Thoughts on "All Quiet on the Western Front" - A Summary Thus Far

Chapter One:
    Basic character introduction. Little happens here, although the dynamics between Ginger and all the other men of the Second Company are interesting. Ginger's unwillingness to bring his kitchen to the front line doesn't create a positive image of him in the soldiers' or reader's eyes.
    Looking back, the want of Kemmerich's boots wasn't an act of inconsideration on Müller's part, but rather one of self-enhancement. Although Müller would have preferred Kemmerich's survival, his death seemed obvious and Müller didn't want the boots to go to someone who neither deserved nor earned them.

Chapter Two:
    The second chapter introduces a contrast and a connection between what Paul thinks and what actually happens in the real world. I can only assume that he's actually in the hospital for the entire second chapter but merely spends the first half thinking.
    Paul's conversation with Kemmerich as the latter is dying is interesting to say the least, although I wouldn't want someone to tell me I was going to fine while I was clearly dying. Kemmerich's comment to Paul about taking the boots to Müller shows he knew he was going to die.

Chapter Three:
    In chapter three, the pecking order of the army is made clear. Those at the top peck first, and those underneath them peck last. However, if one has plenty of cigarettes and cigars handy, one may peck before his superior. My assumption about poison gas was correct, but the question Paul later asked: "Is it air-tight?" is a rather disconcerting one. If I was issued a gas mask I would assume it had already been tested for airtightness, but to the army soldiers are, well, soldiers: worthless pawns.
    Later, Paul&Co. are lying in wait for their superior, Kimmelstoss. As he passes by, they grab him, throw a bedsheet over him, and take their not-so-dignified revenge on him. Their having little or no respect for their superior officer shows up again in Chapter Five when Tjaden insults Kimmelstoss to his face. However, Kimmelstoss seems not to know what to do with the group when they show their disrespect in a way that doesn't violate any army regulations, and this probably fuels their disrespect.

Chapter Four:
    Chapter four is the first chapter in which the soldiers head to the front. The number of times I would have died (I counted five) is incredible, especially considering how few of the soldiers in the company actually died. Only eight were killed, although thirteen others were wounded. The quick thinking, reaction speed, and general time to full readiness of the soldiers is not only incredible, it's bordering inhuman. However, the horses' screams aggravating the soldiers shows they still have humanity in them, despite what they've seen.

Chapter Five:
    The group's disrespect for Kimmelstoss shows up here again, but here they get punished for the less severe insubordination, in contrast with the beating for which they weren't punished at all. If they hadn't used a bedsheet to ensure Kimmelstoss not knowing who his assailants were, this lack of consistency would be amazing.
    In the second half of the chapter, Paul and Katczinsky find two geese, successfully capture and kill one (although Paul makes good "friends" with a bulldog in the process), and cook the dead goose. They feast on the goose and take the rest to Kropp and Tjaden.

General Thoughts:
    The settings are often not described in extreme detail, leaving much of it to the imagination. In Chapter Four, for example, what I imagine is an enormous flat area with the Allied batteries on a raised hill. A forest surrounds on one side with an ocean on the other, and a trench and road run side-by-side past a graveyard. There are some destroyed houses along the road, and one intact house with no one living in it. I also imagine a fog between the Germans and the Allies, making it hard for the Germans to see their assailants.