At the beginning of the third chapter, new privates join the Second Company. The interactions between Katczinsky and the new privates say a lot about the ground rules of 'society' in the army. For example, when he dumps food on the one private's mess tin, he says to in future come with a cigarette in the other hand. Cigarettes form the basic currency for the army society, and the hierarchy is experience-based, at least in the bottom levels. When Paul and company first saw the privates, they were being handed gas masks, implying poison gas is a serious threat.
Matthew-
ReplyDeleteKatczinsky certainly treats his new recruits badly. And you're right, the treatment is appropriate for the social norms of the military. Some people think that the military seeks to dissolve a young man's sense of self so that it gets replaced by a sense of self that is connected to the organization. This process is called "deindividuation" in the school of social psychology. What do you think?
Deindividuation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deindividuation
Additionally, what might be the goal of deindividuation? Do you see it happening anywhere else in the novel?
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