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Remarque’s view of war is rooted in his own experiences on the front line in World War I. He believes that the constant onslaught of death, destruction, fear, and horror push soldiers to the edge of humanity. Through his narrator, Paul Baumer, Remarque reveals his own mission to teach the world about the peril of war, that war cannot amend, cannot solve problems because it destroys too much in the process. After a traumatic day in a shell hole with a dying French soldier that he has killed, Baumer attempts to assuage his guilt and do what is morally right. He promises the dead soldier, “But if I come out of it, comrade, I will fight against this, that has struck us both down; from you—taken life—from me--? Life also.” Because Baumer allows himself to go soft, to react to the reality of what he has done—killed with his bare hands—he is paralyzed by guilt and horror of his own ability to kill. Although he has killed before, he has not had to watch the results of his actions, he has not actually seen the fear in the eyes of his enemy, a man just like himself with a family who loves him. When he actually allows himself to see what he has done and reflect on it and its implications in the real world outside of war, he makes a moral decision to stop what he believes is wrong, to fight against war and its inherent way of destroying everything. This promise that Paul makes, is also Remarque’s promise. He fulfills this promise by writing All Quiet on the Western Front.

Through this novel, Remarque . . .