Final Blog Post

1/1/2017

All Quiet Blog Assignment Sheet
Rubric

After reviewing the above documents, use the comment button to post your response. You can use the "reply" feature to respond to a classmate's post or comment.

110 Comments

Kyle Samagaio

1/1/2017 10:11:29 am

War can only happen when the enemy is a distraction” Connect a specific part in the text to this quote.

I can connect this quote to the part in chapter 9 where Paul talks to the dead body of Gerad Duval, the French soldier he just killed. Paul says "Comrade, I did not want to kill you. . . . But you were only an idea to me before, an abstraction that lived in my mind and called forth its appropriate response. . . . I thought of your hand-grenades, of your bayonet, of your rifle; now I see your wife and your face and our fellowship. Forgive me, comrade. We always see it too late. Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony—Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy?" For the first time Paul realizes how the soldiers he has been fighting are actually no different then him. Paul feels bad for killing this man because they are the same and going through the same things. This shows that war can only happen when the enemy is a distraction because if every soldier knew they were the same they would not participate in this war.

Alissa

1/5/2017 04:21:01 pm

I agree completely with what you are saying here. The evidence about Gerald showed what you were trying to say completely, "Comrade i did not want to kill you" shows that when he Humanized Duval he turned into a different perosn in Paul's eyes! Explaining why he finally realizes that they are no different from him is very important.

Jacob Kane

1/7/2017 03:29:29 pm

I agree with what you said about Paul humanizing Gerard Duval. I think this was really the turning point of the story and when Paul finally realized how pointless and futile this war is. To strengthen your answer, perhaps try to connect your evidence to the question with more detail.

Ethan Lingley

1/9/2017 03:24:32 am

Russell Jackson

1/1/2017 10:34:28 am

Discuss the relationship between propaganda and the soldiers’ experience.

Propaganda during this time of the war was extremely misleading and led many people into joining the war effort. For example their old school-master Kantorek used information from propaganda to add more emotion into convincing his students to join in the war effort. But after years of his country being in war, he was finally drafted into the war. In chapter 7, Paul Baumer got to go home for two weeks to visit his family and saw Kantorek in a uniform and he looked a mess! Paul stated, “Then I see Kantorek and am scarcely able to stifle my laughter. He is wearing a faded blue tunic. The tunic must of belonged to a giant .. The whole rig-out is just pitiful.” He also described him as terribly dirty and he was basically getting bullied by his instructor the same way he did to him while he was in school. Compared to the propaganda, the soldiers lives were very pitiful and not as luxurious and exciting as it looked on all the propaganda around town. They predicted that the war would be over soon after they joined the war front and they would be heading home; but in reality they were stuck on the harsh and violent front for what seemed like forever and many casualties occurred. This led to many young adults being killed before they even knew what they were going to do with their life next as World War I suffered over 38 million casualties.

Jacob Kane

1/7/2017 03:43:40 pm

I am glad that you mentioned Kantorek due to him being the biggest example of propaganda in the story. The manner of which you wrote this is somewhat confusing, as you first begin to speak of Kantorek's propaganda, but then start to write about Kantorek being drafted. I really don't see what that has to do with soldiers' experience. However you do speak about the soldiers' experience toward the bottom of the paragraph. I feel as though you could strengthen your paragraph if you wrote what you had at the bottom of the paragraph and put it in place of the second sentence.

Cecelia Westwater

1/1/2017 10:47:18 am

Discuss the point of view from which the All Quiet on the Western Front is told. How might this impact the story? Whose perspective do we get? How does that effect what we know as a reader?

On the last page of “All Quiet on the Western Front” Paul’s death is being talked about in a whole new perspective. The whole book is told in Paul’s first person point of view and this is the only point of the story where we get a different perspective. The paragraph is very vague, short choppy sentences, and doesn’t have much emotion. “ He had fallen forward and lay on the earth as though sleeping. Turning him over one saw that he could not have suffered long; his face had the expression of calm, as though glad the end had come.” This affects us as readers because throughout the whole book we are used to get thorough descriptions and plenty of details but in the last few paragraphs we don’t get much details; just that he was”calm” and that he looked as if he was “sleeping”. This causes readers to wonder what happened exactly and what the aftermath of Paul’s death was.

Kayla J

1/2/2017 06:53:02 pm

To me, with how the last page was written with the short and choppy sentences and lack of emotion when describing his death could possibly represent the detachment between Paul's death and how the reader interprets it because of how there was not a lot of description of how it happened. Yet I also agree with how that it could leave wonder for the readers

Lily Hagopian

1/3/2017 02:07:11 pm

I agree with what you said Cj. The whole story is told from a perspective where we, as the readers, get a lot of description of the war and the toll it took on the soldiers. When the story was told through Paul's perspective, and his friends began to die, the readers get a description of how Paul is affected by these deaths. The descriptions vary from short with no emotion, to long and filled with emotions such as when Kropp died in the very beginning. When Paul dies, the story is no longer told from that perspective. We get a short explanation stating Paul died. We don't feel emotion at all. This is one of the bigger deaths in the book because Paul made it almost to the end of the war and then dies, the reader is left to wonder what the full details surrounding the death are and it is the perspective change that causes this wonder.

Meghan Hill

1/5/2017 03:57:22 pm

I agree, I feel that in the last chapter you don't feel as "connected" to Paul, since you don't get to experience his emotions or what he felt anymore, instead it's from another person's point of view. I feel like this adds to the effect Paul's death has on the reader, because without his input the story doesn't seem the same.

Alissa

1/5/2017 04:24:05 pm

Great! by giving the example you really showed how important Paul's POV was throughout this whole book. Your right by saying the last Paragraph has little or no emotion. "as though glad the end has come" this shows how you don't really get to see what Paul has to say which may leave the reader on a cliffhanger! by also stating that the readers were wondering is extremely important

Roisin Mullett

1/5/2017 04:34:41 pm

I agree with Kayla, and also with you and how it leaves a sense of wonder to the reader. Because Paul had died and he hadn't written the last it seems to be a different writing style, one that had nothing in commen with Paul's. It presents with no emotion or description which is weird as a person who is part of the audience and has read the book. The book also puts it up to interpretation of how Paul died, it simply just said he fell on the front, but there was no given explanation while of Paul hadn't died but seen this even happen would have gone into complete detail.

Kat Dennehy

1/6/2017 12:15:41 pm

I agree. The different perspective had prevented us from reading about Paul's death in detail. There wasn't really as much of a connection with the speaker in this case. In other parts of the story Paul explains his friends deaths in great detail. But with this we don't get to hear about the aftermath of his death, how it affected other people, and how it happened.

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Kyleigh Berube

1/8/2017 11:19:34 am

I agree with you that the readers experience, is changed at the end of the book. In the last section of the book the point of view changed from Paul to someone else. It could of been another soldier but we do not know. The ending would have been much different if it was in Paul's point of view. I also agree with how we don't get much detail on his death, which leaves us with questions.

Kyle Samagaio

1/8/2017 02:36:51 pm

I agree with you about how the POV change and the lack of description from this new character we don't know can leave readers to wonder about what happened. I also thing that the change in POV leaves readers to feel less connected to Paul during his death, if it was in his view or described more vividly then we would still feel the connection with Paul we've felt throughout the whole book.

Noah Lamothe

1/8/2017 09:00:10 pm

This is a really good example because for the greater part of the book, the descriptions made by Paul explained everything in the scene well enough so that us, the reader, had little to wonder about, but on that last page, so many questions were raised like: How did Paul die? If Paul has been narrating the entire book and all his friends have died, then who is narrating the last page? Why is the description so lacking in detail?

