All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front

At the beginning of this chapter, Paul reflects back on how the war abruptly uprooted his life and the lives of his comrades. He ponders how the war has destroyed the lives of the men of his generation because they no longer have anything to return to. He acknowledges the fact that the war swept him away and now he doesn’t know what he can make of his life. He and the other men have become, in his words, wastelands. Even with all of the mental anguish they endure, the men are not often sad. In this paragraph, the reader is introduced to the frame of mind that the men are in.

Müller, who in the first chapter expressed his desire for the dying Kemmerich’s boots, is in reality very sympathetic to Kemmerich’s suffering, but he sees that Kemmerich no longer has any need for the boots. Because of this, he feels has more of a rightful claim to them than a hospital orderly. The men now see problems from this perspective and good boots, like Kemmerich’s, are hard to find. There was a time though when they had different beliefs. Before the war they still believed that education was the most important aspect of life. These youthful thoughts were washed away at the Front, where they came to realize that order is what matters. One of the men responsible for this was their drill sergeant, Corporal Himmelstoss, who was a short, mean man. He would force the men to do unnecessary work and torture them with pointless assignments. Paul, Tjaden, Kropp, and Westhus were especially picked on by Himmelstoss, but they were secretly defiant. The training that they received was especially harsh, but it is what has saved them in the trenches. We now see the background that has shaped the men’s ideals so far.

Paul goes to visit Kemmerich at his hospital. Kemmerich now knows that his leg has been amputated, but Paul tries to comfort him and convince him that he will be returning home soon. Paul wishes that the world would acknowledge Kemmerich’s suffering but he knows that the world will not. When Kemmerich suddenly begins to gurgle violently, Paul rushes to find a doctor. However the doctor he finds is in different to Kemmerich’s suffering and by the time they get to Kemmerich’s bed, he is dead. Paul collects Kemmerich’s things including his boots and leaves.