All Quiet on the Western Front

In what ways does this novel intersect with the writer Gertrude Stein’s “The Lost Generation”?

In your estimation, is this novel a work of literary modernism? If no, then what is your refutation? If yes, then in what ways does the novel fit the classification of modernism?

Among the many lessons implied and offered in the novel, what do you believe is the lesson about a life without hope?

What does the novel assert about the relationship between intimacy and language?

The novel has frequent, beautiful, and at times mystical portrayals of the setting. What effect do these highly visual descriptions have on the brutality of the action sequences?

When horses are wounded and killed at the front, and their agony is audible through the thundering combat all around, it is unendurable to the men. Why do you believe it is different to the men when the horses suffer compared to when other men are likewise wounded and in agony?

When Paul kills the man who stumbles into the shell hole with him, he is immediately regretful. When the man dies, Paul is almost overcome with remorse. However, once he is finally able to escape to safety, he almost immediately relinquishes those feelings. What do you believe is the psychological process at play here? Explain your rationale.

When Paul sympathizes with the Russian soldiers, he realizes that it could be dangerous for him when returns to the front. However, he makes up his mind to put those feelings somewhere else in his mind without banishing them entirely. He says that so long as he can access them after the war, then he might have a chance to return to civilian life and someday find peace. Do you think it would have worked the way Paul believed it would have had he survived? Why do you believe that to Paul, recognizing the suffering of others is the antidote to the trauma he almost surely would have faced after his return to civilian life?