Alls Quiet on the Western Front Chapters 4 - 6

6 Events/Quotes

1. Pg. 55, 3rd Paragraph: From the earth, from the air... hope bite into thee with our lips! This two paragraph section is describing the soldiers relationship with the ground, especially during a bombardment. The way it is described, one could think that theyre talking about snuggling up in bed after a long day rather than taking cover in a crater or trench. The earth means so much to them because it is an almost sure and infallible means of protections. When one throws himself to the ground, he knows that he is less vulnerable and is much more likely to survive. I have never (thankfully) been in a real war, but I in the US I played something called Airsoft quite extensively. Airsoft guns are replicas of real guns that shoot plastic BBs at non-lethal speeds. This allowed us to simulate real battles because we could shoot at each other without real harm. As such, I can relate, albeit on a different and much lower level, to a lot of the things said in Alls Quiet in terms of battle. This being said, I know the feeling of comfort one gets when he goes prone in battle. This quotation is a very accurate manifestation of how we feel when we are taking shelter in the dirt. You do feel almost welcomed by the ground. The fact that you are now a smaller target with still the same offensive capability as before is a real bonus, and a great comfort. Of course, Ive never faced down artillery, and to those that have, the earth must mean a whole lot more to them. In short, this quote spells out why the soldier loves the earth, dirt, and ground: they are his personal bunker; his own fortress. 2. Pg. 62 features the dying screams of the horses. I have never heard many wounded horses scream and shriek in pain, but if the combat hardened soldiers of the trenches find it unbearable, then we ordinary civilians would have no chance. The way it is described, it is almost like banshees swept across the battlefield after the death of soldiers, putting a haunting and ghost-like feeling across the trenches. Our battle-hardened main characters know that these are horses, but to those not yet experienced listening to this, it mustve been frightening beyond description to have suffered and bombardment only to hear the howling shrieks afterwards. Even to the main characters, the sound is still unsettling and unnerving. The ending of this event doesnt make it better either, as the horses are either shot or torn to pieces by

the trenchs barbed wire to finally end the screeching. Im sure that a few of the soldiers saw a metaphor their between the horses fate and their own possible fate and demise. 3. Pg. 87 2nd Paragraph: It will go down pretty hard with us all. But nobody at home seems to worry much about it. Two years of shells and bombs - a man doesnt peel that off as easily as a sock. The sock metaphor in this quote is absolutely true, and makes more senses then any that Ive heard before. Taking off a sock is a trivial thing, you just slip it off, but the sock of war, the sock of battles and carnage and lost comrades isnt a sock, it could well be a hackle, the fetters of past experience. Those require time and effort to unlock, and then remove. The experience of war relates to everyone differently, and though different soldiers can take it differently, they will never forget it. Things as climatic as these are like brands in you memories, they will never go out. You can learn to accept them, but you cannot peel them off as easily as a sock. 4. Pg. 113, 3rd Paragraph: We have become wild beasts...and to be revenged. In this quote, all the tension of the bombardment, all the fear, the uncertainty, and the wait is being cracked in one instance where the characters begin to fight. There are no personal thoughts in this whole section, just impulses and savagery, with the relief of combat, which is a strange kind of relief. During bombardment, there is nothing one can do. Chance has him in his grasp. Now though, a man can fight, and put his own against the enemy. He has a large portion of his fate in his hands. Nothing is grasped consciously, the soldiers are all on the same page: Kill or be killed. No thought comes from that, just kill. It is something well described by this section 5. Pg. 117, 2nd paragraph: The fight ceases...before we clear out. After the Germans have pushed the French back beyond their own trenches, they begin to scavenge and raid all of the French supplies, especially food. This brings a whole new dynamic on to the above statement. For after they kill their enemies, they proceed to take their stuff without hesitation. There is no break between the bayoneting of a man and the taking of his rations. There is no hesitation to eat the bread stained with anothers blood. This shows that the soldiers are even more savage then just killers, they are plunderers, raiders, the most

primitive and ancient form of killer that ever existed. The desire to survive has induced a transformation. Further elaborating on the above quote, the soldiers have become savage beasts, wild animals. 6. Pg. 121, 2nd Paragraph: The stillness is the... came from us. After the battle, a black hole begins to engulf the survivors. How can one go back from such an event and take it calmly as one takes the loss of a board game? The soldiers are digging their own graves, both physically and psychologically. They are dying on the inside, and could soon be dead on the outside. The memories of the past are stifled and muffled by the battles horror. Desire leaves the soldiers, especially the young ones, our main characters. They are hollow, empty shells, preparing for the inevitable, hoping, and yet not hoping that it comes. In short, take the last line of The Hollow Men by T. S. Elliot: This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper.

The Soldiers world is going, flying away from them; and in the loneliness of the night sentry duty, their hopes, if not already dead, die in them and flee whimpering into the night.