While reading the novel All Quiet on the Western Front I connected to the character Kemmerich while noticing his purpose as a character. Additionally, I noticed the sheer difference between the setting of our lives compared to the soldiers’.
After first hearing about Kemmerich’s leg, which had got shot off and amputated (Chapter 1, Pg 14), I was quite taken aback.
“We looked at his bed covering. His leg lies under a wire basket. The bed covering arches over it…. The leg is amputated. He looks ghastly, yellow and wan.”
This quotation made me think about how I would feel if my own friends got injured on the battlefield, how it would affect the lives of their friends and family.
When Bäumer spoke about Kemmerich’s mother being the “least composed of all” (Chapter 1, Pg 15), I felt a connection with the character as my mother would act the same in that situation. It seems as though the author Erich Maria Remarque intended for Kemmerich to serve as a reminder to us of how abruptly life can change. How in the blink of an eye, the friend you cherished and shared memories with lies on a hospital bed, yellow and frail, with death creeping through his body.
The setting of this story is very different to life today due to the lack of resources, particularly food. This was first seen in Chapter 1, when all the soldiers were satisfied because they got enough food.
“Yesterday we were relieved, and now our bellies are full of beef and haricot beans. We are satisfied and at peace. Each man has another mess-tin full for the evening; and, what is more, there is a double ration of sausage and bread. That puts a man in fine trim. We have not had such luck as this for a long time,” (Chapter 1, Pg 1).
In this quotation Paul Bäumer, the protagonist speaks about getting double rations. It seems that all the men are happy about this. The quotation “We have not had such luck as this for a long time,” signifies that they aren’t used to having such an abundancy in food and apparently it is a rare occurrence. In today’s developed parts of the world, food is abundant and most people have easy access to it. However, there is still a lack of food in the developing areas where food and resources are not easily accessible. In Chapter 7, Pg 160, Bäumer returns to his house with food that Kat provided him with and asks his family if they get enough food.
‘Is it pretty bad for food here?’ I enquire.
‘Yes, there’s not much. Do you get enough out there?’
I smile and point to the things I have brought.
‘Not always quite as much as that, of course, but we fare reasonably well.’
This quotation also shows that it is quite normal for there to be a lack of food.
Overall, I thought that All Quiet on the Western Front showed the importance of the difference of setting between life in the past and life today, since it teaches us to cherish the privileges we share today, and it taught the invaluable lesson of how quickly life can change.