Noah Lamothe

1/1/2017 12:34:19 pm

Choose a passage and discuss its significance within the book.
“We count the weeks no more. It was winter when I came up, and when the shells exploded the frozen clods of earth were just as dangerous as the fragments. Now the trees are green again. Our life alternates between billets and the front. We have almost grown accustomed to it; war is the cause of death like cancer and tuberculosis, like influenza and dysentery. The deaths are merely more frequent, more varied and terrible.” This passage from the beginning of Chapter Eleven is very significant to the rest of All Quiet on the Western Front because of the way Paul describes what war is to him and how it affects him in how he views time and war itself. Paul describes war as something as deadly as some of the worst diseases in the world, with frequent deaths, and as something that makes you forget what ordinary life is like, what ordinary time is like by enforcing routines on the soldiers that limit the soldiers lives to alternating between only two things and them getting used to that being their entire life. Paul also describes how war has taken so much time out of his life by explaining that when he came up it was winter, but now the trees are green, meaning it is at least spring, and that Paul and his comrades had been out at war for many months.

Lily Hagopian

1/4/2017 02:37:10 pm

I agree with what you said about how the passage describes the passing of time but I also feel like it shows how common war is to them now. When people hear words like cancer and tuberculosis it doesn't have as big of an impact because it is such a common thing. I think this passage is a big part of the whole picture of war through Paul's eyes. Watching someone die a "horrible" does not affect him the way it used to. It is just part of his everyday life. The passage further exemplifies the great amounts of loss in WW1 by comparing it to a sickness that the reader has common knowledge of being deadly and affecting many numbers of people.

Kayla Vivenzio

1/8/2017 05:07:41 pm

I also agree with what you said about this quote. As the war goes on Paul and his friends start to get more and more accustomed to their life on the front. The days pass by and the war continues... as each day occurs the soldiers think nothing of the bullets shells that pass by and the deaths that take place during war. People die frequently in war as much as they do of a fatal sickness. The war is long and dangerous and now it seems to drag on like ordinary life.

Ashley Pierce

1/1/2017 02:28:26 pm

Choose one sentence and discuss how the way it is written adds to its meaning.

“He fell in October 1918, on a day that was so quiet and still on the whole front, that the army report confined itself to the single sentence: All quiet on the Western Front.” On the last page of All Quiet on the Western Front the reader is told of Paul’s death by an unknown narrator, the sentence is structured in a way to put more emphasis on the conditions of the front then his actual death. The sentence begins with the short and concise deliverance of his death, it is told in a factual manner with no emotion “He fell”. Not specifying the manner he fell in, be it painful or peacefully removes any emotions from it. Following the announcement of his death is a description of the Front when he died, the narrator spent more time describing the conditions of the front then describing his death. The way the quote “All quiet on the Western Front” is delivered leaves a resonance with the reader, the previous description of the front built up to the end leaving a lasting impression. The abrupt deliverance of Paul’s death makes the reader skim over it, however The build up for the quote “All quiet on the Western Front” leaves a lasting impression and puts the emphasis on the conditions of the front rather than Paul's death.

Jacob Kane

1/7/2017 03:48:29 pm

I agree with the fact that it talked more about the front than Paul. Like you said, it was written in a way that removed emotion from his death. His death was really did not feel as important as all of the other characters' deaths. I feel if the author had added emotion to the death, it would not be as meaningful, as his death is to show that there has been so many deaths that it is a common theme now.

Kyle Samagaio

1/8/2017 02:40:44 pm

I agree with you that the quote "All Quiet On the Western Front" leaves a lasting impression on the reader and about how Paul death could almost be skimmed over by the reader. Paul's death lacked the description needed to provide readers with a lasting impression, if it were described in detail like the rest of the book I believe that readers would be affected more deeply.

Kayla Vivenzio

1/8/2017 05:17:34 pm

I completely agree with what you said here. The way Paul's death is portrayed resembles his long fight in the war. The sentence is structured to put emphasis on Paul's death and how after a long fight he died peacefully almost with relief that the pain and suffering the war caused him is finally over. The sentence also refers back to the book's title "All quiet on the Western Front", stating that Paul's death was like all the other deaths in war and shows irony in the sense that war is loud and painful, but the day Paul died was quiet and almost peaceful like the war was finally over.

Nicole Alonso

1/1/2017 10:53:16 pm

Discuss the point of view from which the All Quiet on the Western Front is told. How might this impact the story? Whose perspective do we get? How does that effect what we know as a reader?
All Quiet on the Western Front is told in first person by a young man named Paul Buamer. Because this book is written in first person, we are only able to capture the feelings and mood that paul is experiencing as well as his hardships and personal views on their enemies. Only being able to see paul's perspective on life makes it difficult to experience what their enemies and other german soldiers are encountering, It creates a bias view on the war since you’re only able to see one side of the story. We never really get any emotional feelings from any other character in the book unless it was clearly stated. It would be interesting to be read about other characters feelings towards the war to get a better understanding of what actually goes down.

Nicole Alonso

1/2/2017 11:26:38 am

*Baumer

Jacob Kane

1/7/2017 03:51:35 pm

I agree with what you said about the first person point of view creating a bias view on the war. Perhaps you could strengthen this point by using a quote from the story showing emotion from Paul's point of view.

Kat Dennehy

1/8/2017 10:25:56 am

I agree with what you said but this answer seems very vague. Yes we don't get to hear from other peoples point of view but the end of the book is someone else's point of view so we do get to hear what the war is like but its really only Paul's death. Maybe you could make this more specific by adding a quote about his death and how it is told from a different point of view.

Noah Lamothe

1/8/2017 09:03:34 pm

I agree that the point of view being Paul's helps the reader understand the hardships and emotions of war better, but I think there is specific scenarios from the book you could have used to explain Paul's thought process throughout the war.

Lily Hagopian

1/2/2017 07:34:56 am

Choose one sentence and discuss how the way it is written adds to its meeting.
In chapter 10 of All Quiet on the Western Front the author uses the sentence, “ I see how peoples are set against one another, and in silence, unknowingly, foolishly, obediently, innocently slay one another.” This sentence is describing what Paul is thinking when he is walking around a hospital filled with injured soldiers. He realizes that all of these soldiers are the same and that they were all injured because they were sent out to war with an idea about who was their enemy. This idea was blindly accepted by soldiers, to go out and kill their enemies. This sentence really exemplifies that. There are many commas that link the adjectives together. These adjectives are describing the traits that these soldiers gain upon entering the war and fighting on the front lines. The diction the author chose was very deliberate and linked with the commas, created a very full picture of the characteristics the soldiers adapted while fighting on the front lines. They were all linked together to show the reader that these attributes are parts of the whole picture of what a soldier is and Paul realizes this while he walks through the wards of the hospital.

Kayla J

1/2/2017 06:57:14 pm

I really agree with your answer and especially with that part that all these soldiers are the same. They all have gone through such gruesome war and now that Paul is actually able to see the effects of the war on the "enemy" that he really realizes that the war is wrong and it only has detrimental effects. I feel like Paul also realizes that at the end of the day all these soldiers on the enemy side also have to go through the same hardships and wounds as he and his fellow soldiers have to.

Cecelia Westwater

1/8/2017 02:16:55 pm

I agree with you that Paul realizes that all soldiers are the same. I like the how you talk about the grammar aspects of the sentence by talking about the commas and diction. Overall I think you did really good on this and I agree with the fact that all the soldiers are the same.

Brain Houle

1/2/2017 08:29:13 am

Identify a theme and use evidence to explain its development
In the final chapters a theme of social Darwinism was prominent because of the treatment from the surgeons towards the crippled and broken soldiers. While in the hospital with Kopp, Paul is told how the surgeons will take the soldiers and perform various and unnecessary surgeries upon them as if they were animals. Paul also explained how stories were told of surgeons deploying troops that were in no fighting condition back to the front with little worry or care of their safety. This would show a group of people that profited from all the fighting and death, the surgeons constantly were able to practice on the overflow of soldiers that were injured in the war. The surgeons never had to worry about getting killed in battle they never had to hold a gun or watch men die before their own eyes. While those on the bottom like Paul and fellow comrades suffered from constant fights on the front gaining nothing from the experience beside hatred and lose as they watched so many die at the hands of WWI. Afterwards soldiers that did survive often had no practice working anywhere besides the battlefield and also left during their high schools years, not finishing their education. Compared to the surgeons who could continue with their work, not having to lose anything at all.

