Task 1

Summary of Chapter Two

The main characters in the book All Quiet on the Western Front are Paul Bäumer, Albert Kropp, Haie Westhus, Fredrich Müller, and the leader of the group Stanislaus Katczinsky also known as Kat. Chapter two starts off with Paul trying to think of how his life was before the war. He thinks about how he used to write poems but his memory seams dreamlike to him because of everything he has gone through during the war so far. Here is a quote that I think is very important to understand exactly what the soldiers were feeling during this chapter of the war, “Our early life is cute off from the moment we came here, and that without our lifting a hand. We often try to look back on it and to find an explanation, but never quite succeed.” (All Quiet on the Western Front, Pg. 19) Paul thinks about how the younger soldiers including him didn’t have time to even think about getting an occupation before they joined the war, while the older soldiers have families and occupations to go home to after the war is over.

Kropp, Müller, Kemmerich, and Paul were all friends in No. 9 Platoon together under Corporal Himmelstoss. Himmelstoss was well-known for being strict and was delighted about it; he had been in the military for twelve years. He didn’t like anybody who he thought was disobedient so he especially hated Kropp, Westhus, and Paul. Himmelstoss would make them re-do chores until he thought they were adequately done to his standards. For example, he made Paul remake his bed fourteen times, wear old boots that were unbelievably hard for twenty hours until they were soft enough to comfortably wear, and scrub with a tooth-brush.

In the first chapter their friend Franz Kemmerich was hurt with a flesh wound to his thigh and had to have his leg amputated. Paul goes to visit Kemmerich and sees that he is doing very poorly. Kemmerich tells Paul that he doesn’t think he’ll survive to make it back home while Paul tries to help him keep his hope up. Shortly after Kemmerich dies so Paul takes his belongings with him back to camp and gives Müller his (Kemmerich’s) boots which he so desperately wanted and gets tea and rum for himself. This wasn’t the first time Paul had to watch someone he knew die and it wouldn’t be the last. Then chapter three begins…

 

Sources:

Remarque, Erich Maria. All Quiet On the Western Front. 1st Ballantine Books ed. New York: Ballantine Books, 1982. Print.