Talking Points for All Quiet on the Western Front

Some thoughts that I had while reading the novel:

• A generation of men that went from high school to the war and completely lost out on many things in between
• The idea that one must detach themselves from their feeling in the war because the feeling would overcome them if they allowed it to.
• Paul felt weird when he was on leave because all he knew was the trenches and he did not feel normal being around civilians.
• No happy ending, everyone dies in the end. -idea that there is no happy ending in any war, whether you win or lose.
• The concept that the soldiers weren't fighting for their country, but they were fighting war itself. Both sides could relate to each other because they both were in the same harsh conditions. The soldiers in the trenches had more in common with their enemies than the people that they were supposedly fighting for.