Lily Hagopian

1/4/2017 03:02:09 pm

I strongly agree with the theme of Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism is when groups of people are subject to survival of the fittest just like animals and plants. It is very much present in the hospital as the relationship between the surgeons and the injured. I feel like the surgeons treated the people all very similar despite the varying injuries the soldiers posses. All the soldiers suffer from these injuries and only the strongest survive the extensive surgeries. Even on the front, some people get shot and don't die while others lose their lives to the gun wounds. The whole war was an example of Social Darwinism. The recruits are an example of this also. The newer recruits Paul says die off really quickly because they don't have the experience the older soldiers do. They are weaker then Paul and his friends so they are killed easier. The weaker soldiers were killed while the stronger, like Paul who survived until almost the end of the war, went on to survive.

Zachary Martin

1/8/2017 02:20:11 pm

Social Darwinism is definitely a theme in All Quiet. By other ways as well by showing how recruits dying instantaneous and the survivors were the ones who told recruits what to do but only the strong and willed survived and that is another way if showed social Darwinism and yes I agree with your answer as well

Jessica Woyton

1/2/2017 08:50:10 am

Perspective, it’s an awkward word to use to describe how someone regards to something. Paul, in this case, is the point in which we see the war in the book at first. The impact perspective has on a story is extremely powerful. The author has to pull the thoughts from an individual who changes throughout the story and develops as a person through whom he meets and who he relates with, and what he’s done and what he’s doing. Whoever the the story is told from, the words are never the same. That is why the author must pull a little perspective from others as well. From the perspective of a german soldier, Paul, we see his side of the war. But, the story also includes a little bit of perspective from others as well, like Tjaden and Kat
"Then what exactly is the war for?" asks Tjaden.
Kat shrugs his shoulders. "There must be some people to whom the war is useful."
"Well, I'm not one of them," grins Tjaden.
"Not you, nor anybody else here."
This little back-and-forth between soldiers just shows some similarity between soldiers’ feelings, but how they think differently about the events as well. By allowing Paul to give the readers a little bit of the other’s thoughts, it helps readers see the war through paul and his friends, fellow soldiers, and family through their words and expressions/actions. Even by presenting Gérard Duval’s identity and paul thinking about the man’s wife and children show that the war affects everyone, and one perspective can’t make anyone feel the pain or loss, one perspective can’t tear your mind apart like losing a family member does, and that is why it is important to have perspective; the reader needs to know what is it is like to lose everything you’ve ever known and put your self as soldier first, rather than a name. By seeing these different perspectives through Paul, it shows that war doesn’t affect a soldier or his friends, it affects everyone.

lee volpe

1/8/2017 04:18:13 pm

I really think that this is a great blog piece, and you certainly use relevant evidence, and you do a a good job of explanation by clearly connecting Paul's point of view an the impact it has on the story. I think you may go a little off track the end but overall, great job. One thing I would have done to make this better is to explore how Paul's point of view is different then others more, as it could help explain why his perspective specifically changes how the story is told compared to if it was from a neutral standpoint or other perspective more.

Benjamin Wood

1/2/2017 08:51:48 am

Choose one sentence and discuss how the way it is written adds to its meaning.

In chapter 11, Paul is beginning to truly realize that all of the soldiers have became wild, uncontrollable, and unthinking animals that only have one job to do, which is to kill. They are all in a do or die situation and the soldiers have no choice but to fight for their survival like savage animals living in the wild.

On page 273-274, Paul states the current circumstances of the soldiers in the war. “Life is simply one continual watch against the menace of death;-it has transformed us into unthinking animals in order to give us the weapon of instinct-it has reinforced us with dullness, so that we do not go to pieces before the horror, which would overwhelm us if we had clear, conscious thought-it has awakened in us the sense of comradeship so that we can escape the abyss of solitude-it has lent us the indifference of wild creatures, how to say that in spite of all we perceive the positive in every moment, and store it up as a reserve against the onslaught of nothingness.” This quote is fairly long, meaning that the author wants the reader to pay attention to this quote because it will probably lead to the development of a theme or a significant event in the later chapters. Also, this quote has many commas, meaning that the author wants the reader to focus on each and every pause so the reader can figure out why Paul is saying that the war has changed them severely. WWI has changed every single soldier. Survival is based all on instinct and if you make even the slightest mistake, you will die.

Tim callahan

1/8/2017 05:47:46 pm

Great job discussing something similar to what we discussed in class about the longer the sentence, the more important it is. I agree with you, especially with the last couple of sentences about how if someone makes one mistake, they're life could be ended right then and there. At this point, it really is mostly about instinct rather than strategy which I think you did a really job explaining in this response.

Jessica Matheson

1/8/2017 11:19:18 pm

You did a very good job showing how many parts of how this sentence was written adds to its meaning especially with the length and semi-colons. Another part of the sentence the author included that added to its meaning was the dashes. Using these the author emphasis the words connected by it.

Kat Dennehy

1/2/2017 09:43:45 am

Explain an example of disillusionment in the text

In chapter 10 of All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul and his friends are in the hospital and some of them are injured very badly. It was believed that if a patient was taken out of their room, they were going to the "dying room." This room was where people that are about to die go. One day a man named Peter in Paul's room had been told he was going to the bandaging ward but after the nurse took his tunic Peter thought that he was going to the dying room. But a few weeks later he had returned. He was "pale, thin, upright and triumphant." No one believed it could be true but because Peter came back the illusion that if people were wheeled out of their room on a stretcher that they were going to the dying room was not true.

Russ Jacksoon

1/7/2017 06:24:00 pm

I strongly believe that the illusion of the "dying room" resembled disillusionment. Throughout the chapter, they believed whoever was forced to leave the room was sent to the "dying room" and never coming back. Until Peter was taken from their environment and was basically dragged out of the room while he was yelling that he would be back. And after just a few weeks everyone was shocked that he had returned as the illusion was that he would never have been seen again; in reality they were really clueless of what happened when these patients had gotten taken outside the room and did not know what to expect.

Jamie Alessandro

1/2/2017 09:52:27 am

Choose a passage and discuss its significance within the book.

In chapter 12 the war was winding down, there were talks of peace and it was very quiet on the front. But still Paul's life was taken away from him after all his time on the front it says "Turning him over one saw that he could not have suffered long; his face had an expression of calm, as though almost glad the end had come", this is significant because even though everyone knew the war was coming to an end as one of the final casualties he was happy his life was over. Paul had been taught after the war he would have a wonderful life but he knew it was a lie but he knew to late, he was blinded and lied to and now that the war was coming to a finish he knew the rest of his life would be a life of misery. He saw the disillusionment and he snapped, when he went home it was horrible and devastating to find his community poor and hungry. He didn't want to return to that, and when his life flashed before his eyes he realized he wouldn't have to and he was ready to die.

Ashley Pierce

1/5/2017 04:00:52 pm

I agree with you on Paul welcoming death but I think it stems more from him knowing his personal future was bleak. The condition of his community wouldn't have much affect on him, it would probably be the absence of any comrades(friends) that makes life miserable back home. Paul's life had just been starting but it was taking over by the war, unlike other soldiers like Detering where the war was just an interruption in their already established life style. Due to the war being the start of Paul's life when the war is over he is not going know how to carry on. I think Paul recognizes this and has virtually giving up hope, so when the end comes he was not scared of it, he accepts either way his life was ending.

Sam Bloch

1/8/2017 11:36:52 am

While I completely agree with what you said about its significance to Paul, but the response would've been a lot more relatable if you explained the significance of this event to the reader, and how the reader might be effected after this happens.

Alissa Mahoney

1/2/2017 10:26:14 am

Discuss the relationship between propaganda and the soldiers’ experience.

