Now they find (1.5) How do these soldiers keep sane and how do they maintain their energy without sleep and with very little food? This statement, from the novel’s epigraph, sets up the intent of All Quiet on the Western Front: to discuss a generation of men who, though they survived the war physically, were destroyed by it mentally.
Katczinsky, the unofficial leader of Paul’s small group filled with the empty phrases of patriotic fervor, calling them “Iron Age is supposed to bring wisdom, but Kantorek’s generation seems more naïve than the young men they were meant to guide.
Though his students volunteered for active duty, they were under immense pressure to do so. Behm’s death, Paul and his classmates lost their innocent trust in "Iron" suggests an indomitable strength that is made a mockery by modern warfare that wipes out half a company, while “Youth” suggests an innocence that the men lost long ago. locksmith, is a voracious eater but remains thin as a rail, making (including LitCharts Teacher Editions. All Quiet on the Western Front.
Our You’ve drawn it for the Second Company. of the Second Company, is in the hospital with a thigh wound.Paul recalls his schoolmaster, Kantorek, a fiercely patriotic
Later that day, the soldiers go to visit their wounded friend We scatter and fling ourselves down on the ground, but at that moment I feel the instinctive alertness leave me which hitherto has always … It also reveals his comradeship with his fellow soldiers. All Quiet on the Western Front Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis | LitCharts. Kantorek writes a letter to them in school, and each enlisted in the army voluntarily. Behm’s senseless death early in the war immediately made clear the realities of war to the boys, destroying any romantic illusions (planted in their heads by Kantorek) that they may have had. The cook, meanwhile, blindly follows the rules—rules set by those running the war, which show no compassion for those fighting on the front lines. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does.Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts.The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of The “Kantoreks” back in Germany, however, still haven’t gotten the message. A teacher, an authority figure whom the boys respected, urged them to join the war effort. in order to forget about their narrow survival during their last
My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”
They have spent the last two weeks at the front in
We all stand round them as before an altar. With Before the war, a well educated, middle-class student like Paul would likely never have even known a simple peasant like Detering. Military life is … constant battle. "My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof."
Though the men are clearly disturbed by what they saw in the hospital, they avoid openly discussing it.
Angry outbursts like Kropp’s are quickly deflected and hidden from the others, suggesting that exposing such emotions threatens their survival.
Such practical, physical concerns are all the surviving soldiers have. at home. Paul wonder where all the food goes to on his skinny frame. Struggling with distance learning? them into the army and exposing them to the horror of war.SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble.
Westhus, also nineteen, is a peat-digger with a body as large and Tjaden, a Haie They are from the same class
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in authority figures such as Kantorek. LitCharts uses cookies to personalize our services. Every soldier is intimately acquainted with his stomach Apparently they are used to such catastrophic losses.
to prove their patriotism. He is comfortable with what he once would have considered animalistic. Detailed quotes explanations with page numbers for every important quote on the site.
When the novel begins, the Second Company of the German army has just returned to their camp after two weeks of fighting on the frontlines. powerful as Tjaden’s is thin. Kantorek’s nickname for the young soldiers reveals how out of touch he is with the realities of life on the front.
They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!” This statement, from the novel’s epigraph, sets Kemmerich, one of Paul’s classmates and a member They visit Kemmerich to comfort him, but when they see that he's likely to die, they also want his boots. of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed fighting during World War I, resting after being relieved from the hesitant but eventually gave in to Kantorek’s unrelenting pressure. The visit with Kemmerich highlights how the war has forced the soldiers to temper any sympathy they feel with the practical need to survive. Their unit has sustained heavy casualties. In the line we have next to none, and fourteen days is a long time at one stretch.
Quotes From Chapter 1 "The leader of our group, shrewd, cunning, and hard-bitten, forty years of age, with a face of the soil, blue eyes, bent shoulders, and a remarkable nose for dirty weather, good food, and soft jobs."
Detering is a peasant with a wife
“Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. It also illustrates the randomness of who lives and who dies in the trenches. and intestines.
The fact that he doesn't any longer shows how much worse life in the trenches must be. Youth” and glorifying their heroism.
Struggling with distance learning?
Our for breakfast. More than half of the Second Company has been killed, a horrific number, but Paul's matter-of-fact tone suggests that this is something that doesn’t even faze the soldiers.