They wait for a few days before boarding another train headed back home with red cross nurses looking out for them along with other wounded soldiers returning from battle. He also gets some attention from an ambulance wagon that passes by soon after that. This fits with his actions of bartering for things rather than using money. Even after the war is over, they’ll have post-war stress disorder and other psychological problems from suppressing their fears of death during combat. Maybe it was because of how his mother died or maybe there were feelings for his mother he had but could not express while she was alive. Kropp makes sure that Kemmerich receives the morphine, and Müller talks more about their boots. He also brought back horse meat, but didn’t tell anyone where he got it from until after everyone ate their fill. The trial is just a more civilized version of battles fought in nature–as large-scale battles also seem to be. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque is a 1929 novel about a young German man fighting in the trenches of World War I. . He is a less intimidating figure than Paul had imagined; after all that buildup, he turns out to be just an ordinary man. The competition for Kemmerich’s boots also symbolizes this detachment, since they’re more important than a friend’s death. Paul’s father and sister visit him before he leaves for the front. At the hospital, Paul undergoes Müller tries to convince him to give them away, but Kemmerich doesn’t want to; Paul promises to visit again in the morning. They then go through inspections, which are rigorous, but they also get new equipment in preparation for the arrival of the Kaiser. He is excited to see his wife again after two years apart. His class was "scattered over the platoons amongst Fr… However, despite this warning from another patient who already went through it himself (he said it took him two years just to learn how to walk again), both men still let themselves get operated on anyway; only Kropp survived while one died from complications due to infection afterwards. Download "All Quiet On the Western Front Book Summary, by Erich Maria Remarque" as PDF. Paul and (667 From 1001 Books) - ‭‎Im Westen nichts Neues = A l'ouest rien de novreau = All Quiet on The Western Front = In the West Nothing New, Erich Maria Remarque All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. Their weapons are falling apart, and they have no hope for survival in this war other than trench warfare or dying a common soldier’s death on the front line. Paul feels bad about dirtying up clean sheets because of all the lice crawling around in his shirt since it’s been weeks since they’ve had access to washing facilities or have had time to take care of themselves properly due to being stuck at war constantly fighting off enemies day after day for an extended period of time. the shell hole with him, and Paul instinctively stabs him. In 1928, ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ was eventually published and enjoyed immediate success. They set up the wire and wait for more shelling. Paul thinks this is absurd, but it also moves him deeply because his mother loves him so much. Paul and some friends go for a swim while they’re there; however, it ends up being more than just swimming when they meet up with some French girls afterwards. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. One of the soldiers in Paul’s room was wounded and lost a lot of blood. It’s very hard to say which side was “right” because there were a lot of reasons for fighting and no clear advantage. him. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. 1970 of heart failure and was buried in Switzerland. The gas rolls through the battlefield as another round of shells rain down upon them; one hits a coffin from an underground grave and throws it up in the air where it lands on someone else with such force that their arm breaks off from their body completely! He finally got her attention, but by then it was too late and the man had to be taken away because he died. Paul’s relationship with his family is strained, as he feels like a stranger in their midst. wishes to recapture his innocence with a girl, but he feels that When Paul throws a bottle at nuns, it’s like something you would do as a kid in Catholic school (like getting an adult to take the blame for you). The boys discuss Kantorek, their former schoolmaster, who used to bully his pupils into volunteering for the war. The men are starving and their food is mixed with filler that makes them sick all the time. Paul is poisoned in a gas attack and given a short leave. In the 1990’s, it was still widely regarded by many readers and critics as the greatest war novel of the twentieth century. The men swim down as the women walk up so they can point out their house later on when no guards are around; then, after some time passes, they make plans to meet there at night because it will be safer without any guards around (and hopefully bring some bread). They’re like animals, and they can’t think as humans do. Remarque fled to Switzerland whilst at home in Germany, his books were burnt. I'll send you notes on entrepreneurship and summaries of the best books I'm reading. Himmelstoss returns with a sergeant and tells them that Tjaden has to report to him in 10 minutes. Three of them were particularly notable: Albert Kropp (the clearest thinker), Müller (a physics-inclined academic), and Leer (lusty with sexual maturity). It is episodic, almost documentary or diary-like in nature, and it lacks a consistent plot. The men are given some time to rest. Of the remaining twelve, three are lieutenants. the cruel Corporal Himmelstoss has come to fight at the front. He throws it over the wall just in time for it not to be killed by the dog. For a time he wandered in a gypsy caravan around Germany until he obtained a position as a test driver for a Berlin tire company. The recruits don’t understand why they need masks though, which makes Paul worried since he has seen how bad gas attacks are for people who breathe in too much of it. SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. Detering wants to return home to his farm once the war is over. feels that the Russians are people just like him, not subhuman enemies, Perhaps if the soldiers stick together, they can defeat their loneliness and alienation through each other. Since there are only three women for the four of them, they get Tjaden drunk enough so he passes out. He visits Kemmerich's mother, who cries and begs him to tell her about her son's death. The Germans reach the line of French troops and repel them successfully; they continue to fight until they’ve lost many more lives than gained ground against the French forces; some wounded soldiers die out in no man’s land because it is too dangerous to retrieve them from there alive (this sentence might be better as: “Some wounded soldiers died out in no man’s land because it was too dangerous to retrieve them from there alive.”); new recruits are brought in, but they die quickly due to carelessness or mistakes made by other people (newcomers). All Quiet on the Western Front Summary. Kantorek is an example of this kind of nationalism. When he arrives, they line up for him to inspect them. The men have lost track of the weeks and months that they’ve been there, but it’s spring now. He bullies the youth into joining the war, and they do so out of fear of being ostracized as a coward. In total, Second Company has thirty-two men left after their victory over a French regiment that yielded just a few hundred yards of land for Germany–but “every yard there lies a dead man.”. Paul goes looking for Tjaden, who disappears. He finds out from an old classmate that Kantorek, his teacher, has been drafted as a soldier. He thinks about how both sides have become “wild beasts” who kill each other with “mad anger.”. The author seems to have a dualistic approach to the saying, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” On one hand, Paul has lost everything and is apathetic towards war destroying him further. Paul was given his boots, which used to belong to Kemmerich. Paul believed that this training was valuable; without it, he believes that many of his friends would have gone mad from the horrors of war. At the hospital, Paul has surgery while Kropp’s leg is amputated. Remarque became more and more interested in automobiles, particularly racing and mechanical engineering, and this was to provide the basis of his novel ‘Heaven Knows No Favorites’.