Our book group choice for June 2008 is All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque. It tells the story of a group of young German soldiers who enlist in World War I after being captivated by slogans of patriotism and honor. The novel is narrated by the protagonist, Paul Baumer, who is 20 years old.
The novel opens with the group having just been relieved from their position on the front lines. Kemmerich, one of Paul’s classmates, has suffered a wound in his thigh that resulted in amputation, and some of the soldiers go to visit him in St. Josef’s Hospital. Kemmerich is in a great deal of pain, and he is clearly traumatized by his experience. He tells Paul that he wishes he had never enlisted in the war.
The soldiers return to the front lines, and they soon experience the horrors of war firsthand. They are subjected to constant bombardment, and they see their friends and comrades killed and wounded on a daily basis. Paul begins to lose his faith in the war, and he starts to question the reasons why he is fighting.
One day, Paul and his friends are sent on a mission to raid a French trench. The mission is a success, but Paul is wounded in the leg. He is taken to a field hospital, where he is operated on. After the operation, Paul is sent to a convalescent home.
While he is at the convalescent home, Paul begins to think about his future. He realizes that he can never go back to his old life before the war. He has seen too much death and destruction, and he has lost too many friends.
Paul is eventually released from the convalescent home and sent back to the front lines. He is now a cynical and disillusioned soldier, and he has no illusions about the war. He knows that he is likely to die, but he is determined to survive.
All Quiet on the Western Front is a powerful anti-war novel that was highly controversial when it was first published in 1929. The novel was banned in Germany by the Nazis, and it was burned in public bonfires. However, the novel has since become a classic of world literature, and it is widely read as a powerful indictment of war.
The novel is notable for its realistic depiction of the horrors of war. Remarque himself was a soldier in World War I, and he drew on his own experiences to create a vivid and unflinching portrait of the war. The novel is also notable for its exploration of the psychological effects of war on young men. Paul and his friends are all idealistic and patriotic when they first enlist, but they are quickly disillusioned by the reality of war. They witness death and destruction on a daily basis, and they are forced to kill and be killed. As a result, they become cynical and desensitized to violence.
Discussion Questions
- What does Paul say about men like Kantorek?
- What did the first bombardment and the first killing do to Paul’s faith in the adult world?
- Is this story necessarily just about Germans?
- What is the mood or atmosphere of the story?
- What does the theft of Kemmerich’s watch represent?
- Why does Paul’s generation feel that it is a wasteland?
- What kind of person is Himmlestoss?
- What have been two important results of Paul’s military training?
- What is the significance of Kemmerich’s death scene?
- What is the irony in the comment, “We are the Iron youth?”
- What kind of character is Paul?
- For what does Katzcinsky have a reputation?
- How does Kropp think wars should be fought?
- What were Himmelstoss’s drill exercises?
- What had been Himmelstoss’s profession before the war?
- What reason does Kropp give for officers’ making drill exercises so difficult?
- What is the importance of the “earth to a soldier?”
- What influence does the front have on soldiers?
- What does the death of the horses represent?
- What does the graveyard scene say about the value of human life?
- What do the following plan to do after the war is over:
- What does Muller try to make them realize about their goals?
- Why does Kropp feel that “The war has ruined us for everything?”
- How does Paul explain his close relationship with Kat?
- How do new recruits react to their first combat?
- Paul longs for his youth, but what does he realize about it?
- Baumer says the men become animals at the front. What do they become when they rest
what is Paul’s attitude about those who die? - Why do the men make jokes?
- How does Paul feel when he first enters his home? When he talks to his mother?
- What does Paul tell Kemmerich’s mother? That he died like painlessly.
- Why is he willing to swear a lie?
- Why does Paul regret having been on leave?
- What has changed about his regiment when Paul returns?
- Why is Paul disappointed in the Kaiser?
- What do the men conclude about the causes of war?
- What thoughts does he have as he lies in the “bowl?”
- How does Paul react differently to this killing than to the others?
- What criticisms are made of the war-time medical practices?
- Why does Paul say the war is a glorious time for surgeons?
- How does the hospital show “what war is?”