The Hollow In war, soldiers are forced to rid themselves of any emotion so that they can focus on the task at hand. They cannot allow themselves to falter at any moment, knowing that the decisions they make are a matter of life or death. In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, the soldier’s boots and a herd of horses are used to demonstrate how war dehumanizes the men by effectively stealing their innocence and transforming them into hardened adults. Kemmerich’s boots passed down to Müller and eventually to Paul show how the soldiers must only look after their own well-being to stay alive. As Kemmerich lies on his deathbed Müller surveys his boots and notes how “out here one can make some use of them” (16). Müller is not paying any attention to the fact that his beloved friend and comrade is …show more content…
On leave, Paul visits the mother of Kemmerich, and when he has to break the news of her son’s death he notes to himself how “he cannot understand...why there is so much anguish over a single individual” (181). Paul has witnessed many of the people he knew die, and he has taught himself to not waste time over mourning them, for he has more important matters to focus on. So, the war has stripped Paul of the ability to feel any emotion for the ones he has lost, and made him void of all emotion. Paul knows that the war has changed him and his comrades, that if they thought about the horrors of the war, it would overwhelm them (274). Paul realizes that the absence of emotion is necessary for them to stay clear headed during a battle and to be able to focus on one’s survival. Similarly, the soldiers know that this war has dehumanized them and dismantled the emotional structure they have been building since they were little. These soldiers are no longer human, rather animals, that are forced to rely on instinct and on their ability to refrain from