Chapter One Point of View – First Person Theme – Questioning Authority – Kantorek/Elders Paradox – an apparent contradiction that is actually true Windfall – why extra rations? Ginger Latrine situation – Why? Kantorek – Little Man Syndrome Josef Behm – Irony Kemmerich – Boots Iron Youth – youth was long ago; they are now old men

Chapter One, cont. Characters: Paul Baumer – protagonist Albert Kropp – thinker Muller – school books Leer – ladies’ man Tjaden – skinny; locksmith Haie Westhus – big man; peat digger Detering – peasant farmer Stanislaus Katczinsky – leader; resourceful

Chapter Two Theme – Questioning Authority Older generation vs. younger men A wasteland – no anchor in the past, no prospect for the future Muller – not selfish, practical What they learned in camp Himmelstoss – Also little-man syndrome Kemmerich’s death – orderlies uncaring; they need the bed

Chapter Two, cont. Tasks for training Brutal training – Good or Bad? Remade bed Kneaded boots Scrubbed with toothbrush Snow clean-up with hand broom “Prepare to advance, advance, lie down” Attention in the cold Running stairs at 3 a.m. in skivvies Brutal training – Good or Bad?

Chapter Two, cont. “We became hard, suspicious, pitiless, vicious, tough – and that was good; for these attributes were just what we lacked. Had we gone into the trenches without this period of training most of us would certainly have gone mad.” Esprit de corps – finest thing that arose out of the war - comradeship

Chapter Three Juxtaposing scenes – depressing discussion of war and account of Himmelstoss’s comeuppance Kat’s sixth sense Casual wager on outcome of battle – men are desensitized Kropp’s idea for war Tjaden’s hatred for Himmelstoss Revenge is like black pudding – delicacy; this is a metaphor Himmelstoss’s beat-down

Chapter Four Irony – graveyard scene: not even the dead can rest; take cover to save life under coffins Apostrophe – speaker directly addresses something nonhuman What does the earth mean to a soldier?

Chapter Four, cont. Feelings on the way to the front Heightening of senses Fair-headed recruit – first incident Wounded horses – symbolic First incident of gas Fair-headed recruit – second incident Chapter comes full-circle

Chapter Five Theme – Comeradeship: goose dinner Killing lice Peacetime plans Kropp would get drunk Kat – take care of family Haie – women – then stay in army – Why? Tjaden – stop Himmelstoss Detering – straight on with harvest

Chapter Five, cont. Himmestoss appears Tjaden ignores his commands Threatened with court-martial Out of 20 men in their class, 7 dead, 4 wounded, 1 in mad house, 3 promoted, plus them Useless things they learned in school 3 important lessons they learned in the field Light a cigarette in the rain Start a fire with wet wood Bayonet usage

Chapter Five, cont. Trial – Bertink in charge Men explain what they went through Bertink lectures Himmelstoss that the front is not a parade ground Tjaden gets a long sermon and 3 days’ open arrest Kropp gets 1 day’s open arrest Kat and Paul and the goose dinner Supreme friendship

Chapter Six Vivid imagery – butterflies playing on skull Forlorn like children and experienced like old men Theme – Horrors of War New Coffins – For Whom? How is the Germany Army doing? Chance Corpse Rats Claustrophobia – new recruit The attack Memories of home

Chapter Six, cont. Missing men – stuck in No Man’s Land New Recruits – trouble Why? Teaching the New Recruits Himmelstoss in combat How long has it been? How many have survived?

Chapter Seven Situational irony – Paul’s visit home. Not happy as we would expect Why are the men okay with Himmelstoss now? Terror Propaganda The French Women

Chapter Seven, cont. 17 days leave for Paul – then training; why is he not happy? Mother – what is wrong? Paul lies about situation at front – why? What incident causes Paul to change out of his uniform? Father Teacher/Other elders at bar Mittelstaedt and Kantorek Leave is a pause Kemmerich’s mother Paul’s own mother

Chapter Eight Universal brotherhood – similarities between Paul and Russians Training camp on the Moors Russian prisoners Father and sister visit Potato cakes

Chapter Nine Remarque is criticizing nationalism, which puts national loyalty above any other; major cause of WWI Paradox – It (gunfire) reveals too little and too much. Inspection Fatherland – Country offending a country Back up to the front line

Chapter Nine, cont. Death of Gerard Duval Kat and Albert bring him in Sniper at the end

Chapter Ten Humor – Josef Hamacher, supply dump dinner Guard duty – village supply dump Comic aspects of their dinner Paul, Albert wounded in evacuation Dressing station; train; hospital Incidents on train

Chapter Ten, cont. Josef Hammacher – shooting lisence Franz Wachter – dead room Peter – bandaging ward Operations, surgeons Albert More of the Horrors of War Lewandowski Paul’s second leave

Chapters Eleven, Twelve Spring of 1918 Detering Berger and the messenger dog Muller is dead – boots go to Paul – he has willed them to Tjaden German army doing poorly – supplies, young recruits, wounded men sent back to fight

Chapters Eleven, Twelve cont. Tanks as weapons Leer dies Poetry and repetition to describe war Kat’s wound and death Fall of 1918 14 days rest due to gas Separate ending to novel – not a chapter

Chapter Eleven, Twelve cont. Symbolism – the boots Relationship between Kat and Paul –they are related: both are sacrificial victims to the war. This is irony. Climax – death of Kat Conclusion is heavy irony – Paul dies one month before the end on a day that is “All Quiet”

Symbolism Boots – Shared experience of soldiers; foreshadow death Goose dinner – comradeship Wounded horses – outraged nature

Final Discussion How did the point of view change? Why? In what ways are the issues in this book specific to WWI? War in general? What is the significance of the title of the novel? What makes this novel a “classic”?