Period 5
2-5-13
Chapter 8
Summary: Pauk arrives at the training camp and Russian prisoners are starving and picking through the garbage and Paul doesn't see an enemy in them. Paul gives them cigarettes and one plays the violin by the fence for Paul. Paul visits his sister and father before returning to the front and gives the prisoners two of the cakes his mother made for him.
Quotation: "It is strange to see these enemies of ours so close up. They have faces that make one think- honest peasant faces, broad foreheads, broad noses, broad mouths, broad hands, and thick hair "(190).
Quotation Significance: Paul is saying that he sees his comrades in these "enemies" of his. He knows that some people powerful people made them his "enemies" but he can't see it. All he sees is a normal man and he doesn't know why he is fighting these men who are just like him.
Reflection: Paul arrives at training camp in this chapter and his sister and father come to visit. It seems like Paul has a hard time connecting with his family and it sounds awkward for him and his family. His family is going through a rough time because his mother has cancer and Paul doesn't know how to respond to it. So this just makes an awkward and sad time between Paul and his family and he feels more comfortable around his friends because they understand the horrors of war and what he is going through. Paul is also distraught because of the Russian prisoners. Paul doesn't see the enemy in the poor peasants digging through scraps of food and he gives them some cakes and cigarettes. Paul knows that men with power have made him and these prisoners enemies but he doesn't see why he is willing to fight a man who is just like him.
Discussion Question: Why is it so hard for Paul to connect with his family?
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