During WW1 Propaganda was a way to get soldiers to draft into the war. Propaganda was extremely misleading and it led many young people to join into the war. One huge example of propaganda in the text is when their old school master Kantorek tries to push the boys into joining to fight for their "Fatherland" because it is right and fitting. He performs a large speech to the boys hoping it will cause them to join. He mentions things like the facts that the war will be short so they need a large army to finish the job, but yet even after Paul passes the war is still going on after years of fighting. In chapter 7 Paul comes home and speaks to Kantorek, " I cannot reconcile this with the menacing figure at the schoolmasters desk. I wonder if i the old soldier." Here it shows by the time Paul gets leave he is an old soldier and so much has changed back home. Kantorek is still trying to us propaganda to lure the boys to join the war. " Then l see Kantorek and am scarcely able to stifle my laughter" He describes how Kantorek is dressed and how he was so pityful. But overall Kantorek tries to use propaganda to make young men from their school join the army.

Victoria Alves

1/8/2017 09:04:42 pm

I agree with your statements about Kantoreks speech being the largest example of propaganda in the novel. Kantorek completely tricked the men into joining the war, and once they realize Kantorek was completely wrongful and hypocritical the boys couldn't take Kantorek seriously.

Jenna Gittle

1/2/2017 10:27:14 am

Discuss a symbol. Identify a symbol in the text and discuss its significance.

The rainfall in Chapter 11 of All Quiet symbolizes the negative mental effects of war that stain the soldiers’ minds. An example of such damage (Chapter 12, page 294) is when Paul describes the difference in emotions one would feel when returning home in 1916 vs. 1918. If in 1918, he says: “We will be weary, broken, burnt out, rootless, and without hope.” Before even reading the book it is recognizable that rainfall is an international symbol for sadness; a lot of times in movies it will rain when something sad has happened. In All Quiet, both at the end of Chapter 4 (page 74) and in Chapter 11 (page 286) it happens to rain right after a series of deaths or casualties of Paul’s comrades. In Chapter 4 it rained after Kemmerich’s death and the wound of the young recruit; in Chapter 11 it happened after the deaths of Detering, Berger, Muller, and Bertinck. It is almost as if the sky commiserates with Paul and his situation by crying with him. On page 286, when Paul describes his rainy weeks, he says this: “Grey sky, grey fluid earth, grey dying.” Paul is making a direct comparison of the grey of the sky during rainfall to the dull and worn feeling of death. The sky represents how grey and monotonous such death feels to Paul. In that same paragraph describing the rain, he describes its effect on the soldiers: “We remain wet all the time we are in the line. We never get dry….the Earth one dripping, soaked, oily mass….into which the dead, wounded, and survivors slowly sink down.” A connection can be made between the rain and how the war affected the soldiers; the rain falling down was so heavy and overbearing that it was mentioned that the soldiers could never get dry or rid themselves of this rain. It also mentioned that this rainfall created mud that even the survivors began to sink down into. This is similar to the inescapable damage that war and violence had done to their heads, just like the inescapable feeling of the rain on their clothes; they were consumed by these negative emotions just as the mud was consuming them.
Using rainfall as a symbol for soldiers’ feelings of weariness, hopelessness, etc. is significant to Remarque’s conveying of a message because when using a symbol such as rainfall, all of the emotions one draws from the symbol are paralleled with the things it actually represents in the story. A reader will think of the weary-looking grey skies they associate with rain and connect them to the weariness of a soldier’s thoughts when experiencing death. The common moods derived from a symbol can make the reader feel a certain way about what it represents, and this strengthens and emphasizes the author’s purpose.

Emily Rosen

1/2/2017 10:31:35 am

1. Discuss the point of view in which All Quiet On The Western Front is told. How might this impact the story? Who's perspective do we get? How does this effect what we know as a reader?

The story is told from the perspective of a German soldier named Paul. He is stationed at the front lines for most of his time in war. Paul endsuobeing the last man to live from his company, which was originally consisted of 150 men. Because this story is told from Paul's perspective, we are given all his thoughts and views on the war and everything else around him. By the end of the story, we've seen all Paul's emotions through the death of his friends and his hand to hand combat, amongst other things. Eventually, we see his death too. It shows that the war will not spare anyone, and that the war is all in cold blood until there is no blood left to be shed. Aside from the front lines, we get to see Paul thinking/going back to his life, even for a short amount of time before he gets killed. He is the shell of the man he used to be, and because of this he wants to return to the front; the place of his inevitable death. It is through the moments and thoughts like the above that we get to really understand what it's like being a front soldier at the time of World War 1, and all the harm that title does.

Leah Alger

1/8/2017 05:32:07 pm

Connecting back to Paul's death, there are strong comparisons between the point of views before and after it. Just like you said, Paul's point of view show his thoughts and feelings during the war, while after his death, told by a man at the scene of his death in the style of a report, there isn't really any emotion; It is mostly just regurgitated facts. While this directly contrasts Paul's mind off the front, there are many similarities between it and Paul on the front, or when he is talking about death. Just like the man at the end of the story, Paul sometimes talks only in facts with little to no insight on the subject when he is trying to block out emotion.

Meghan Hill

1/2/2017 11:08:39 am

Explain an example of disillusionment in the text.

Always present throughout the book is the disillusionment that war would be quick and easy. At the beginning of the novel, Paul's teacher Kantorek persuaded his students to enlist by saying that the war would bring them fame and joy after they had won. This was proven false, in chapter 10, Paul and Kropp and thousands of others end up at the hospital. For months they stayed fighting their injuries, and Kropp ended up dying alongside many other men. The war clearly wasn't easy, as over 17 million soldiers died including many of Paul's close peers. Also, chapter 11 states "The summer of 1918 is the most bloody and the most terrible...Every man here knows that we are losing the war." They had been fighting for 3 plus years and it was for nothing, they knew regardless they were going to lose the war. Paul suffered many injuries, deaths of friends, missed out on seeing his family, lost part of his young adulthood and even ended up dying in the end. War was not "easy" or ended up leading to fame and joy, for all it caused was suffering.

Jacob Kane

1/7/2017 03:56:19 pm

I agree with what you said about Kantorek. His illusionment definitely contributed to the harsh realities of the war due to his bias view such as he has never been to war. I also appreciate that you used relevant evidence to support your answer, this definitely strengthens the answer.

Nicole Alonso

1/7/2017 08:45:41 pm

I agree with your response, Kantoreks illusion of the war was definitely was disproven towards the end up of the book. It interested me how he was giving out advice about joining the war but had never personally experienced it. The quotes you added to your response were relevant and strong evidence.

Cecelia Westwater

1/8/2017 02:23:31 pm

I agree with what you said about the disillusionment in the beginning and then slowly finding out the truths. I think that Kantorek's speech had a lasting effect on the boys because they went in expecting something completely different that what actually happens. The quote you used is really good and shows what everything Paul and his friends went through was for nothing.

Emily Gittle

1/2/2017 11:10:05 am

Identify a theme and use evidence to explain its development.

World War 1 was cold and unforgiving to soldiers.
In Chapter Five, Paul and his comrades talk about their future, what they want to do when the war is over. They all have a good time daydreaming; they had hope that things like this would happen to them. The fact that they had hope shows the possibility of getting out of the war for good. They are able to be happy, they are able to show feelings, they are able to imagine a time when the war is over. In Chapter 11, however, they are no longer able to think or feel, let alone imagine a future. "We have given up hope that some day an end may come. We never think so far." Because of the war, they are no longer able to have such human emotions as they did in Chapter Five. All their hope is gone. As the war began to develop and grow worse, the soldiers faced gruesome traumas and watched their comrades die around them. Their circumstances hardened them so much it led them to this. When the war hadn't developed yet they were human, but as it went on they suffered to the point they couldn't feel. This change shows the cold and unforgiving theme of war developed in WW1.
As well as the loss of many positive feelings and emotions, WW1 destroyed them so much they are barely living. From the beginning to the end of the book, the soldiers life is drained out of them to the point of them not even recognizing whether or not they are alive. "Our hands are earth, our bodies clay and our eyes pools of rain. We do not know whether we still live." In the beginning of the book, they mention how joining the war demolished their love of life. "We were eighteen and had begun to love life and the world; and we had to shoot it to pieces.” This acts as a gateway into the terror of war; the soldiers had ruined their lives just by joining and not knowing what's to come. The war wrecked their lives without any mercy. It was terrible and traumatic to the soldiers. War had killed many, and even those who weren't physically dead died too. These developments of death and the wreckage of life showed the theme of war being cold and unforgiving.

