Point of View

Remarque wanted his readers to experience firsthand the things he did, and so he told All Quiet on the Western Front through the eyes of Paul Baumer, a nineteen year-old soldier. Paul, who is both the narrator and main character, recounts the horrors of trench warfare and battle, of disease, and the horrible sadness of losing friends. First person allows a more personal relation to the reader than third-person narration does. Readers are much more easily able to sympathize and fear and worry along with Paul.

Setting

The majority of the novel takes place along the Western Front of World War I, which ran across France up to the sea. Because entire cities and towns have been decimated and the landscape forever scarred, the soldiers are not always aware of where exactly they are. Paul’s Second Company is stationed along the line somewhere near...