In the first few chapters of the novel, Himmelstoss is a terrible leader to Paul and his remaining soldiers. However, after experiencing the horrors that he witnessed during chapter 6 and also being a coward during the fighting, Himmelstoss tries to regain the trust of his fellow soldiers. Paul and his friends more or less forgive him. However, if Himmelstoss knew that Paul and his friends were the ones that beat him up previously, do you think he would be so desperate to earn back their trust? Why or why not?
In chapter 7, Paul is given leave and goes back to his hometown. In the novel, Paul describes himself being a “stranger” in his own home. While he is happy to see his parents, at the end of the chapter he wishes that he didn’t come back home. As it will be even harder to say goodbye and to go back to the front lines. If you were Paul, would you go home and see your family, maybe even for the last time, or would you go somewhere else on your seventeen days of leave?
In the beginning of chapter 8, Paul returns to the front lines only to see captured Russian soldiers looking through garbage for food. Paul remarks that these men he was looking at were the enemy. These men with “honest peasant faces” as Paul says. He sees no difference between them or himself. Even after all Paul has been through and has seen these men, do you think he believes in the war anymore? Do you think he’s still has the “spirit” to continue fighting for his country?
1-Remarque mentions “esprit de corps” and comradeship (26-27) early in the text and if Himmelstoss had known who delivered the humiliation (48-49) that forced him to crawl away like an animal he would not have forgiven Paul and his friends. Such a humiliation perpetrated by subordinates would have been too much to bear for an egotistical man like Himmelstoss. Also, knowing what they had done would break down all trust and men in combat units need to know they have each others backs.
2-Going home on leave was difficult for Paul because he feels: “The war had ruined us for everything.” (87) What he is saying is that he can no longer relate to the past and the sense of normalcy that going home is supposed to bring to a soldier on leave.The paragraph were Paul mentions his pain and how he regrets going home is just heartbreaking and I can relate to it. (185)
I was a Marine many years ago and some of us took leaves that did not include going home. It was just too hard to try and fit into a world that seemed so inaccessible. The training and experiences crafted me into a very different person and I no longer felt comfortable in the place I was born. After my first leave, I never returned home and twelve years ago I inherited the house where I grew up, which I promptly sold. I have been through some challenges in my life and I changed too much to ever consider picking up my old life in a place that is now nothing more than a distant and painful memory.
3-Paul has to stand guard over the Russians (192) and what he witnesses changes his opinions about “the enemy.” Paul is a trained soldier who will return and continue fighting but he does not have the same attitude about his enemy. Remarque writes: “But as it is I perceive behind them only the suffering of the creature, the awful melancholy of life and the pitilessness of men.” (193) Paul is filled with a deep empathy for these fellow combatants. As to whether Paul believes in war, I think he stopped believing the war was justified and necessary around the time Kemmerich was wounded. Remarque writes how the disillusioned young men felt about their duty to king and country: “And we saw that there was nothing of their world left. We were all at once terribly alone; and alone we must see it through.” (13)
1) I think this is a great question first of all. In response though, I do not think Himmelstoss would be as eager to regain trust back if he knew this information. From my perspective, Himmelstoss sees himself in the wrong for being a coward during the fighting and does not see Paul and the others as doing anything wrong. This is why he is trying to prove himself and regain that trust.
2) During this period of the war and during Paul’s journey this was probably something he thought he needed to do (see his family). In reality, though I think this just made it that much harder for him to go back to war. Even when he was home he was constantly reminded of the war so it’s not like he really even got a “break”. Knowing me though if I was Paul in this situation, I probably would go home to visit family. I would do this just because I can relate to Paul in wanting to spend that time and probably would think that would help me.
3) This question really made me think but I would lean towards more of no; I do not think Paul really believes in the war anymore. I say this because he has so many mixed emotions that I think started when he visits home. I think Paul does try to push these emotions down though as they could cloud his judgment (which he admits). The realization of this though is when Paul sees those Russian soldiers going through garbage. I think Paul sees how both sides are just trying to survive this war. I think his “spirit” for fighting has also shifted and altered because of these experiences. As I think it is still somewhat present in him trying to fight in this war.