Jenna Gittle

1/8/2017 10:28:53 am

I agree with the theme of war being cold and unforgiving in All Quiet on the Western Front. The circumstances of war show no mercy to soldiers; no mercy was shown to Paul in Chapter 11, page 275 when Paul mentions the consistency of war’s violence and terror and how it diminishes the support of his comrades: ”Every day and every hour, every shell and every death cuts into this thin support, and the years waste it rapidly.” Paul then begins to list off the deaths of his comrades and the way they died. His comrades were the only thing left in the war for Paul to rely on, and war kills them one by one up until Kat’s death, the death of his last remaining friend. The way in which war has resulted in the elimination of Paul’s last happiness and support shows how ignorant and cold war can be. Paul also mentions the death and shellings to be “every day and every hour” for years. Faced with constant violence, Paul questions what life is to him anymore, which represents how the war paid no attention or care to the damage it did to Paul’s mind. Happening every hour, it never stopped to be forgiving to the soldiers and instead carried on with the violence that created a “Lost Generation” of men after WW1.

Kayla Vivenzio

1/2/2017 11:26:13 am

Discuss the relationship between propaganda and the soldiers experience:
Many of the soldiers in WW1 were mislead by propagandas about the war and signed up for a time period that would not only change their lives but end their lives forever. Paul and his classmates for instance were persuaded by their former teacher to join the army because it was seen as an honor to fight for their "fatherland" and because the "war would be quick with few deaths".( disillusionment) Paul and his classmates soon discovered that their former teacher and many people during this time were wrong about the aspects of war. For war was painful with many deaths, hunger, depression, and poverty. This was not only for the soldiers but for their families as well. As the war continued many were faced with the difficult struggles of reality during war.(illusion) War wasn't as such of a great honor as people once saw it to be. It ruined many people's lives and futures. In chapter twelve we learn that " I am the last of the seven fellows from our class." Paul is the last of the original class. He is soon killed later on in the war. Many during this time period had hoped of returning home one day but all ended up losing their hope when sudden death or injury struck.

Emily Gittle

1/5/2017 04:16:51 pm

What you brought up is very significant, especially looking back on the disillusionment after reading the end of the book. The descriptions of war in the beginning of the book are examples of the horrible truths of WW1, but the plot picks up near the middle and end of the book, showing things in WW1 to be even more grotesque. More people are wounded, and many have died. This contradicts a lot of what Kantorek said, especially when he thought there would be a quick war with little deaths. Near the end of the book, Paul describes the soldiers not knowing whether they were dead or alive.This really contrasts what Kantorek said about "Life of the Fatherland". What you said about Paul being the last of seven people from their class is very strong. According to Kantorek, they were the "Iron Youth". However, six of Paul's classmates didn't survive. Kantorek's speech is heavy with illusion, and the book shows this very well.

Jacob Kane

1/2/2017 12:04:55 pm

“War can only happen when the enemy is a distraction” Connect a specific part in the text to this quote.
This is shown in the book when Paul is prone in the trenches, and stabs an enemy soldier named Gérard Duval. “Comrade, I did not want to kill you. . . . But you were only an idea to me before, an abstraction that lived in my mind and called forth its appropriate response. . . . I thought of your hand-grenades, of your bayonet, of your rifle; now I see your wife and your face and our fellowship. Forgive me, comrade. We always see it too late. Why do they never tell us that you are poor devils like us, that your mothers are just as anxious as ours, and that we have the same fear of death, and the same dying and the same agony—Forgive me, comrade; how could you be my enemy?” This quote shows Paul regretting his decision of killing Gérard Duval, thus, making the enemy no longer a distraction, but a thought. If all soldiers thought like this, no one would die due to the lack of killing.

Meghan Hill

1/5/2017 04:11:05 pm

I agree, I think if all soldiers thought like this the war would've been much simpler. I think it's good Paul started to think like this, he began to realize how much he had in common with the "enemy" and he began to question why he was really fighting. He also began to think about his actions, and how they affected others.

Jenna Gittle

1/8/2017 09:59:58 am

It’s important how Paul brings up their mothers when he mentions “that your mothers are just as anxious as ours.” The story spends a lot of time focusing on Paul’s relationship with his mom and how close they were. Paul mentions this in Chapter 7, Page 183 when thinking back to the old times when he was with his mother as a young boy: “I would like to weep and be comforted too, indeed I am little more than a child; in the wardrobe still hang short, boy’s trousers-it is such a long time ago..” Paul knows his mother as a person whom he had cried to, someone to comfort him and love him. When he recognizes that other soldiers, especially Gerard, had mothers who had raised them since boyhood and had comforted them when they cried, it automatically makes them more relatable and human to Paul. It is impossible to fight against people whom their mothers loved as Paul’s mom loved him.

Ethan Lingley

1/9/2017 03:14:13 am

I agree with what you said about Paul humanizing Gerard Duval, I think this was really the turning point of the story. I also think this lead to Paul finally realizing what the war really was. It changed from just "the enemy", to a real, living thing, which I believe completely changed his outlook on what was happening.

Roisin Mullett

1/2/2017 12:59:38 pm

Choose one sentence and discuss how the way it is written adds to its meaning.

Chapter 12, "If there is not peace, then there will be revolution." This is a very powerful sentence when it is put into context. Paul is on leave and he is one of the 7 people left from his class. This sentence is written to end a paragraph to close up one idea and open up with another. Which adds meaning as it is putting one last point in before it ends. there is a comma between peace and then. The authors could have rephrased it to be, There is not peace. Then there is revolution. The fact that the author decided to include these two ideas created a smooth, correct and more effective sentence that the audience will pay more attention too. the author also chose to use the word revolution, instead of another. Better diction helps give off a better and more effective vibe than one with poor diction would. The author could have easily used the word war and gotten away with it but using the word revolution shows more effectiveness. It is also shown in the book that as long as there was no peace and other countries were still upset about how places were being ruled, then people would still keep fighting for what they believe is right. Is there was no motivation behind fighting would there even be war? The whole reason that there is a revolution is because the peace was corrupted furthermore proving that without peace there will be revolution, creating meaning.

Emily Rosen

1/8/2017 05:03:16 pm

I agree with everything you're saying. I think the sentence gets most of it's meaning from the placement and the drastic comparison between peace and revolution, but everything you said is still correct.

Astrid Rodriguez

1/10/2017 06:13:15 pm

I agree with what you are saying. I think the author chose to use those contradicting words for ending the paragraph to leave the sentence and the paragraph with mystery. Here, Paul is not predicting but telling what will happen after the war. The author used a comma In the middle of the sentence to give mor drama and effect to the sentence.

Sam Bloch

1/2/2017 01:20:57 pm

#6: Choose one sentence and discuss how the way it is written adds to its meaning.

"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."
Ch 10 pg 263

The way this sentence is written adds to its meaning because it pours all the sympathy it possibly can for Paul onto the reader in one sentence. It includes in one sentence 4 specific reasons the reader should feel bad for Paul, and that's a lot to take in in one sentence. The author could've separated these ideas into multiple sentences or explained specific examples of these ideas, but it wouldn't have had as much emotional impact as this sentence. This is one of the major examples of the somber tone displayed in many other parts of the book. The negative diction words such as despair, death, and "an abyss of sorrow" also really pack a punch in this sentence.

