All Quiet on the Western Front is a book meant to impress the futility and trauma of war upon its readers. The hero/narrator, Paul Bäumer, is bewildered by the absurdity of war. He feels that Russians (supposed enemies) are people just like him, not subhuman aliens, and wonders how war can make enemies of people who have no grudge against one another.
At one point Paul is separated from his company and forced to hide in a shell hole. A French soldier jumps into the shell hole with him, and Paul instinctively stabs him. As the man dies a slow, painful death, Paul is overcome with remorse for having hurt him. He feels again that this enemy soldier is no enemy at all but rather a victim of war just like himself. Paul looks through the soldier’s things and finds that his name was Gérard Duval and learns that Duval had a wife and child at home.
The question is, given Paul's realisation of the nature of war, should he have overcome his instincts? Should he have tried to befriend the French soldier?
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www.sparknotes.com/lit/allquiet/summary.htmlIt is proposed that Paul should have befriended the enemy soldier instead of stabbing him