Paul is a compassionate and sensitive young man; before the war, he loved his family and wrote poetry. Because of the horror of the war and the anxiety it induces, Paul, like other soldiers, learns to disconnect his mind from his feelings, keeping his emotions at bay in order to preserve his sanity and survive.
How has the war changed Paul Baumer?
Paul became a person whose beliefs were changed because of the war. … He changed his beliefs because society does not really understand how bad war really is and pushed many young men, who were not ready, into the army.
What does Paul compare the war to?
Paul compares war to a deadly disease like the flu, tuberculosis, or cancer. The men’s thoughts are molded by “the changes of the days”: when they are fighting, their thoughts go dead; when they are resting, their thoughts are good.
Why did Paul Baumer join the war?
Paul and his fellow students enlisted in the war because of their previous schoolmaster, Mr.Kantorek, who had spouted patriotic propaganda at them when they were students, imploring them to enlist.What does Paul Baumer say?
“We are forlorn like children, and experienced like old men, we are crude and sorrowful and superficial—I believe we are lost.” “The first bomb, the first explosion, burst in our hearts.” “While they continued to write and talk, we saw the wounded and dying.
How does Paul react to his father's question about the war?
Paul finds the war to be a painful experience. He thinks that his father’s patriotism is misguided and that his questions are insensitive.
What did Paul Baumer do?
Paul Wilhelm Bäumer (11 May 1896 – 15 July 1927) was a German fighter ace in World War I.
How do Paul and his friends respond to Kemmerich's situation?
Paul attends Kemmerich’s death throes. He lies next to his friend to try to comfort him, assuring him that he will get well and return home. Kemmerich knows that his leg is gone, and Paul tries to cheer him with talk about the advances in the construction of artificial limbs.What do Paul's father and his sister give Paul before they leave?
Before they leave, Paul’s father and sister give Paul some jam and potato cakes that his mother made for him. … He decides that he will, but then he remembers that his mother must have been in pain when she made the cakes and that she meant them for him. He compromises by giving the prisoners two of the cakes.
Why can't Paul tell his father about the war?Why can’t Paul talk to his father about the war? Paul can’t talk to his father because he’s afraid he won’t be able to stop talking, that he’ll reveal more than he should. … Paul realizes that he cannot bring back the feelings and hopes he had before the war.
Article first time published onHow does Paul react to Kat's death?
How does Paul respond to Kat’s death? He is delirious and hopeless. He can barely stand, and his eyes nearly role back in his head.
How does Paul describe the psychological effects of war?
Paul describes how, in the hours after a battle, the war lingers with the soldiers. The men are exhausted from fear and exertion, and the shock mutes all their other thoughts and needs until they can manage to temporarily forget.
How does Kantorek feel about the war?
Kantorek comes to represent the dangers of blind nationalism. Propaganda swept up Kantorek and convinced him the war was good and just. Kantorek, having a measure of authority, passed this fervor on to his subordinates, who in turn marched off to their deaths. To Kantorek, the war is just an idea.
How does Paul Baumer describe himself?
Paul Bäumer He is, at heart, a kind, compas-sionate, and sensitive young man, but the brutal expe-rience of warfare teaches him to detach himself from his feelings. His account of the war is a bitter invective against sentimental, romantic ideals of warfare.
How does Paul react to his father's questions about the war quizlet?
How does Paul feel about being home? He feels that all of the questions and praises that he receives are empty of the knowledge of what it is really like on the war front. He cannot see life normally anymore.
Why doesn't Paul talk to his friends about his experiences in the war?
1. Why can’t Paul share his feelings about the war with his friends? … It’s to dangerous for him to put such things about the war into words.
Why can't Paul tell his mother about the war explain in detail?
Unable to relieve his mother’s illness, Paul assuages her worries with lies. … He can no longer communicate with his parents, and talking about the war simply worries him, because he does not want to put his fears into words.
Who does Paul believe are their true enemies in the war?
Additionally, Paul and his friends do not consider the opposing armies to be their real enemies; in their view, their real enemies are the men in power in their own nation, who they believe have sacrificed them to the war simply to increase their own power and glory.
How does Paul feel about the Russian prisoners?
Seeing the Russian prisoners up close, Paul is amazed by how ordinary and peasant like they look. Paul thinks about how much they look just like German peasants, not at all like an enemy who should be killed. The Russian prisoners are starving, and they suffer from dysentery, or bloody diarrhea.
What thoughts does Paul have as he observes the Russian prisoners of war?
What thoughts does Paul have as he observes the Russian prisoners of war? As Paul observes the Russian prisoners of war he realized that the Russians are the same as him and the Germans. Paul thinks it is inhumane to give the Russians poor living conditions and little foods as human beings.
What happens to Paul's friend Kemmerich?
Kemmerich is a young man and a member of Paul, the narrator’s, unit in the army. At the beginning of the novel, Kemmerich is dying in the hospital. Kemmerich suffers a terrible injury and loses his leg, dying horribly and painfully at the end of Chapter 2.
What makes Kemmerich's death so personal for Paul?
What makes Kemmerich’s death so personal for Paul? The fact that Kemmerich and Paul knew each other well before the war and Kemmerich’s mom told Paul to protect Kemmerich makes Kemmerich’s death so personal for Paul. … The significance of Kemmerich telling Paul to take the boots for Muller is he knows he is going to die.
How does Kropp think wars should be fought?
How does Kropp think wars should be fought? He thinks it should be fought by the generals of the two countries at war. He also believes that it should be like a popular festival.
Why didn't Paul want to tell his father that he was scared?
Why didn’t Paul tell his father he was scared? Paul didn’t want to disappoint his father.
What kind of writing does Paul remember doing before the war?
What kind of writing does Paul remember that he did before the war? He wrote the beginning of a play called “Saul,” as well as a bunch of poems.
How does Paul explain the fact that the soldiers are almost happy at the field depot?
How does Paul explain the fact that the soldiers are almost happy at the field depot? Paul says that the soldiers have the two things they need for contentment, which are good food and rest. He says they are almost happy and it is all a matter of habit, even the front line.
What is Kat's idea about how the war should be fought?
Kat believes that if every soldier got the same food and the same pay, the war would end quickly. Kropp proposes that the declaration of wars should be conducted like a festival.
How does Paul Baumer describe Staniclaus Katcyzinski?
Meet Kat. Kat is described as ‘small and stooping. ‘ He is an older man, about forty years old, and Paul calls him ‘shrewd, cunning, and hard-bitten. ‘ Kat’s life as a poor farmer has given him the experience needed to survive hard times, and he is counted on to find food and supplies where none seem to be available.
Why does Paul say the German lines are falling back?
He is thinking about how people in the war have someone to go back to. It means that soldiers his age were about to start a life and settle down but the war interrupted that. It is important because it shows how Paul thinks the war affected his life. Who is Himmelstoss?
Does Paul have PTSD?
The sweat breaks out from every pore” (Remarque 210). Already, Paul is under a lot of stress being out in the tunnels of the front alone, and on top of that, he has to deal with PTSD. Remarque uses this scene to show that PTSD develops much sooner in wars than most thought, and to show its brutal effects.
Does Shell Shock still exist?
Shell shock is a term originally coined in 1915 by Charles Myers to describe soldiers who were involuntarily shivering, crying, fearful, and had constant intrusions of memory. It is not a term used in psychiatric practice today but remains in everyday use.