Brian Houle

1/3/2017 12:56:32 pm

Overall this sentence does give me a feeling of sorrow and pity for Paul, It lets the reader understand what war has made Paul become emotionally. The diction does really help readers understand what sense of happiness and joy Paul has lost, it seems to tell the readers that these are what emotions he has left in his life. It seems to explain how Paul lost his youth, energy and passion because the battle front was so devastating and hellish once men got out there and fought for their lives and nations pride.

Derrik Rivet

1/5/2017 06:46:51 pm

The sentence shows that all he knows is pain where it doesn't even introduce the fact of happiness or joy which he may have not have learned so he is unable to feel bad for himself because he has only had suffering where with joy it shows the reader pain may be even more tremendous because the norms feel like the norms while to their reader it conveys the feeling of how potentially he may have lost these feelings but overall it creates a sense of how brutal and soulless the war was and the mental destruction it caused.

Benjamin Wood

1/8/2017 09:01:33 am

I agree that this sentence adds a strong sense of despair for Paul. This adds a deep understanding for the reader what war does to people, physically and emotionally. I also like how you included in your blog that separating the 4 specific reasons wouldn't have as great of an impact as putting them altogether in one single sentence.

Kyeigh Berube

1/8/2017 03:51:04 pm

This sentence also stuck out to me as I was reading. It really shows how Paul's youth was taken from him, and that the war is the only thing he knows. I agree with what you said about the diction choice. Those words stuck out to the reader and really showed how Paul felt. This sentence showed a really strong meaning.

Victoria Alves

1/2/2017 03:57:07 pm

Choose one sentence and discuss how the way it is written adds to its meeting

“Now if we go back we will be weary, broken, burnt out, rootless, and without hope. We will not be able to find our way anymore.” This quote is a thought Paul has in chapter 12. The quote clearly shows that even though the soldiers will be going home soon and returning to their lives, it won’t be the same as before. Lots of the soldiers passed, and the others are traumatized forever by the awful experiences they had. The war changed them for good, and there is no way to return back to the normal lives they once lived; there is no hope for the future.

Nicole Alonso

1/7/2017 08:49:59 pm

I agree with your response, the quote you used was relevant and straight to the point. It also interests me how these soldiers spent a good chunk of their lives fighting and battling for their nation but some end up not making it and dying before theyre able to get a chance to go back home.

Erin Gleason

1/2/2017 04:36:13 pm

Discuss the relationship between propaganda and the soldiers’ experience

Propaganda is biased and often misled information in order to get a group of people to do something. In another article we got, we read the speech given by Paul's professor trying to persuade his students to enlist. He tells these boys that they'll be the “Iron Men” and that after becoming soldiers they'll be treated with great honor. This speech made many boys join the army, some who didn't last past the first few months. These boys did not expect to be in such life threatening situations as they were because they only were told of the good from Kantorek and not the reality. As the war goes on new recruits are coming into combat unprepared for what is to come because they were not told the truth about battle. Paul had went home in chapter 7 to find that his professor was giving the same speech he gave to Paul's class and when he couldn't have enough, he told those boys the truth about what was really ahead of them.

Emily Rosen

1/8/2017 05:08:52 pm

I think that the soldiers would do anything to stop the war and the other recruits from coming. The solders were lied to and they know that the new recruits were lied too if they ended up on the front with them. The older soldiers dont want any more death and lies, just peace and tranquility.

Leah Alger

1/8/2017 05:18:58 pm

Building on off what you said, propaganda was really believable. It took advantage of the fact that many young men craved attention and fame and used that as an opportunity to recruit them in the war. I just find it interesting that when Paul returned to Kantorek's classroom and told the truth about war, they still didn't believe him and even went as far as to call him a coward. Why do they believe an old teacher that has never been in the war over a man that somehow survived years of it? Why does the fact that Paul is trying to save them from the horrors of war make him a coward?

Kyleigh Berube

1/2/2017 05:36:39 pm

Identify a theme and use evidence to explain its developments.
In the book "All Quiet on the Western Front" a theme develops throughout the story which is that Paul and the other school boys' youth was taken from them because of the war. In chapter ten Paul says "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," (Page 263). They were brought into the war life so young that they don't know anything else of life. Paul sees all of the older soldiers emotion for their wives and how much they miss each other; he doesn't know what it is like. Later on in the book Paul continues on to said, "We will not be able to find our way anymore," (page 294). He doesn't know if they are going to be able to go back into their old lives. It is like they will feel out of place going back because they have been away for so long. Paul and the others have experienced so much at war and their lives have been changed forever. He will never have a normal life like others of his age.

Sam Bloch

1/8/2017 11:42:57 am

While this response is accurate, one of the huge rules of writing a theme is that you shouldn't include specific characters or events from the story in the theme so it can be more universal. This whole repsonce would've been a lot stronger if the theme was more universal, and then supported by evidence from this book specifically.

Tim Callahan

1/2/2017 06:10:34 pm

Identify a theme and use evidence to explain its development.

Throughout this story, including the previous chapters, it is very clear that the soldiers lives are never going back to what they were like before the war started. In chapter 11, for example, Paul compares war to diseases such as the flu, tuberculosis, or even cancer. Each and every one of these diseases can be deadly but people can also survive them too. But if they do survive them, their lives may not be the same even if it's just something internal that they can't seem to notice. This is very similar to war, where there is a likely chance of death or even if you don't die, there will be post-war side effects. One of these side effects is trauma which can lead to many other things that will be very tough to live with. Also in chapter 11, these soldiers, whether their fighting or not, consider themselves soldiers first, and individual men second. This means that basically their whole lives are based off of fighting in war and defending a specific country. So even if they do survive through this, would they actually be winning like they think? Or would they be left with even worse consequences than what the war gave them?

Owen

1/2/2017 06:59:29 pm

Choose a passage and discuss its significance within the book.

"And at night, waking out of a dream, overwhelmed and bewitched by the crowding apparitions, a man perceives with alarm how slight is the support, how thin the boundary that divides him from the darkness. We are little flames poorly sheltered by frail walls against the storm of dissolution and madness, in which we flicker and sometimes almost go out. Then the muffled roar of the battle becomes a ring that encircles us, we creep in upon ourselves, and with big eyes stare into the night. Our only comfort is the steady breathing of our comrades asleep, and thus we wait in the morning." This passage is from chapter 11 on page 275, and shows the effects of war on the soldiers. The quote "a man percieves with alarm how slight is the support, how thin the boundary that divides him from the darkness" shows how being exposed to all these horrible things from war causes the path to total emptiness and depression to be revealed as they fight, and that barrier that keeps someone from becoming that, is close to gone. Also when its says "We are little flames poorly sheltered by frail walls against the storm of dissolution and madness, in which we flicker and sometimes almost go out", it paints a powerful picture in your head of what the effects of the war are, and how easily a soldier is changed throughout the war.

Tim Callahan

1/8/2017 05:51:44 pm

I agree with you about how all these quotes display a valuable image and shows people thoughts and emotions during the war. You did a great job of supporting your answer with not just one or two quotes, but three to really link it all together in a very well put together response. Great job!

Kayla J

1/2/2017 07:18:00 pm

Choose a passage and discuss its significance within the book.

The passage that chosen was, “ He fell in October 18th, on a day that was so quiet and still on the whole front, that the army report confined itself to the single sentence: All Quiet On the Western Front.” This passage was for the description of Paul’s death, precisely the time and relation to the name the date was classified as. Chapter 12, from which this quote was from, was the only chapter that the point of view was from a third party, and the use of diction and the setup of the sentences and information given had a strong effect on Paul’s death. The sentences were very choppy and gave almost no description such as “ He had fallen forward and lay on the earth as though sleeping.” In the rest of the page there is no visualization of how Paul looked and only tiny details given with the diction such as of how he fell and the expression on his face such as “ calm”, “ not suffered”, “ sleeping” rather than intense description. I feel that the whole setup of the last chapter was conducted like it was for the purpose that the serenity of his death and how it happened on the most peaceful day of the war which symbolizes how uncommon that was for many men.

