All Quiet on the Western Front

I. a) Why didn't he kill the French soldier? Paul hesitated to kill the French soldier because the littlest ounce in his body felt remorse towards the suffering soldier. Paul did have some thoughts in killing him, but when he thought about it, he just could not bring himself to kill him. He talked to the soldier and explained how their country did not know what they were doing to each other. Paul just wanted …

…and the terror of the war was agonizing. When soldiers take shelter in the graveyard, bombs explode all around them; the living hide in coffins and the dead are thrown from their graves. The destructive power is so great that even the fundamental differences between life and death become blurred. The impact of war on the spirit is subtle. They find themselves less able to return to civilian life - friends die all around them.