All Quiet on the Western Front Study Guide
Chapter 1
1. Why do the men receive double rations?
2. What makes the men happy and satisfied?
3. Why did the boys enlist in the army?
4. Who was Joseph Behm and what happened to him?
5. What do the men now think of Kantorek and others who hold similar beliefs?
6. What is shown in the scene with the orderly?
Chapter 2
1. What did Paul often do in the evenings before the war?
2. What did the men learn as new recruits?
3. Describe Corporal Himmelstoss.
4. What attributes did the men gain from the training?
5. What is the doctor’s and the orderly’s attitude toward Kemmerich’s death?
Chapter 3
1. What is Kat’s “sixth sense”?
2. What is Kat’s opinion of war?
3. What is Kropp’s idea of war?
4. Why does Tjaden have a special grudge against Himmelstoss?
5. How did Tjaden, Haie, and Paul get revenge on Himmelstoss?
Chapter 4
1. What symbolism does the earth have for the soldier?
2. What must be done on a wiring fatigue?
3. What is ironic about using the cemetery for cover?
4. What will gas do to a person?
5. What do Kat and Paul nearly do to the recruit with the hip wound? Why?
Chapter 5
1. Why does Himmelstoss want to have Tjaden court-martialed?
2. What will the men’s lives be like when they return to society?
3. How does Kropp infuriate Himmelstoss?
4. What special feeling does Paul have for Kat?
Chapter 6
1. How does Chance rule their lives?
2. Why do they call the rats “corpse-rats”?
3. What foreshadows a rough battle for the men?
4. How does the bombardment wear on the men?
5. Why does Paul hesitate before throwing the grenade?
6. How do the men react to the wounded?
7. Why do the soldiers search so thoroughly for a wounded man?
8. What happens to Himmelstoss during the attack?
9. How well do the new recruits learn front-line duty?
Chapter 7
1. Why do the soldiers forget about the front-line fighting when they are behind the lines?
2. What does Paul say will happen with memories of the front after the war?
3. Why is Paul unhappy after the evening with the women?
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Why does Paul feel strange in his own home?
Why does Paul lie to his mother about the reality of war?
Why does Paul change into civilian clothes?
What happens when Paul tries to retrieve his familiarity with his books?
Why does Paul regret coming home on leave?
Chapter 8
1. What does Paul think of the Russians?
2. How do many of the Germans treat the Russians?
3. Why are these men enemies?
Chapter 9
1. How does the army prepare for the Kaiser’s visit?
2. According to the men, why does war exist?
3. Why is Paul afraid on patrol?
4. What does Paul do when the French soldier stumbles into his shell hole?
5. Why does Paul think he must bandage the wounds?
6. What does this hand-to-hand killing do to Paul?
7. How does Sergeant Oellrich react to killing?
Chapter 10
1. How do the men get caught under fire and bombing?
2. What do the men take back to the front with them?
3. What does Kropp decide about his wounded leg?
4. How do Kropp and Paul manage to stay together?
5. Why are the hospital patients angry at being awakened in the morning?
6. Why does Josef Hamacher claim he threw the bottle?
7. What is the Dying Room?
8. What happens to Albert?
9. How does Paul view himself and his generation?
Chapter 11
1. How do the men see the war now?
2. How are men like a flame?
3. What does Detering do?
4. How does Bertinck save his men?
5. Why does Paul repeat to himself twice that he and Kat are not related?
Chapter 12
1. What are the fates of the various generations?
2. Why does the book describe Paul’s face as calm?