Katie Felton

Mr. Krucli

English

31 May 2005

 

 

Identify character traits for the following: 

1. Paul Baumer:

- He finds it odd that the life he used to live is vague to him (cut off early life). Young man of twenty. He thinks his generation has nothing going for them (the Lost Generation).  

2. Leer

- Friendly with women, has more experience with women then his friends.  Has a full beard, which makes him look much older than he really is.

3. Kropp

- Believed the wrong people were fighting the war, and that politicians should be doing it.  

4. Westhus

- Civilian peat digger. Would rather fight the war than go back to peat digging.  

5. Detering

- Always home sick, the only one with a family already. Goes mad when he sees a cherry tree.  

6. Kemmerich

- 19 and a half years old. Slight inferial, has very nice boots. Grew up with Paul

7. Himmelstoss

- Strict and proud. Small, under-sized fellow with a foxy waxed mustache, and as sadistic as a drill master.  Been in the service for 12 years.  

8. Kantorek

- Stern little man, very patriotic (thought the best way to be patriotic would be to go to war). War was honorable to him. 

9. Muller

- Is crude and tactless, materialistic. Always thinking about school and learning. Carried his books with him. Realistic and honest.   

10. Kat

- Paul’s best friend. Shrewd, and resourceful. Civilian cobbler. 40 years old, cunning, leader of the group.  

11. Tjaden

- Hates Himmelstoss the most out of Paul’s crew. Very thin with a big appetite. Mischievous 

12. Hamacher, Ollerich, and Gerard Duval

- Hamacher, Ollerich, and Gerard Duval were snipers in the war who didn’t care that they were killing people.  

2. Explain the following themes:

 

1. The Lost Generation

- They are they are the young people who don’t fit anywhere; their generation was to be more trusted than others. War left them scarred and alone.

 

 

2. The destructiveness of war

- They’re lost. They are too young to have lives to return to but too old to start over.

3. Camaraderie

- The men go through so much together that they become good friends in a short amount of time. They can relate to each other because they know what another has gone through. 

4. The corrupting effect of power

- With power in their hands a man will become obsessed with it, and want more. 

 

5. Shared humanity

- Share the same emotions. Fighting someone who is in everyway similar to you, except fighting on the other side.

 

 

3. Identify the symbolism and or irony in the following scenes:

 

1. The bombing of the graveyard

- The bomb that fell in the graveyard killed men and that graveyard was going to be were those men were buried.  

2. Paul’s trip home

-  He misses the front and wants to know how his friends are doing also he feels out of place and no one at home knows what he has gone through.

 

 

 

3. Kemmerich’s boots   

- They are a symbol of death because whoever they go to dies and then they are passed down and people keep dying.  

 

4. the army hospitals

- Death is constantly seem in the hospitals on the war front, which is ironic because the hospital is supposed to be the safe haven in the war. 

 

 

5. Paul’s death

- Paul’s death symbolizes the end of the war and the fact that all was at peace in the end.

6. little men

- Although they are little they are the most stern and power hungry. They always have to be in charge of everything.