Study Guide: All Quiet on the Western Front
Author: ________________________________________
Ch. 1
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Why do the men receive double rations?
What makes the men happy?
How do Kropp, Paul, and Muller enjoy the afternoon?
Why did the boys enlist in the army?
Who was Joseph Behm and what happened to him?
What do the men now think of Kantorek and the others who hold similar beliefs?
Describe Kemmerich. (quote)
What is shown in the scene with the orderly?
Ch. 2
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What did Paul often do in the evenings before the war?
How do Paul and the other young men differ from the older soldiers?
What did the men learn as new recruits?
What were they forced to do in training camp?
Describe Corporal Himmelstoss. (quote)
What attributes did the men gain from the training?
What does death look like in Kemmerich? (quote)
What is the doctor’s and the orderly’s attitude toward Kemmerich’s death?
Why does Paul run away from the hospital? What does he feel?
Ch. 3
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What is Kat’s opinion of war? (quote)
What is Kropp’s idea of war?
Why does Paul state that they dare not remember farther back than the barracks?
According to Kat, what is man’s basic nature? (quote)
Why does Tjaden have a special grudge against Himmelstoss?
How did Tjaden, Haie, and Paul get revenge on Himmelstoss?
Ch. 4
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How does arrival at the front affect the soldier’s physical appearance? (quote)
What does the earth symbolize for the soldier?
What allows man to survive?
What must be done on a wiring fatigue?
What does the cry of the wounded horses symbolize? (quote)
What is ironic about using the cemetery for cover?
What will gas do to a person? Where does the gas linger?
What happens to the corpses in the cemetery?
What do Kat and Paul nearly do to the recruit with the hip wound? Why?
What does the rain represent? (quote)
Ch. 5
34. What does Himmelstoss expect from the group of men?
35. What is the current status of Paul’s class?
Study Guide: All Quiet on the Western Front
36.
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What does school have to do with their lives now? (quote)
What will the men’s lives be like when they return to society?
What types of arrest are used in the German army?
Compare Kat and Paul’s goose escapade and the war? (quote)
What is ever-present or constant in the men’s lives?
What special feeling does Paul have for Kat?
Ch. 6
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In what way is the German army well prepared for battle? In what ways are they insufficiently prepared? Explain the irony.
How does chance rule their lives? (quote)
Why do they call the rats “corpse-rats”?
Who do the men end the rat attacks?
What foreshadows a rough battle for the men?
Why do the men use spades rather than bayonets?
How does the bombardment wear on the men? (quote)
Describe the recruit’s fit.
Why does Paul hesitate before throwing the grenade (be specific)?
How do the men react to the wounded?
What are Paul’s memories while he stands sentry duty? How have his feelings toward his memories changed? (quote)
Why do the soldiers search so thoroughly for a wounded man?
What happens to the dead?
How has nature reacted to the war?
Why are the reinforcements killed so rapidly?
What happens to Himmelstoss during the attack?
What is the result after days of fighting?
Ch. 7
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How do Himmelstoss and the men reconcile?
Why do the soldiers forget about the front-line fighting when they are behind the lines?
What does Paul say will happen with memories of the front after the war? (quote)
Why are the men interested in the theater poster?
How does Paul feel when he has nothing to remind him of being a soldier?
Why is Paul unhappy after the evening with the women?
What does beer symbolize for the soldiers?
Why does Paul cry when he returns home?
Why do the major and Paul conflict?
Why can’t Paul talk to his father about the war?
What does Paul realize about the people around him? (quote)
How does Mittelstaedt treat Kantorek?
What does leave mean to Paul? (quote)
What does Paul tell Kemmerich’s mother? Why does he change the truth?
What does Paul wish for as his mother speaks to him on his last night home?
Why does Paul regret coming home on leave?
Study Guide: All Quiet on the Western Front
Ch. 8
75. What does Paul think of the Russians?
76. Why are these men enemies? (quote)
77. Why doesn’t Paul’s father ask the surgeon about the cost of the operation?
Ch. 9
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What is a flying division?
How does Paul feel when he finds his friends? (quote)
How does the army prepare for the Kaiser’s visit?
According to the men, why does war exist?
What do trench mortars do to soldiers?
What happens to Paul on patrol? (summarize the story)
What does friendship mean to Paul? (quote)
How does Paul react to the dying Frenchman? What does he do for him?
What does this hand-to-hand killing do to Paul?
What does Paul promise afterwards?
Ch. 10
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Where are the men stationed?
How do the men get caught under fire and bombing?
How do the men react to all the luxury? What do they take back to the front?
How are Paul and Kropp able to save themselves?
How do Paul and Kropp react to their injuries?
Why doesn’t Paul want to get into the bed? (quote)
Why are the hospital patients angry at being awakened in the morning?
Why does Josef Hamacher take the blame for throwing the bottle?
Explain the significance of the Dying Room.
What happens to Albert?
What does Paul think of the world as he views the wounded? (quote)
How does Paul view himself and his generation?
Ch. 11
100. How do the men see the war now?
101. What brotherhood do the men feel? (quote)
102. How are the men like a flame?
103. What does Detering do?
104. What is happening to the German lines?
105. How does Bertinck save his men?
106. What is the summer of 1918 like? (quote)
107. What is Paul’s reaction to Kat’s injury?
108. Why is it significant that Paul repeats himself twice that he and Kat are not related?
Ch. 12
109. What does Paul want after the armistice? (quote)
110. Explain the fates of the various generations.
111. Explain the title of the novel.
112. Why does the book describe Paul’s face as calm?