Period 5
1-28-13
Chapters 1 and 2
Summary: Paul Baumer and the other members of his Second Company during WW1 are resting after being relieved from the front lines, after two weeks in constant battle. Paul, Leer, Muller, and Kropp are all 19. Out of 150 mean, only 80 made it back. Katczinsky is the unofficial leader of their group which also includes Tjaden, Westhus, and Detering. Kemmerich, a member in the Second company is in the hospital with a thigh wound. Paul remembers their teacher, Kantorek, the man who pressured them into joining the army and now the men despise him. The men see Kemmerich and know that he will not live long and his leg was amputated. In chapter 2, Paul remembers being a kid and writing poetry. Paul realizes that he has nothing to return to after the war and it has become his whole life. Corporal Himmelstoss, trained Paul's platoon. He always enjoyed humiliated Paul and his friends. This toughness Himmelstoss gave them helped the boys in battle. Kemmerich is near death and gives Muller his boots and he later dies.
Quotation: "My feet begin to move forward in my boots, I go quicker, I run... The earth is streaming with forces which pour through the soles of my feet... The night cracks electrically... The night lives, I live. I feel a hunger, greater than comes from the belly alone" (33).
Quotation Significance: Paul runs out of the hospital after Kemmerich's death. I think here he is describing the feeling of loss and sadness for his friend, yet he feels powerful that it wasn't him who died on the battlefield. He feels powerful and strong that he is defeated death for the time being and is remembering the joys of life and how special life really is.
Reflection: In this story, Paul and his friends are fighting on the frontlines of World War 1. Their teacher encouraged them to volunteer and made war seem like somthing heroic and good. But the boys are realizing how war is a terrible thing that is the most un-heroic thing that they can imagine. They now despise their teacher for encouraging do something where they will most likely die. Kemmerich dies and this helps Paul remember girls and meadows, some of the greater happiness and joys in life. Kemmerich's death helps Paul feel special and lucky that he is alive. It helps him see the joy in life and that maybe he has something to go back to once he reaches home. But it is hard for Paul and his friends to realize this because they are so young and they haven't had time to build families like the older men have. Paul is worried that once he reaches the U.S. again he will find that he has no where to go back to.
Discussion Question: How do you think that Paul is handling Kemmerich's death?
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