All Quiet on the Western Front, is greatly impacted by the views of many characters. The most important being Paul Baumer. Paul Baumer is the main character in the novel and his point of view effects the outcome of the story the most. As the war progresses he offers views on certain subjects based on his prior knowledge. As Paul meets new people in the military and is included in many battles he is able to add on to his prior knowledge which improves his ability to address many problems he finds. One of the most prominent problems he finds that seems to persist throught the course of the novel is the fact that those superior such as Himmelstoss have so much control on people who should not even be in the military. Throughout the course of the novel Paul talks about how cruel war was and how it effected society. He thinks without a doubt in his mind that war itself was turning these innocent kind souls and was turning them into inhumane heartless robots. Paul further goes to show how inhumane this war was when he was simply training his soildiers and then there was an unexpected bombing and one man was killed and had to suffer the pain of death before his eyes. Further in the novel he was whipped repeatedly and then was trapped in a hole for a long period of time while the French made advancements on the homefront of the Germans. This goes to show that Paul’s strong dislike for the war was growing and as the novel permissed he wished that he could return home as he had to undergo mass emotional and physical torture. By including this point of view Paul was able to show the readers the true pain of war and the toll it took on one man. However on the home-front (Germany) the citizens didn’t know what actually know what happened in war instead they only knew what they were told and since they were told of off these happy things that happen in war through methods of propaganda and public speeches they walked blindly into war. If the novel had been written by one who wanted only the good things to be heard for example the government then people would never know what was really happening in war.
When people were recruited for war they had no idea of what they were in for due to the vast amount of manipulation through propaganda and then therefore they would volunteer for the war with no idea of what was to come. When these people who have never faced death in the eye went to war they were horrified. During a “surprise”, which Paul predicted, 1 new recruit lost his life horribly due to large wounds and the others vomited. By the inclusion of Paul’s views on the recruitment he was able to show how the wrong people were fighting and that one who has not seen the horrors of war should never have to experience them. The largest problem Paul felt that was wrong in war was the dislike of his superior commanders. He greatly disliked Himmelstoss and his actions to his fellow soldiers. He found him a both corrupt and heartless individual. When Paul was running out of camp he noticed Himmelstoss hiding in the corner only to further find out the wound that was keeping him out of was all a large lie. Also when Tjaden had a problem with “wetting his pants” during the night he put him on top of another individual and until the problem was solved the man on the bottom bunk had to deal with the urine dripping on to him. As a result the man on the bottom decided to sleep on the floor out of discomfort and then got a cold. Because of these acts of cruelty and corruption Paul describes as the generals and other superior members of the war in a very negative manner. More so than anything he believed that the superiors were all wrong