All Quiet on the Western Front Ch. 1-2

All Quiet on the Western Front Author, Erich Maria Remarque, is a German veteran of World War I. First published in November and December 1928 in the German newspaper Vossische Zeitung and in book form in late January 1929. The book and its sequel, The Road Back, were among the books banned and burned in Nazi Germany.

Themes: Coming of age Paul and his friends are both battle-hardened soldiers and boys barely out of school They feel they are on “the threshold of life,” but cannot imagine what future awaits them after the war. “We were still crammed full of vague ideas which gave to life, and to the war also an ideal and almost romantic character” (21).

Themes: The horrible as mundane Thanks to their training – and most of all their friendship – Paul and his friends are able to experience the worst life has to offer without losing their minds or their courage. Yet they find it easier to cope with danger in the abstract. The death of hundreds affects them less than the death of one friend. “In time, things far worse than that came easy to us” (8).

Theme: A lost generation Paul and his friends feel betrayed by their parents, teachers and leaders, who convinced them to enlist based on false assumptions about the war. Comradeship eliminates distinctions between fellow soldiers, and convinces them that the only people they can trust is each other. “We had to recognize that our generation was more to be trusted than others…The first bombardment showed us our mistake, and under it the world as they had taught it to us broke in pieces” (12-13).

Characters Paul Baumer: the narrator Tjaden Muller Stanislaus Katczinsky Albert Kropp Leer Haie Westhus Detering Kantorek Corporal Himmelstoss