1. Earlier in the novel, we see descriptions of hundreds of men’s deaths. In chapter 9, Paul and his fellow men discuss the causes of the war, with some pointing out the oddity of both sides appearing apprehensive to conflict (why then is there war?). In what way does this dialogue between Paul and the other men establish the fruitlessness of the war?
2. During the hospital scene in chapter 10, Paul spends the vast majority of his time bedridden and without much agency. His only window into what is happening in the rest of the hospital is the room he and his fellow men reside in. How do the author’s descriptions during this period help the reader experience this claustrophobic, intense set of events?
3. Despite much of the chapter featuring elaborate descriptions and intense feeling, the last few sentences of chapter 10 are cut short. There are many events that take place between Lewandowski’s wife’s visit and Paul’s injuries healing, such as the leave granted to Paul and the worsening of his mother’s condition. Why do you think these events were summarized in favor of his return to the front?
6 thoughts on “Jacob’s Reading Questions for January 25th”
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1-The dialogue between the men is a very straightforward analysis of the war from the perspective of the men making all the sacrifices. Paul and Albert (203) speculate if the 20 or 30 people in the world who have power had said “No” they would not be fighting. The men’s discussion of how they are the same as the Frenchmen and would never be fighting (204-206) if it were not for “every full grown emperor” requiring a war shows the reader these men understand their lack of control over the conflict. They know this conflict is a war of attrition. What struck me about this section was how Remarque conveys the fact that the men are resigned to their fate in two sentences:
Albert- “The best thing is not to talk about the rotten business.” (207)
Kat- “It won’t make any difference, that’s sure.” (207)
2-Remarque tells us that “A hospital alone shows what war is” and “that above such shattered bodies there are still human faces in which life goes its daily round.” (263) The hospital is so hard on Paul because he has time to think. Paul is a sensitive man who ruminates on the senseless killing and death going on all around him. Remarque shows us how Paul consistently worries about his future and I believe, also, the state of his soul. Remarque sums up both Paul’s despair and the futility of The Great War in the most beautiful and tragic paragraph:
“I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow. I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently, slay one another. I see that the keenest brains of the world invent weapons and words to make it yet more refined and enduring. And all men of my age, here and over there, throughout the whole world see these things; all my generation is experiencing these things with me. What would our fathers do if we suddenly stood up and came before them and proffered out account? What do they expect of us if a time ever comes when the war is over? Through the years our business has been killing;-it was our first calling in life. Our knowledge of life is limited to death. What will happen afterwards? And what shall come out of us?” (263-264)
2. During the hospital scene in chapter 10, Paul spends the vast majority of his time bedridden and without much agency. His only window into what is happening in the rest of the hospital is the room he and his fellow men reside in. How do the author’s descriptions during this period help the reader experience this claustrophobic, intense set of events?
I was personally interested because I felt as though the hospital scene was extremely claustrophobic. When Paul says, ” Be quiet out there” (251) it made me stop for a second and realize how although the actual distant was not far, it could feel as though it was. Being in a hospital room can feel cramped already but when Paul expresses that there are seven other men in the room (254), as I imagined this scene, I felt claustrophobic. To add to that feeling, on the same page he talks about the night nurse not coming in to check on the men. That sense of being left alone can make the room feel smaller.
One scene within the entire hospital scene is when Lawandowski’s wife comes to visit and, “the business is over” (267). While reading that it was a mixture of uncomfortableness and shock because with seven other men in the room and my child, I could not image doing that. However, it made me picture the layout of the actual room and place myself there as if I was minding my business as my “roommate” finishes his business with his wife. It added to the feeling of being claustrophobic and cramped and I believe the author did this so the reader could feel that and have a true idea of how the hospital conditions were during the war.
3. I think that Remarque used shorter, more concise sentences at the end of chapter ten to reflect Paul’s feelings as he faces a return to the front. Paul spent a significant amount of time in the hospital, befriending fellow injured comrades and describing situations they got into at the hospital. However, as his healing process advances and new injured soldiers arrive, it becomes clear that Paul’s time at the hospital is concluding. Remarque summarizes Paul’s entire leave in just four simple sentences: “I got convalescent leave. My mother does not want to let me go away. She is feeble. It is all much worse than it was last time” (268-269). In these few lines, Remarque suggests what his leave was like and Paul’s deeper feelings—he saw his family again, his mother’s condition is worsening, and it was difficult to leave. Paul also states that it was “very hard to part from Albert,” but does not describe any specific thoughts or feelings (269). It was “worse than it was last time” to leave his mother and “very hard” to leave Albert, both of which are surely understatements, but Remarque does not provide further detail about Paul’s emotions. However, the absence of further detail itself suggests that Paul finds it difficult to dwell on the emotional hardship he experiences. Paul even suggests that the pain he feels at parting from Albert is nothing new, that this is a pain he has experienced before and will experience again, in the line, “a man gets used to that sort of thing in the army” (269). Instead of dwelling on emotional hardships, Paul simply briefly summarizes events and looks forward to what is next, returning to the front.
1. I personally found that conversation between Paul and the other men to be very fascinating. I love the line that Tjaden says, “A mountain in Germany cannot offend a mountain in France. Or a river, or a wood, or a field of wheat. (204).” Tjaden is saying the land we live on is simply that, land. Nature doesn’t start wars, people do. Paul and the other men also mention that the war was started by the choices of a handful of men, and that millions of people have died as a result.
2. Chapter 10 was a difficult chapter to read. I have a very hard time reading the descriptions of the men that Paul sees throughout the hospital. Remarque didn’t hold anything back when describing these injured men. However, this showed the reader the cruel reality of war and what it does to people. I can imagine that soldiers like Paul were scarred for life seeing men as described in the story.
3. I believe at this point in the war, Paul has almost lost all of his sense of himself. The only thing he has left is the war and his friends. Paul knew his mother was about to die, I think he didn’t want to come to the realization that he would have no one to go back to if he survived the war.
3. Despite much of the chapter featuring elaborate descriptions and intense feeling, the last few sentences of chapter 10 are cut short. There are many events that take place between Lewandowski’s wife’s visit and Paul’s injuries healing, such as the leave granted to Paul and the worsening of his mother’s condition. Why do you think these events were summarized in favor of his return to the front?
This is both a stylistic choice and thematic choice. Keeping the sentences short exhibits Paul’s detachment or numbness toward his home-life and anything in his past overall. All that matters is the Front in his eyes and is therefore worthy of more description in the book. Paul’s identity is now tied to the field and not at all at home. We as readers are able to grasp Paul’s indifference or, paradoxically, his suffering toward home-life and love of his mother. It is quite ingenious when you start to peel back the many layers.
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