paul Beuar Presented As A Dynamic Character

544 Words | 3 Pages

When Paul Baumer enlisted for World War I, he was unaware of how his mentality would drastically change. Throughout All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul is presented with situations that conflicts with his personality, and the war itself conflicts with how he feels he should acts. A once sensitive man who wrote poetry, Paul was a dynamic character who ended up a burnt-out, torn up man with no regards to other’s feelings, much less his own. All Quiet on the Western Front exemplifies how repeated exposure to the horrors of war left Paul Baumer a hollow shell of a man.

Read More

All Quiet On The Western Front Bildungsroman Analysis

124 Words | 1 Pages

Erich Remarque, author of the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, presents a true story of a soldier throughout World War I. At the young age of 19, Paul Bäumer voluntarily enters the draft to fight for his home country, Germany. Throughout the war, Paul disconnects his mind from his feelings, keeping his emotions away from the bitter reality he is experiencing. This helps him survive mentally throughout the course of the war. The death of Paul 's friend Kemmerich forces him to cover his grief, “My limbs move supplely, I feel my joints strong, I breathe the air deeply. The night lives, I live.”

Read More

All Quiet On The Western Front Book Reports

1578 Words | 7 Pages

They are in trouble because the English are surrounding them. But, the German counter-attack comes and the guys make it out safely. The reader then finds out that another friend of his, named Muller dies because of a shot in the stomach. And Paul’s dear friend, Kat also dies because he was hurt in the shin, and was wounded on the back of his head which brought him to death. Poor Paul goes through all this hardship as to see so many of his friends that he went to school with die on the battlefield.

Read More

All Quiet On The Western Front: A Character Analysis

1245 Words | 5 Pages

In All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, Paul Bäumer participates in the bloodiest war of all time, and he develops the skills of intelligence, leadership, and loyalty. In

Read More

Themes In All Quiet On The Western Front

799 Words | 4 Pages

"Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy? If we threw away these rifles and uniforms you could be my brother just like Kat and Albert (Remarque 223)". Comradeship among soldiers is a major theme throughout the novel, "All Quiet on the Western Front" because the soldiers knew each other before the war, protected each other during combat, and can relate to one another without having to literally speak. This story 's theme shows comradeship because Paul and the other soldiers were in class together before joining the war. In the beginning of the novel Paul introduces his friends he went to school with before going to war with. "

Read More

All Quiet On The Western Front Rhetorical Analysis Essay

403 Words | 2 Pages

War is a harsh reality that is inflicted upon the unwilling through the “need” of it’s predecessors and those whom wish it. All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is about 19 year old Paul and his friends in the “Second Company”. Even though they are just out of school age, they have already seen things that many could not bear to even think about. Eventually, all of his friends die, and even Paul too, dies. Remarque uses diction and syntax as literary devices to express his anti-war theme, or lesson.

Read More

All Quiet On The Western Front Effects Of War Essay

1064 Words | 5 Pages

However, when they were sent out into the midst of the war many of them realised the misconceptions they had and were led to believe. They became disillusioned as they realized that the war was much more brutal and horrific than they had previously believed. In All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Remarque effectively comments on the horrors of war from Paul’s perspective, especially when Paul comments on injuries the soldiers endure and witness by stating “We see men go on living with the top of their skulls missing; we see soldiers go on running when both their feet have been shot away…Another man…with his guts spilling out over his hands as he holds them in.” (Remarque,

Read More

Book Summary: All Quiet On The Western Front

1218 Words | 5 Pages

Paul’s company finally catches a break and is brought back from the front. Unfortunately only 80 out of 150 men are alive to experience the relief. When they are back, an issue arises between the men of the company and the cook who refuses to give rations designated to the deceased. After quite an uproar from the men the cook finally

Read More

Nationalism In Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front

1091 Words | 5 Pages

From 1914 to 1918 World War One occurred due to the murder of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, by a Serbian group named the Black Hand. Additionally, several powerful countries, including Germany, France, and Britain, established a series of alliances that amplifies the size of the war. Likewise, the war expanded by the strong nationalist beliefs of each country, therefore a countless amount of men desired to fight the war, in order to support their country. This sense of nationalism is a theme explored throughout Erich Maria Remarque's novel All Quiet on the Western Front, through the lense of a young German Soldier. The protagonist, Paul, a 19 year old soldier, explores the horrors of war through strong comradeship, the death of companions,

Read More

All Quiet On The Western-Western Front Thesis

665 Words | 3 Pages

Erich Maria Remarque was a man who had lived through the terrors of war, serving since he was eighteen. His first-hand experience shines through the text in his famous war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, which tells the life of young Paul Bäumer as he serves during World War 1. The book was, and still is, praised to be universal. The blatant show of brutality, and the characters’ questioning of politics and their own self often reaches into the hearts of the readers, regardless of who or where they are. Brutality and images of war are abundant in this book, giving the story a feeling of reality.

Read More

Analysis Of All Quiet On The Western Front By Erich Maria Remarque

1361 Words | 6 Pages

Erich Maria Remarque, a World War I veteran, took his own personal war experience to paper, which resulted in one of the most critically acclaimed anti-war movement novels of all time, All Quiet on the Western Front. The voice of the novel, Paul Baumer, describes his daily life as a soldier during the First World War. Through the characters he creates in the novel, Remarque addresses his own issues with the war. Specifically, Remarque brings to light the idea of the “Iron Youth,” the living conditions in the trenches, and the sense of detachment soldiers feel, among other things. Therefore, All Quiet on the Western Front criticizes the sense of nationalism, which war tends to create among citizens by quickly diminishing any belief regarding it as a glorious and courageous act.

Read More

All Quiet On The Western Front Reflection

1215 Words | 5 Pages

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a story told by a soldier named Paul Bäumer about his experiences during World War I. The war lasted from 1914 to 1918 affecting a whole generation of young men across the world. There was so much death during the WWI that sometimes families would lose more than one soldier. Paul describes how horrendous death was in the book. This showed readers the true insight of war at the time.

Read More

More about Analysis Of Paul Bäumer's All Quiet On The Western Front

Related Topics

Open Document