1) I agree with Bonnie on this one. Himmelstoss appears to care quite a lot about the way he’s viewed, so to learn that he’d been beaten by his subordinates would add an extra layer of humiliation. However, in that case, since he would know who attacked him, he would have a specific source to blame for his apparent cowardice, so rather than attempting to seek their approval, he’d likely do everything he could to make their lives a living hell, knowing what we do about Himmelstoss’ personality.
2) This one’s complicated for me. On one hand, I would want to see my family if I knew there was a chance I’d die and not be able to see them again, but I also understand that I’m like Paul, where going home makes me not want to go back to wherever I’m visiting from. It’s hard enough for me to even come back to school after breaks. I also find it interesting how Paul’s attitude changed throughout his visit to home. He talked about how he didn’t want to have to talk to his mother when she was awake at night, or the humiliation he faced while he was there, and yet, leaving is difficult. I would assume at least a portion of this has to do with his mother’s illness, which is assumed to be cancer again. Given this isn’t the first time she’s had it, I would assume Paul knows there’s a chance she might not survive this time around.
3) It feels pretty clear that Paul has lost the spirit for fighting for his country. The Russians are just the cherry on top of the cake. Seeing people who he actually can identify with as the enemy is jarring enough, but Paul makes previous references to how the war has completely wiped the soldiers, physically and psychologically. Based on the narration up through Chapter 8, I would assume Paul lost the spirit of fighting for his country a while ago, and at the point we’re at in the narrative, he’s doing it because he’s already signed up for it, and men who weren’t in the war effort were shamed and essentially forced into it. I doubt he believes in war, either. Given that he sees the Russian enemy as actual people, I can’t imagine thinking that killing and maiming those people is just after that point.
I agree with the previous responses to this question! Himelstoss would not put that effort in for men he knew disgraced him. Any embarrassment he feels about the cowardice would turn into viscous anger.
2. The whole concept of leave is incredibly difficult because Paul feels out of place at home, but he would spend all of his time in another place thinking about home and wishing he was there. If I were Paul I would definitely go home even though I wished I could just remember home as idyllic and nostalgic because my desire to see my family, the desire to be comforted, would be too strong.
Bonnie’s really interesting, meaningful response made me think about this chapter from a bit of a personal lens as well. “I know she counts the days;– every morning she is sad. It is one day less”(84) is a poignant quote and stood out to me because my brother is a veteran and I remember feeling like this before he left for deployment; we all got increasingly sad the days before he left and thinking about this as an adult makes me analyze how he must have felt watching us dread his departure. We were anxious about the anxiety we were going to feel while he was gone. I am sure our fear made processing his own emotions very difficult.
3. Paul lost his “spirit” to fight for his country fairly early, but his visit home diminished it further as he interacted with the people he is supposedly protecting. His family is threatened more by sickness and poverty than any foreign army as his mother suffers and his father must “stand at his desk folding and pasting and cutting until twelve o’clock at night. At eight o’clock in the evening he will eat some miserable rubbish they get in exchange for their food tickets, then he will take a powder for his headache and work on”(93) in order to afford her treatment. When Paul describes the prisoners as having “honest peasant faces” he realizes he has more in common with them than many of the men he takes orders from; the prisoners could also have sick mothers and overworked fathers at home, and why should they fight simply because those homes are in a different country than his? At home, Paul also interacts with men who tell him “‘Naturally it’s worse here. Naturally. The best for our soldiers every time, that goes without saying’”(78), which means the people the spirit of the war suggests he is representing do not even truly appreciate what he does. After being home and gaining some distance from the war, he is not blinded by the pure need for survival and therefore cannot look at “the enemy” the same way anymore, so he loses any remnant of belief in the war he had when he first enlisted.
1. I don’t think Himmelstoss would have been as forgiving nor desperate to gain these men’s trust if he knew they were the ones who beat him up. Though, his desire for survival may have won out against his pride. Having a strong support team to rely on can improve one’s chances on the field immeasurably—both physically and mentally. It would be in Himmelstoss’ best interest to get close with at least some soldiers. I think he would think twice about this specific group though if he was aware they were the ones who attacked him. Then again, if Paul and his friends were the most experienced veterans there, I can definitely see Himmelstoss desperately looking for forgiveness to potentially save his own skin.
2. Even if visiting home would make it harder to return to the frontlines, I would still go. If I found myself dying on the field, I at least would have the comfort knowing that I got to get my goodbyes in slyly through the visit on my leave. There would be immense regret if I didn’t, and I’m sure not visiting would leave my family lost and without closure if I never made it back from the war. Enjoy what little rest and nostalgia is given to you, even if it hurts. Emotions are what make us human. It is best to feel them all before we feel nothing at all in death.
3. Paul definitely doesn’t believe in the war with the same youthful patriotic zeal he may have had back in the day. He is humanizing the ‘enemy,’ which breaks down all systems of warfare, not just against the Russians but extended to the French and British. The “spirit” to continue fighting is no longer for his country, but for his survival. Self-preservation is what fuels most of his actions. The idea of an enemy is waning. This is revealed even earlier when Paul and his friends reflect on how everyone in the war was either poor or young. These are the ones who suffer, not the leaders declaring wars but the common people forced to fight in them.
1. Based on what I have read in All Quiet on the Western Front, Himmelstoss struck me as a temperamental and prideful man. When Paul and his friends beat Himmelstoss up, they greatly humiliated him. I believe that if Himmelstoss knew who his perpetrators were, he would not bother trying to regain Paul’s and his friends’ respect or trust no matter what circumstances may arise and would go out his way to exact his vengeance in the form of corporal punishment upon the boys. Himmelstoss cares about his reputation amongst the soldiers and his superiors. If anything or anyone were to damage the perception he has crafted for himself, then he would fiercely rectify it immediately.
2. If I were Paul, I would go back home to see my family. In war, nothing is for certain. Knowing that any day could be his last when he goes back to the fight, Paul probably feels this will be his last chance to see his loved ones and visit the place where he grew up. I understand and appreciate the mixed feelings that Paul has when visiting his family. When away from home, we may act differently and then censored ourselves when we return. While on one hand, he is happy to see them; however, on the other hand, Paul can’t be honest about his experiences and trauma of the front lines and feels isolated because of that. Even though coming back home left Paul conflicted, I still think it was good that he visited his family. If he had not, then I believe he would have felt even worse.
3. After being on the front lines of the war and seeing firsthand its horrors as well as seeing and empathizing with the captured Russian soldiers, I do not think Paul believes in the war anymore. That being said, I do believe Paul still loves his country, but his “spirit” to fight is more geared towards survival than a cause. Paul often reminisces on his early childhood memories with fondness and longing. The war has turned these memories bittersweet since Paul knows that things won’t ever be the same again. He cannot even conceive a future for himself after the war. Each day is a struggle for Paul to keep on going and to avoid death. If he does not fight, then he will die.
I think that the second question poses something interesting to consider. When granted leave, there is no question in Paul’s mind that he must go home. Where else is it that he has any connection to? However, it really does not surprise me that he feels such a strong disconnect between the life he had before he left for the war, and the emotions he feels returning home, if only for a brief amount of time. If I were in Paul’s position, I really don’t think there is anywhere else to go. I feel it would be worse to go somewhere and not tell his family he was on leave. If he treated it as a real sort of “vacation” and just kind of went somewhere completely on his own, I feel that his experience would have been much worse than the one he felt in his room. There is really no place he could go without experiencing a sense of isolation and aloofness, at least in his home, he could be among what was once familiar.
I like the third question because it brings up something that I think is important in this novel. Paul and his friends are German citizens from families that, prior to the war, were likely higher lower-class or lower-middle-class (that since have struggled due to provisions directed towards the war effort becoming largely unavailable for non-military). One of the Russians plays the violin for Paul and his fellow prisoners of war, and I think that Paul recognizes their humanity and understands that just as he does, his “enemy” fights for survival. In some ways, they are not patriotic fighters for their countries anymore, but pawns used in a deadly game of chess to restructure Europe.