Discussion Topic
Paul's Role, Character Traits, and Fate in All Quiet on the Western Front
Summary:
In All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul Bäumer's death is depicted as insignificant, occurring quietly on the front lines, reflecting the novel's theme of the senselessness of war. Paul is not portrayed as a traditional hero; instead, he is a typical soldier disillusioned by the war's harsh realities. As the protagonist, Paul undergoes significant changes, becoming emotionally detached yet maintaining some humanity. His role is to convey the author's anti-war message, highlighting the internal conflicts and transformations soldiers endure.
How does Paul die in All Quiet on the Western Front?
All we know about the circumstances of Paul's death is that he was killed on the front lines on an otherwise quiet day. His death was not part of a big battle or heroic action. Since the book is mostly told from Paul's point of view while he was alive, we do not have his own account of his death. Like everyone else it seems, we have to rely on the official military report that simply states "all quiet on the Western Front." At least we can assume that Paul died relatively quickly and without too much agony from the statement that follows which says that "his face had an expression of calm, as though almost glad the end had come."
Although the book does not describe how Paul died, the 1930 cinematic version of All Quiet on the Western Front does attempt to fill in the blanks....
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In the film, Paul is shot dead by a French sniper as he calmly and carelessly reaches out of his trench in an attempt to touch a butterfly.
References
The report of Paul's death is couched in the language of officialdom and bureaucracy. We're simply told that Paul "fell." This was a euphemism—a way of making something unpleasant sound a little nicer—commonly used by both sides in World War I to describe the deaths of their soldiers. Perhaps Paul was shot; perhaps he was killed by a falling shell or a burst of shrapnel. We just don't know. But one thing we do know is that, in the overall scheme of things, Paul's death doesn't mean all that much to the powers that be, the generals and politicians waging this terrible conflict. They're concentrated on the bigger picture, on the overall state of the war. From their strategic standpoint, all is quiet on the Western front, and that's all that really matters.
What type of hero is Paul in All Quiet on the Western Front?
While Paul is the protagonist of All Quiet on the Western Front, it is hard to identify him as a hero. Because Remarque set out to write a story highlighting the commonality among the soldiers of his generation, he does not include anyone overtly heroic.
We often think of a hero as someone who puts themselves in harm's way in order to serve a greater cause. Paul and all of his fellow soldiers are ostensibly fighting for their country. However, it is clear that it did not take long before they became disillusioned with the with nationalism being spouted back home. Now they fight for each other and for survival. In that sense, Paul does exhibit heroism: he stays and fights in the face of all the senseless deaths and danger and does what he can to keep himself and his comrades alive. However, Paul is never described as having the unique qualities normally associated with a hero.
Furthermore, the death of a hero is usually a significant event, full of meaning and consequence. Remarque portrays the deaths of everyone, Paul included, as senseless. They do not sacrifice themselves in any grandiose or heroic way; they simply are killed.
What are Paul's character traits in All Quiet on the Western Front?
Paul Baumer is the protagonist of All Quiet on the Western Front. He is presented as a typical German youth of his generation. He likes to socialize and drink with his friends and woo young women. Paul also has an emotional and artistic side. When the story begins, he is as eager as most of his peers to sign up for the war effort. At this point in the story, he is patriotic and idealistic. These traits are fostered by his teacher, Kantorek, who convinces many of his students to enlist.
As Paul experiences the horrors and deprivations of war, his character changes. He grows critical of those in power in particular and of the older generation in general. Unlike some of his comrades, Paul does not grow cynical. He still believes that there is hope left in the world, even if none can be seen from the front lines. He does not abandon his morals and still has a love of humanity. This is showcased in chapter 9 when he is stuck in a crater with a French soldier he has just mortally wounded. He attempts to bandage the enemy's wounds and give him water. When the soldier dies, Paul pleads with the corpse to forgive him, explaining that he never wanted to kill anyone.
Camaraderie is very important to Paul. His relationships with his fellow soldiers are his sustaining force. He recognizes that he and his friends are just typical young men trying to do what is right when everything around them is wrong. He feels most at ease around them. When he goes on leave and returns home in chapter 7, he feels disconnected, even alienated. Each time one of his friends dies, a little bit of Paul's humanity dies with them.
Overall, what makes Paul an effective narrator for this story is his ability to think critically. His insight into how those of his generation has been robbed of their potential and their humanity highlights the tragedy of the war. However, he presents such insights without condemnation or harsh judgment.
What is Paul's role in All Quiet on the Western Front?
Paul Baumer is of course the protagonist and narrator of this incredible war-time novel, and through him the author voices his own ideas and opinions about the war. His major importance consists in the internal conflict that Paul has between his inner character and the kind of exterior character that the war forces him to adopt. His gradual change as a result, which is highlighted by the flashbacks to his character before the war, show how war changes those involved in it. As the novel progresses, the young, tender and sensitive man who wrote poetry and loved his family more and more deeply is forced to disconnect his mind and ignore his feelings so as to help maintain his fragile hold on his sanity.
Some of the changes that we see is that Paul finds it impossible to mourn his dead friends and is extremely ill at ease when he is with his family. He becomes incredibly repressed as he can't express what he has gone through and finds it difficult to imagine a future without the state of war. The novel also describes him as a "human animal" as he comes to increasingly rely on instinct to survive. However, Paul's sensitivity causes him to find it difficult to completely detach himself, and the novel includes a few key moments when emotions threaten to overcome his detachment, such as when Kat dies, when he is with his mother and the death of Kemmerich. These moments however only serve to highlight the way in which war has forced Paul to become detached. Note for example his comment on Albert Kropp:
Parting from my friend Albert Kropp was very hard. But a man gets used to that sort of thing in the army.
Such devastating understatement only serves to reinforce the changes that war has wrought in Paul's character. Paul's death at the end of the novel is ironically something of a relief as we begin to wonder how on earth he will return to normal life. However, the novel shows that the war had "killed" Paul's character long before he actually died.
How does being a soldier change Paul in All Quiet on the Western Front?
When Paul Baumer first goes off to war, he is young and innocent. Like many young men who went off to war, he did not really know what to expect and only knew it was his duty to serve. After he becomes a soldier, he begins to see the brutal reality of what it means to fight. For instance, he has to live in the trenches and sees lots of men get sick and hurt. Paul also sees a lot of his friends die, like Muller, which makes him particularly disillusioned about the concept of war.
One pivotal moment in which his perspective changes is after he kills Gerard Duval. He thinks to himself, "If we threw away these rifles and this uniform, you could be my brother just like Kat and Albert." Here he realizes that men on both sides of the war are suffering and politics is preventing people from living in harmony. Ultimately the war makes him jaded and sad, as seen in passages like this:
I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow.