Question

Was Remarque (the author of the book the movie was based on) making a statement with the ironic way he kills off the characters of Kat and Paul—veteran soldiers who survive many terrible fights but end up dying anyway when they aren't in battle? Why?

Answer 1

The ironic deaths of Kat and Paul in Erich Maria Remarque's novel are likely a commentary on the futility and randomness of death in war, challenging the notion that survival is due to anything more than chance.

Step-by-step explanation:

The ironic deaths of the characters Kat and Paul in Erich Maria Remarque's novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, likely serve as a statement on the futility and randomness of death in war. Remarque's personal experience as a German veteran of World War I informed his depiction of the war's brutality and the bleak realities faced by soldiers. Through these character deaths, Remarque might be critiquing the illusion of control and the ineffectiveness of skills and heroism in a war dominated by mechanized slaughter. As soldiers like Kat and Paul who survive numerous battles ultimately die away from the frontline, Remarque underscores the indiscriminate nature of wartime fatalities and challenges the glorified image of wartime survival as being due to anything more than sheer chance.