Ashley Pierce

1/5/2017 04:35:05 pm

Instead of symbolizing how uncommon it was for men, I think it shows irony. Previously in the book there is always specific diction emphasizing how loud the war is, regardless of the destruction he always came out alive periodically injured. The fact Paul died on the quietest day of the war is completely unexpected, the reader always expects him to die in a violent and destructive manner, go out with a bang if you would. The irony of Paul dying in this way leaves the reader unsatisfied and angry at the outcome, which reflects on the meaning of the book to expose he realities of war.

Jessica Woyton

1/8/2017 02:50:18 pm

I agree with your response, but I also think that there is irony in Paul's death. When the author describes deaths he often describes them as loud and troubled, like the printer for example; he detailed his death as "The man gurgles. It sounds to me as though he bellows, every gasping breath is like a cry, a thunder." the words thunder and bellow describe the loud cries of the man from the pain, and the words gasping and gurgling show how slow and troubled the death was. But when the author describes Paul's death as he had “ fallen forward and lay on the earth as though sleeping” and he could not have suffered long; this death was the opposite of what you’d expect in comparison to the printer’s death and many others. It was quiet, peaceful, and that of relief. Besides the irony, it was important because it shows that no soldier is safe, even in the break of a battle.

Astrid Rodriguez

1/10/2017 05:59:57 pm

I also agree that Paul's death was as if he died in peace and how his death had contracted from all his friends who died on the loud battlefield. But I think that Paul dying and all of his friends dying was a symbol of freedom of the war. After dying, all the soldiers could leave their experiences and troubles they had in WW1 on the battlefield and dying allowed them to leave that. In Paul's case he was glad that he died because he didn't have to live with the tragedy that is war.

Derrik Rivet

1/2/2017 09:08:09 pm

Discuss a symbol. Identify a symbol in the text and discuss its significance.

The symbol is earth and how it truly represents home, safety and permanence. The significance to the text is it the only thing Paul knew was solid and existing, and the permanent fixture in all of his journies as his body can not leave the earth. This is exemplified when he dies. He wished for freedom from the war and got it in his death so he no longer had to fight the war or to survive in the horrible conditions anyways. He then went to the only place that didn't leave him; Earth. This gives a subtle ending representing no matter the loss, in the end you are where you started in Earth; while nothing has changed just your perspective and that the wish of peace and safety may come in different ways. It shows that the war, on earth may as well batter the planet will but the earth will stand string be there, giving the soldiers and Paul a figurative home

Nathan Cupertino

1/7/2017 03:15:44 pm

You were able to explain what the earth was as a symbol in a very detailed way and I feel that you definately Showed that you know what it represents.

Brian Houle

1/8/2017 01:15:46 pm

Your connections to the earth being a solid and permanent fixture explain how soldiers where accepting with the fact that those who are close friends will sooner or later die. Its eat to understand that these soldiers were so broken down emotionally that they only believed that the ground beneath them was their only protection from the war and its hellish weapons and tactics.

Ethan Lingley

1/3/2017 04:28:26 am

In the beginning of the book "All Quiet on the Western Front" the speaker is Paul Baumer, a German soldier during World War I. It is told in his point of view, first person. This impacts the way the reader feels about the story being told. We get to see how life was for the soldiers, and the struggles they faced during World War I. In the beginning of the book Paul shows how all of the soldiers feel about the war and their lives. Having it be in a German soldier's point of view, creates a singled sided view of the war. Also, the reader gets to experience the way a soldier feels, rather than a reporter or someone else describing them. Paul is a young soldier who had entered the war right from high school, and he says that they suffered even more because they were the young soldiers of the army. He describes how he feels as if the war is a whirlpool and is sucking him in and that him and other soldiers cannot escape it. He uses figurative language to give the reader a better understanding of what is going on and what the battles are like. But in the Middle of the story the changes Paul went through during the war are emphasized. It is shown how hardened and matured the soldiers have become. One way this is shown is when Paul returns home for 18 days due to injury. The way he interacts with his family shows how Paul was “alienated” from his past. The war has also changed his views on things due to the fact is caused him to grow up a lot faster than he should have. This is also shown when Paul’s closest friend Kat dies on the battlefield. Paul was so hardened by the war that it was almost impossible for him to actually feel remorseful. This all changes though at the end of the story when Paul dies, it switches to an unnamed narrator, who talks about Paul in 3rd person. This new narrator is unemotional and doesn’t go into any details about what has happened, which shows how the story would be if it wasn’t written by a first-hand account by a soldier.

Derrik Rivet

1/5/2017 06:43:17 pm

As well, the effect of the third person point of view after Paul dies on the reader is that it reveals that he died where it doesn't actually state himself that he died or it didn't end the story leaving his death up in the air so no extra thoughts were created except the fact it is known he was glad to die and it uses irony in the fact he achieved the wish he wanted to effectively close off the book and the war.

Jacob Kane

1/7/2017 03:34:32 pm

Also the fact that the last page is written in third person takes away the emotion you usually see from the book. This causes Paul's death to seem more like something that is common (which it is) rather than have it be a sad ending, it is stated more as a fact than a loss.

Jacob Kane

1/9/2017 07:01:29 am

David Medeiros

1/3/2017 04:47:21 am

Discuss the relationship between propaganda and the soldiers experience.

Propaganda during this time led many innocents into war without knowing what was actually going to happen. An example of this is Kantorek's speech when he uses propaganda in effort to have all of his students join the war. In chapter 7, Paul goes home and spots Kantorek and the book says "Then I see Kantorek and an scarcely able to stifle my laughter." This shows that Kantorek who was trying to convince the class that war wasn't so bad, was just a flat out mess after his first time at war and this clearly tell Paul that he didn't know what he was talking about when he was telling them to join the war.

David Medeiros

1/3/2017 04:52:56 am

Compared to the propaganda, the soldiers lives were terrible. Everyone said the war would be short with few losses but the soldiers experienced many losses in an ongoing war. Also the propaganda said that the soldiers lives would be luxurious but that is clearly not the case as the soldiers are living in dirty muddy trenches infested with rats.

Russ Jackson

1/7/2017 05:04:13 pm

I agree with your response which discussed the propaganda used in Kantorek's speech and compared it to when Paul saw Kantorek when he went back home. Kantorek's speech convinced these young men that the war would be quick and easy and you show how Kantorek was wrong after the quote, "Then I see Kantorek and an scarcely able to stifle my laughter." I also agree with your comment you added; I believe you should reach out and connect it to Paul's experience in the war to strengthen the argument.

Victoria Alves

1/7/2017 09:00:21 pm

I like the quote you used when describing how the soldiers saw Kantorek in war. It was very clear to them after experiencing the war that Kantorek was not truth full about in his speech that he had no actual experience. He was hypocritical in his speech and his propaganda was clear to the boys once they realized listening to Kantorek was a bad idea.

Leah Alger

1/3/2017 03:15:43 pm

Choose a passage and discuss its significance within the book.

"Kat is dead. Slowly I get up... The orderly is mystified. "You are not related, are you?" No, we are not related. No, we are not related. Do I walk? Do I have feet still? I raise my eyes, I let them move round, and turn myself with them, one circle, one circle, and I stand in the midst. All is usual. Only the Militiaman Stanislaus Katczinsky has died. Then I know nothing more." Paul's reaction to Kat's death contradicts what he says about dealing with death on the front, and even his normal reaction to it. Paul regularly mentions that death is normal on the front and it is no use to be affected by it. Also, when some of his friends such as Kemmerich, Muller, and Deterring died, Paul briefly mentioned it, maybe recalled how it happened, and didn't really show any emotion. This is completely different from how Paul reacted to Kat's death. He was so caught up in sadness and shock that an orderly asked if they were related, to which he replied twice in his head but 0 times to the orderly. He had to check to see if he was still in reality by moving his body around. He mentioned that Kat was dead multiple times, unlike the one time he mentioned death upon his other friends. He mentions after Kat's death that he knows nothing more, as if to say everything he though he knew about the emotional side of death wasn't true.

