... 's to men on the battle field. While at war, these boys began to realize that their dreams and beliefs were no close to reality. They realized that the schoolteacher they believed, Kantorek who had pushed them to join, could not be trusted. They thought because of him, no older man in authority ... toward the front for the first time, each one looks over his shoulder at as the transport truck was leaving them. It was then that they realized that they were no longer schoolboy's scaring them into facing the reality of their uncertain futures. Who would live and who would die, they thought....

• Word Count: 784
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... for me in this book was the in one of the battles which is in chapter 9: Paul separated from his company, and forced to hide in the shell hole. A French soldier jumped in, and Paul stabbed him instinctively. Paul became very regretful about what he did; because he realized that his enemy was only an inculpable solider, just like him. But it was too ... late; the French soldier was dying. In order to lighten the guilt, Paul told the French soldier he would tell his family what was ... the book better, but for the ending of these two, I prefer the one in the film: Just about the end of t...

• Word Count: 1152
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... war voluntarily after listening to the patriotic speeches of their beloved schoolmaster, Mr. Kantorek. The young men soon realize that these ideals of nationalism and patriotism are empty promises. Paul and his friends soon realize that war is not glorious and honorable. He and his fellow comrades start to feel the effects of the war on them mentally and physically. But they ... enemy is not an enemy but rather a victim just as Paul is himself. After the incident, Paul and his friends are sent to guard a supply depot for three weeks. During the next battle, Paul breaks his leg and injur...

• Word Count: 1086
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... many respects because of the future hopes and dreams the men lost, the youth and innocence that was taken away from them, and the families and friends that were removed from their lives for good. First, the young soldiers in World War I were a lost generation. They were sent off to war ... parents and some, perhaps a girl..some enthusiasm, a few hobbies and our school. And of this nothing remains" (Insight 210). As the novel continued, Paul realized that he had to accept the war. He recognized that he must stop pitying himself in saying, "...all my generation is experiencing these things"...

• Word Count: 828
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... , in scenes of battle and rest, the reader sees the camaraderie of these men. In chapter nine, when Paul is alone in the trench, he loses his nerve and his direction and is afraid he will die. Instead, he hears the voices of his friends: "I belong to them and they to me; we all share the same fear and the same life ... ideals of patriotism, which led them to voluntarily join the war. The patriotic myths of war that the older generation portrayed became more apparent to Paul through the course of his journey of war. When Paul and his friends talk about enemies, they do not speak of the so...

• Word Count: 1602
• Approx Pages: 6

... . Kemmerich is near death, but all he and his fellow troop members can think about are his boots. Paul realizes that outside the war this would not have happened. He and his friends would have been too compassionate towards Kemmerich to even notice his boots. This symbolizes how worthless a human life ... is in a war. It is simply just tossed aside like a rotten apple. Paul also recalls that his parents, teachers, and elders all encouraged he and his friends to enlist, passionately. "For us lads of eighteen they ought to have been mediators and guides to the world of ... that, as boys, t...

• Word Count: 1031
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... about it every waking moment of their lives. The war sticks to them like a scary movie. The third theme is Nationalism. Nationalism is what gets Paul and the others to join the army. It tricks them into thinking the war is great and everything the war really is not. The several themes in ... it would be grand and they would look like heroes. After about ten weeks in training and being on the western front for a few weeks they realized that war was not as spectacular as they were told and thought it would be. Once they got deep into the war they began to ignore all ... that they saw and...

• Word Count: 1206
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... Their schoolmaster, a man named Kantorek, told them that enlisting was their duty. The leader of their welcoming party was Corporal Himmelstoss. This pitiless man abhorred Paul and Co. and made their lives miserable. Himmelstoss forced the men to do taxing drills in the mud and rain. Although the men resented the corporal ... , with his love of books; Detering, a loner who pined for his farm and wife; and Haie, who collected silk parachutes for his girlfriend. Paul and his friends had a few escapades to break up the gloom of war. At one location, they raided the settlement for food and ot...

• Word Count: 902
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... to display comradeship as such an importance. Being the only good thing to come out of the war comradeship takes a large place in the novel. Paul's closeness with his comrades begins to grow until he sees the enemy ads comrades with different uniforms. "Comrade, I did not want to kill you ... to me before, an abstraction that lived in my mind and called forth its appropriate response ." This was said after Paul killed Gerald Duval and realized he had a family and friends just like Paul. In Remarque's epigraph he states that it's dedicated to men destroyed by the war, this having two me...

• Word Count: 533
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School