All quiet on the western front

Resumen libro 7/05/10

All Quiet on the Western Front

1-How does Paul change over the course of the novel?

Paul Baumer changes a lot in the course of the war. He changes in many senses from the start to the end. He really didn´t came excited to the war, but he didn´t know about it. He wasn´t angry by going to war, he was just neutral about it and was all thrilledabout graduating and going to war with his fellows. Later, he wasn´t thrilled about it anymore, he wasn´t thrilled about nothing. Now that one of his friends died and saw the horrible conditions of it, he didn´t liked it. He also changed by achieving more knowledge about the trenches. He definitely saw how he changed when he saw how easily the younger recruits died in the trenches. He now knewmuch more about it. He knew much more than the basic learning, he now knew the advanced tactics you needed to survive. He also became a more selfless person. At the start of the war he never gave food to others, and not just food, he really didn´t thought about other people. Then, as the war continues he thinks more about the others. A perfect example is when he talks about the Russian prisoners. Heone time goes and gives them food. Sometimes he thinks about them and how lonely they are, that´s why Paul gives them some food. He would never have done that before, or at the start of the war. I think this changes helped Paul over the course of the war.Sergio Garcia 7/05/10

3- Remarque seems pretty negative against WWI. Do you think he´s negative against this particular war or any war in general?
Wars are horrifying. Any war is horrifying. People may think some wars are worse than others, but for the soldiers every war is as devastating as they describe them. Every war has terrible conditions, and in everywar two armies fight each other and every soldier tries to kill each other. In every war, soldiers have someone, it can be family or friends who they love, and in every war these soldiers suffer by thinking if they are going to see them again, if they are going to be able to have good times with them after the war. Paul talks about this in the book a lot. He one time has a conversation with theentire group of his friends about what are they going to do after the war. Many of them simply talk about going with their families again. In wars many lives are lost, and many hopes of seeing their families again are lost. Paul doesn´t like this at all. He doesn´t want to die, he wants to survive this war and then go with his family and be able to love them. He also doesn´t like the idea that someof his friends can die in it. He wants to see them again, and Paul thinks negatively in all of the wars not only in this one because he knows that all of the wars are almost the same. Not in the guns and importance type of. Paul sees it in the lost lives during war type.Sergio Garcia 7/05/10

4- What does it mean to lose your innocence in the front?
The Front is a real tough place. The conditions in it are terrible. Some soldiers can´t resist it. In the book they talk about some young, new recruits having trouble with the trenches. They can´t resist the first bombardment. One of them goes crazy andgoes out in the middle of the bombardment and gets killed. This is one example of how the front can play with you. Paul in the book loses his innocence in the front. At the start, Paul and his friends never had innocence. Since the first time that they were sent to the front, they just defended themselves without even thinking about the others. They didn´t care if they blew them into pieces....