| A | B |
|---|
| Isn't it ironic? | the German army is prepared enough to have coffins ready, but can't supply decent food |
| reason for the name "corpse rats" | they feed on the dead bodies of both animals and humans |
| method of rat extermination | attracting them with bread crusts, then hitting them with spades |
| foreshadowing for a rough battle | stacks of new coffins ready for when they are needed |
| reason for using spades rather than bayonets | bayonets get jamed, leaving the soldier an open target while he removes it |
| claustrophobia | the fear of closed in places |
| result of the recruit's fit | he is determined to get out of the trench |
| the way the recruit is finally brought to his senses | a whipping |
| the reason Paul hesitates to throw his grenade | He catches the eye of an enemy soldier, realizing the enemy is human, too. |
| the reason the soldiers do not react at all to wounded men | they must deaden their feelings so they can continue to fight |
| what the Germans take from the French before returning to their own lines | cooling water, provisions, especially corned beef & butter, bread and cognac |
| the irony of Paul's wondering whether he would have experienced love by the time he was 20 | he has only experienced hate (and death) |
| effect of memories on Paul during training | they made him want to return to his former life |
| the effect on Paul of memories once he really gets engaged in the war | indifference? Paul thinks he can never really return to his former life |
| reason they cannot find the wounded man | his mouth must be against the ground |
| one result of shelling, the overturning of earth | burying many of the dead |
| what "hisses"? | a body as it rots and the gases leave it |
| the butterfly lighting on the skull | symbolic of nature's indifference to war & its effects |
| the reason the reinforcements are killed so rapidly | they know nothing, not weaponry, not taking cover, not how to react to gas attack |
| What brings Himmelstoss to his senses? | the order from the lieutenant |
| Even though the men try to teach the new recruits, what keeps them from learning? | their fright; in their fright they do everthing wrong |
| the battle is called a victory | only a few hundred yards of land is lost |
| the number of men left out of the original 150 | 32 |
