| chapter 5 - 8 questions |
| 1) There are two main reasons why there is irony in the description of the soldiers killing lice; first and foremost reason is that the soldiers are killing the lice in the place that they themselves will be buried in the trenches. Secondly that um that the soldiers are foreboding their own fate by killing the lice. (Pg. 75) 2) Kat, because 3) The theme that is reinforced by the capture of the goose is comradery because Kat and Paul kill the goose together and then they share the leftovers. The humorous part about it is that he has trouble fighting the dog and the goose when he just came back from the front lines where he was fighting other men. 4) The coffins are for them. 5) The soldiers were attacked by an onslaught of rats, they killed the rats and the rats retreated. But later in the passage the soldiers were attacked themselves and they had to retreat. The destructiveness of war is that; Nothing is Safe, rats, people, trenches, barbed wire, everything was destroyed. 6) The irony in this paragraph is that Paul is now in a peaceful time, yet he feels more afraid than he does in battle. The symbolism of his uniforms is that it metaphorically breathes life into him, even though he faces death while in it. He feels he has lost his identity because he felt at home in his uniform, and going back to civilian clothing, unlike other soldiers he feels out of place. This scene reinforces the theme of shared humanity because all the soldiers share their struggles and pains and even uniforms while at war, and when leaving those behind, they feel somewhat naked. 7) He tries to a read a book but because of all the horror he has seen it doesn't seem that it is normal sitting here and reading by himself because he cannot find his old self. (Pg. 172-173) 8) Paul's description of the Russian prisoners illustrate the themes of corrupting effects of power and shared humanity because they prove that the government of Russia is so self-centered that prisoners-of-war, probably once normal working men, are begging in the little German they know (Pg. 190) for food. Together, they scrounge through garbage sharing what little scraps they can find. Together, they share a common need-- rations of food and support from their corrupted government. 9) Paul doesn't feel at home with his family because he is not a civilian any more because the war has corrupted him. Paul feels as though he is an outsider because of his experience's on the front line. 10) He lies to her so easily because he pities her and since he has seen so many die he is desensitized to the feeling of single individuals and cannot fathom why it is such a big deal. (Pg. 181) |