#tjaden

[tamiistrawb]

i don’t really see much of tjaden on here 😔 anyway heres my design of him based on the book :DD

[landsat9]

I don't really know how to put this into words yet, but there's something about Tjaden and Paul's relationship that I find really interesting in that I don't think they would ever be friends outside of All Quiet's context. Tjaden is calculating, streetwise rather than booksmart, well-established in his career and identity even though he's the same age as Paul. Paul is a deep feeler despite it all, is highly educated and has had to acquire his killer instinct, against his wishes. Throughout the novel, when Paul confides in someone, it's usually always to Albert or Kat (after returning to the German trench following the incident with the Frenchman in No Man's Land, for example). Tjaden makes Paul laugh, challenges Paul (the political argument between Tjaden and Albert), and is always portrayed as being hardened (getting verbal/physical revenge on Himmelstoß, reminding Paul to not get soft-hearted about the corpse in the tree, turning the conversation unsavory about the poster of the woman).

What's the most interesting is that after Kat dies, Paul says he has no more friends, but we never see Tjaden die and he appears alive in the follow-up book to All Quiet.

The two of them are obviously good friends, but I wonder if they would have been outside of the war, and I wonder if Paul and Tjaden know that, and I wonder how it would impact their present relationship. It speaks to the necessity of bonds and relationships in war and the stripping down of qualities one looks for in a friend in those environments. Maybe there's even a sense that they complete one another, or support the other where he falters emotionally/psychologically.

I'm still parsing out my thoughts about it as a fic writer, but Tjaden and Paul are such fascinating foils. The same age, but different life circumstances, different life consequences, different personalities that coalesce into one horrible shared experience for a while and seem to result in different outcomes.

[varmblood]

this is how that scene plays in my head

[riflerhymeswithtrifle]

My thirteen reasons:

1- Ludwig's death and Paul crying over him.

2- Thinking how much Ludwig's death affected Albert and Franz.

3- The boys straving.

4- Tjaden's dream of being a ranger smashing into pieces.

5- Kropp craving for female company.

6- Sad Kat when talking about his dead son and going back to "their past".

7- Tjaden giving Paul Eloise's handkerchief.

8- Paul watching Albert die.

9- Paul screaming at Tjaden that he cannot tell him that he should be grateful for being alive.

10- Tjaden killing himself.

11- Kat sadness after Tjaden's death.

12- Paul's face the whole last 20 minutes of the film after Kat's death.

13- Thinking that Kat didn't make it home to his wife, lighted the candles on Christmas, kissed her and visited his son's grave for his 10th birthday.

Goodbye everyone. It was nice meeting you all.

[katakurisdonutcrumbs]

I cant look at the picture and not think either The Three Amigos, or the Three Stooges. Dont ask. Tjaden's death and love the scarf will forever haunt me. 🥺🥺🥺

[jaucher]

Возможно, мы становимся в такие минуты по-детски наивными. Но зима и вид только что обрушившегося снега, всегда наполняет нас, людей, каким-то необъяснимым блаженством. Может, потому, что будучи детьми мы связывали со снегом праздник Рождества? Я, во всяком случае, глядя на снег, представлял себя героем, побеждающим драконов, спасающим прекрасных дев. И когда вчера мы отправились в лес на поиски пленных, я снова почувствовал себя маленьким мальчиком, желающим освободить мир от зла. Но когда мы вернулись, мне стало ясно, что я сам являюсь частью того зла, от которого я всегда хотел защитить мир. Стрелять в пленных – позор. Они не были вооружены, как сообщили нам… Они были совсем детьми, и мы их убили.

[dxrlingsofmine]

you guys got any headcanons on the friend group (Paul, Kat, Albert, Tjaden, Franz, and Ludwig) if they were in modern times???

[vera-gemini]

Thinking about them (Tjaden, Westhus and Detering in the 1930 adaptation of All Quiet On The Western Front)

Have some shitty pictures bc I love their dynamic