The only thing more powerful than death is love. The sense of comradeship the soldiers have for each other is their only escape from the death and despair that is war. Paul and his friends share a deep connection throughout their short lives, from the schoolhouse where they are first encouraged to volunteer to the trenches and dug-outs where many of them lose their lives. All they have is each other; the war robs them of everything else. The most impressionable theme in Erich Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, is that of the comradeship shared amongst the soldiers n the midst of World War I. Even if the soldiers have not the slightest clue as to who their comrades are, they still show the utmost care and love for them. As Paul stands in a trench one day in the midst of a bombardment, he comforts a fresh recruit who cannot seem to get his bearings on the situation. The recruit “looks up, pushes [his] helmet off and like a child creeps under [Paul’s] arm, his head close to [Paul’s] breast” (Remarque 61). Paul proceeds to tell him that he will “get used to it soon” (61). Paul understands the situation the recruits are in because he was there himself. He understands that they just need a shoulder to cry on, for without it, they would lose their …show more content…
One way Paul and his friends keep their minds off the war is to scour the area for food and supplies. On the way to set up barbed wire around the trenches, Kat and Paul notice a couple of geese off the side of the road. Kat swears that they will return to cook the geese as soon as they can (52). When they return, they nab the geese and prepare a delicious feast to share with each other. As Paul sits with his best friend by the fire, he realizes that they “have a more complete communion with one another than even lovers have” (93). They have such a deep bond they need not even speak to understand each other. Just being together brings Paul back to