Emily Gittle

1/5/2017 04:40:48 pm

I found this pretty interesting as well. This was a great observation and I'm curious about it too. Part of the emotion may come from the fact that Kat was the last of his comrades to die. After this, Paul was hit by the realization that he was alone. Paul mentioned something about comradeship in the book: "But by far the most important result was that it awakened in us a strong, practical sense of esprit de corps, which in the ﬁeld developed into the ﬁnest thing that arose out of the war—comradeship." Comradeship was very important to Paul, but all his comrades had died or gone away, and Kat was one of his only remaining friends. When he died, Paul had no one. Paul probably didn't have a strong reaction to the others dying because he hadn't gotten to know them well. When Kemmerich died he was impacted because it was it was one of his earliest encounters with death. However, as people started dying he grew more used to it. When Kat died, however, he knew he was going to be alone, which is most likely very scary for him. He had also known Kat for a longer time, which might have been a reason.

Benjamin Wood

1/8/2017 09:33:43 am

I agree that Kat's death was very emotional for Paul. Paul didn't show that much emotion to other soldier's deaths but he was very emotional for Kat's death because they were very close, closer than any other soldiers. They supported each other in battle and they got each other's backs. This was a great quote to support your explanation about the emotional side of the war and how just 1 soldier's death effected Paul the most out of the many deaths in the war.

Ethan Lingley

1/9/2017 03:18:53 am

I agree with what you said about Paul's feelings on Kat, I also believe this is one of the key parts of the book. It is part of the transition where Paul realizes the enemy isn't just a thing, but are real, living people. This transition also affects Paul's whole outlook on not just the war, but life itself.

Lee volpe

1/3/2017 05:29:49 pm

The point of view of a book dictates the information a reader gets and how it is delivered which impacts the entirety of the reader’s experience .The point of view that the book is told from, is a character named Paul who fights in WW1. Because of this, we get the point of view a soldier who experiences war face to face, unlike civilians who only know the war depicted in propaganda. His point of view helps us understand the illusion of war because he was a student persuaded into war by a propaganda-spewing professor and goes through disillusionment while fighting in the war. Because the point of view of the book is from a soldier, we are directly shown the disillusionment of war.

Jessica Woyton

1/8/2017 04:02:52 pm

You clearly demonstrated your answer and your thoughts on this were very insightful. I also thought that perspective from Paul's life provides new thoughts and feelings about human existence in WW1 as a soldier. He identifies the way and quality of life they had experienced which adds to the meaning of the story as a whole. I also agree with you in that we not only see the disillusionment, but the illusion of war as well; helping the reader understand the feeling of disillusionment.

Zachary Martin

1/3/2017 05:55:02 pm

Discuss a symbol. Identify a symbol in the text and discuss its significance.

A symbol in the story was the trenches. It represented the soldiers in the story by the showing the grueling nature of war and he fragile bodies and how easily they could be destroyed. The soldiers that took place in the trench were filthy and unhygienic, like the trenches themselves. When the trenches were doomed by a shell, the soldiers fell with the trenches and they were both inevitably doomed. In the text, it said how awful the soldiers were kept in the trenches. Also saying how the soldiers were annihilated by shells, and sometimes when Paul came back from enemy fire fights, he would see the trenches destroyed, just like the soldiers he would see torn to pieces. It's significance to the story was the setting for the soldiers and related to soldiers and connects to theme, your environment reflects on who you will be. By the trenches being weak, filthy, vulnerable, and unhygienic reflected on the soldiers traits.

Nathan Cupertino

1/7/2017 03:13:16 pm

I agree with your symbol and I feel that you were able to explain how the trenches represent the soldiers in a detailed and easy to understand way.

Jessica Matheson

1/8/2017 11:27:13 pm

Your comparison to the trenches being like the soldiers is something I had truely had not thought of before and making a great deal of sense. In the texts when Paul described the trenches many characteristics did match those of the soldiers at times in the book. From our studies of WWI trenches can seem to symbolize the traits you have given.

Jessica Matheson

1/4/2017 05:47:07 am

Discuss a symbol. Identify a symbol in the text and discuss its significance.

“He fell in October 1918…his face had an expression of calm, as though almost glad the end had come.” The last pages of the book, after surviving years of fighting Paul was killed. This was the symbol that marked the lost of a entire generation. In the book one by one Paul's classmates and friends meet their ends in the war. They all were but of one class to in list and only very few of the boys their age to go into the army but since we see from Paul's point of view during the story they represent many more based on our previous studies of WW1. Before the war these boys were just about to start their lives but once it was over none remained. Their generation was lost to this war and through Paul; the one that almost made it through looking at the innocent of his childhood in the butterfly being killed marked the end to not only his life but the end to them all.

Roisin Mullett

1/8/2017 03:48:56 pm

I agree with you on how Paul's death symbolises a lost generation. Everyone around him was dying, including his best friends. As Paul is about to die he reaches for that Butterfly, which results in him being shot (As shown in the movie) when he is shot, it definetly shows how when Paul dies, it shows that he has ended the generation, that it was all over.

Nathan Cupertino

1/7/2017 03:10:57 pm

6. Choose one sentence and discuss how the way it is written adds to its meeting.

“Let the months and years come, the take nothing from me, they can take nothing more”

This sentence is written in a way that truly portrays that paul is in a dark place and has nothing left to lose. It is written shortly after the death of Kat, the last of Paul's friends, and it is at this time that the war has affected Paul in a way that leaves him truly alone with no friends left. “...they can take nothing more” shows that Paul knows that since Kat is dead he has nothing left to lose and he no longer fears for anything else the war can do to him. It is also shortly after this sentence is written that Paul dies and the author describes his final expression as calm and that of someone who was glad that the end had come, which shows that Paul did not fear death and when it came to him he was accepting of it because he had nothing else to lose, which also proves that when paul says “...they can take nothing more” he truely means it.

Zachary Martin

1/8/2017 02:12:15 pm

Paul definitely has nothing more to be taken of, Paul is left for death. The author portrayed Paul as to desiring death for the only escape from that infernal wasteland. So yes, I agree with you.

Ethan Lingley

1/9/2017 03:24:24 am

Not only does this quote show that Paul is in a dark place, I think it also shows how much the war actually drained from him. He lost everyone he had, and everyone he knew, So he doesn't care if anything else happens to him because he doesn't have anything left to lose.

lee volpe link

1/8/2017 03:48:20 pm

Discuss a symbol. Identify a symbol in the text and discuss its significance.
In AQWF, earth is a common symbol representing a protector, and giver of life. Overall, the word “earth” is used 37 times and some examples of its use are “Earth with thy folds, and hollows, and holes, into which any man may fling himself and crouch down… O Earth, thou grantest us the great resisting surge of new-won life.” Here we see earth being praised by paul as his protector and a life-giver as he describes in vivid detail. He goes beyond recognising the earth as a barrier between him and artillery and almost seems to anthropomorphize it in this quote- it is an ode to earth, as if it was a mother or a guardian.

Astrid Rodriguez

1/10/2017 05:53:29 pm

Discuss a symbol. Identify the symbol and what it represents in the text.

Paul's death symbolizes freedom and peace after World War 1. After and the traumatic experiences Paul has faced and him surviving from all his friends, Paul dies at the end of the war just before peace is proclaimed. In the text, Paul's emotion when he died was described as " his face had an expression of clam, as though almost glad the end had come." This represents how Paul was actually glad he died and didn't have to go through the struggles of the war anymore. Paul was free from the trauma that he and his friend had been through. Even though Paul was the last to die I know the war, among his friends, he still was able to finally escape the terrors and hardships of war.

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