All Quiet on the Western Front – Group Work #7b – Chapter 11
- (20-25 minutes) The importance and location of home is continually discussed in E.M. Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front. The "idea" of just where and what home is, changes as the novel's central character, Paul, becomes more and more battle weary. Now that you are at the end of the book, try to find 10 quotes that summarize or illustrate the evolution of Paul’s feelings towards home and front. As you do, note the following –
- You may split up the work (the finding of the quotes) amongst your group members. In fact, I suggest you do. A good way to do this might be to assign a certain number of chapters (3?) to each group member to scan for the pertinent information. Give yourself a time limit, and then come back and discuss (and write down your findings – in outline form – quotes included).
- After you have found the quotes – put them together in a way that makes sense – create an outline – Use the attached worksheet – you will have a heading, i.e. Paul as a student, on the next line put your quote, finally write a sentence or two about how Paul’s attitude towards home or his relationship with home and front has fundamentally changed (the person who found the quote may be best suited to come up with this – but everyone should contribute. Before you start filling out the chart you should put your quotes in order (see the next point).
- Remember the illustrative quotes may not necessarily fall chronologically in the book. For instance you may have a quote from a later chapter that describes something that happened to Paul when he first arrived at the front. Be sure to place that quote towards the beginning of your outline, no matter where it falls in the book.
2. (6 minutes) What does how Kat’s death occurs have to do with Peter’s return from the dying room. Explain. (Also, if anyone in your group has read Catch-22 be sure to allude to the death of Snowden).
3. (8 minutes) How does the attempted rescue of the messenger dog echo the much earlier incident with the dying horses; with Paul & Kat’s cooking of the goose? (this second connection is a bit more subtle, but perhaps more interesting – see if you can find an earlier mention of a dog in the book – remember Paul’s earlier encounter with geese before cooking them?) Tie it all together.
4. (5 minutes) If you remember, the person most upset with the horses’ deaths (towards the beginning of the novel) was Dettering. What happens to him? Why do the blossoms prompt him to leave? Now, a much more subtle question: Why does Paul not seem to be even tempted to desert the army? Think back to your answer to question 1 (especially the last parts of your outline) and to that strange jealously that Paul seemed to have for Kat and the older soldiers. If you have any time left take a look at the poem to the right and try to work it into this question.