All Quiet on the Western Front

The book opens with Paul Baumer, the narrator, and the rest of Second Company a few miles from the front. They have just returned from the front the night before, having suffered unexpected and heavy losses. Half of the men from the company are dead or wounded, so the cook, has made a meal for 150 men instead of the 80 that are left. Paul lines up for the food along with the rest of his comrades, including Albert Kropp, Mueller, Leer, Tjaden, Haie Westhus, Detering, and Stansislaus Katczinsky. The men often conger up food, and is a reoccurring theme in the book. Paul reflects on his life before becoming a soldier, and notes how he, and the others, have lost their sense of modesty. The men spend most of their time smoking and playing cards. One of their friends, Kemmerich, is in the hospital, and they decide to go visit him. He isn’t doing well and will die soon.
The war has changed the boys. Paul can hardly comprehend his old life, writing plays and poetry. They are young, at...