Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Paul Bäumer

Paul quickly stands out as the character most important to the story—or as it's known in showbiz, the leading man. We follow him through boot camp, we see his initial aspirations in the army, and we witness his disillusionment when faced with the realities of war.

But he isn't the protagonist just because the camera follows him about. More importantly, the audience connects most with Paul's plight. We feel his pain at the death of the French soldier and cheer when he calls out Kantorek's ignorance—even if the students don't realize the truth of his words.

As we witness his friends die or become maimed, we hope that Paul will escape such a fate—we want to see him free from the Western Front.