All Quiet on the Western Front
Erich Maria Remarque
Contributed by Loretta Ingwersen
Symbols
Symbols are objects or figures that artists use to represent an idea.
Kemmerich’s Boots

When Paul, Müller, and Albert visit Kemmerich in the hospital, Müller is more concerned with getting Kemmerich’s boots than comforting Kemmerich. Müller, Paul points out, is not being rude: the war requires that soldiers abandon social niceties and think realistically about their own interests. Even the hospital orderlies have their eyes on Kemmerich’s boots. The boots command as much, if not more, respect and attention than the man to whom they belong, and in this way symbolize the cheapness of human life in the war.

The Cherry Tree

When Detering glimpses a blooming cherry tree while coming back from the front, he is reminded of the beautiful farm with cherry orchards that he left behind. The memory is so compelling that he deserts. While the cherry tree holds particular meaning for Detering, it symbolizes the lives that all of the men have left behind, lives that had just begun to bloom.

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