Sources:


Rice, Earle, Steve Moore, and Erich Maria Remarque. All Quiet on the Western Front. Paramus, NJ: Globe Fearon, 1995. Print.


"World War I." About.com 20th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.

German Propaganda Poster

Front Trenches

Characters:
- Paul Baumer: narrator, enlisted because of his false sense of patriotism, bitter towards authority, great friend, does not let emotions get the most of him
- Tjaden: loud, does not get along with authority, close friend of Paul, skinny, eats a lot, hotheaded
- Albert Kropp: critical of the war, smart, classmate of Paul, resourceful
- Stanislaus Katczinsky: has a family, 40 years old, very smart, takes advantage of their few opportunities, resourceful

Review Of This Past Week:  Personally I really like what I have been reading in the last week.  I tend to find war novels very interesting and exciting.  They show people how easy we really have it.  If you think your life is hard because of your job or school, take a look at what men and women are doing at war.  They give the ultimate sacrifice for the citizens of their country.  This novel is special because it shows us how emotional war really is for the people inside of it.  Its not all battles and there is a winner and a loser.  Men are impacted on almost everything that they do during war.  Paul and his friends are the perfect example of why friendship is so important in life.  If they didn't have each other, they would be lost and lonely.  There are many themes that people can learn by reading this book, you just have to look deep and try to understand the true meanings of the stories that are told.  

Summary Of The Reading:  So far in the book, "All Quiet On The Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque many things have happened.  The narrator Paul, and his close friends show the world what the great war was really like.  Paul and his friends experience things that will change their lives forever. And they show the true emotion of war.  Early in the book Paul focuses on the fact that many of the men participating in the war are too young(like himself) and should have never listened to all of the propaganda about joining the war.  Paul finds out that the war was not the "adventure" it was made out to be.  Paul and his friends were told by their teachers in school that joining the war would be the "patriotic" thing to do and that they would be serving their country well.  The young boys quickly realize that their decision to join the war was a mistake.  They grow up rather quickly when one of their best friend's dies.  Paul's emotions are greatly impacted by the death of his friend Kemmerich and he does everything in his power to make things better for Kemmerich's family.  They took a visit back to the front where they worked on putting up barbed wire in "no man's land".  Once they finished their task they were bombarded by English artillery.  Paul and his friends were used to the bombing but one of the new recruits was so traumatized that he went to the bathroom in his pants.  The whole experience for the men was like hell.  The men began to also think about what they would do after the war and many of the men had no answer because the war was the only world that they knew.  They could not go back into the "real world" and function as a normal citizen.  Paul and his friend steal a goose so they can actually have something good to eat and bring it back to the others.  The group is in for some real excitement to come.