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Beauty


"The explosions come so fast that the splinters strike again and again against the wall of the house and sweep through the window." These deadly threats are not enough to keep them from finishing and eating their feast, though. Paul continues to cook, dropping "down on one knee with the pan and pancakes," ducking behind the wall, and immediately afterwards getting up again to fry and flip the pancakes. The joy of having food is one so great that they will risk their lives for it. These German soldiers treat their food as if it were a person, taking care of it, enjoying every bit of it, and putting their lives in danger in order to protect and save it. .
             Food is also a symbol of love and gratitude in All Quiet on the Western Front. When Paul returns home for a couple of weeks, he brings "two loaves of army bread, three-quarters of a pound of butter, two tins of livered sausage, a pound of dripping and a little bag of rice." To bring this much food home, during the war, is his way of showing how much he cares. Words are not needed. And when his mother saves a jar of whortleberries for months until he can come home and eat them, Paul simply understands how deep his mother's affection for him runs. In Tjaden's case, the skinny locksmith of nineteen years, food is one of the few things that he will not allow the war to rob him of. He is known as the "biggest eater of the company." When the army is called to the battlefield during dinner time, Tjaden gulps down every last bite of his meal as if it were his last. This may be rather unintelligent, seeing as being hit by the enemy's fire would cause more damage to a full stomach, than an empty one, but Tjaden cannot calculate in such statistical terms. Food is food. Almost every human luxury from his pre-war life has been taken away, but food and the ability to enjoy it full heartily is still within him, a comfort that keeps him going. .
             Nature serves as another form of simple, yet compelling beauty that give the soldiers comfort when the world seems to be falling apart in front of their very eyes.


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