Group Reflection On Chapter Four

By Parker, Sam, and Denny

Everybody deals with pain and loss, it is those around us that give us comfort. In the book, All Quiet On The Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, the soldiers face a lot of pain and loss during the war. They have to be there for each other and look out for one another. In the story there are a multitude of moments where someone needs help and receives it. There are also a few moments where someone is in pain and someone supports them and tries to help. It was on the battlefield, bomb shells were flying and soldiers were dying left and right. There were men scrambling for their lives, running towards shell holes and jumping in them, after all, a bomb never hits the same spot twice.  The explosions and gun fire were lessening as injured soldiers laid down in shelters. All of a sudden there was something, not bombs or gun fire “GAAAS- GAS” soldiers shouted from al angles.

“I look at Kat desperately, he has his mask on—I pull out mine, too, my helmet falls to one side, it slips over my face, I reach the man, his satchel is on the side nearest me, I seize the mask, pull it over his head, he understands, I let go and with a jump drop into the shell-hole.”

They were in the middle of a war. He could have just left the guy there and not help him, but instead he went out of his way to help out his comrade and put a gas mask on him. There are so many soldiers dying that they could have the attitude of just being like “this one guys life doesn’t matter” but obviously he decided to help out, because out on the battlefield, everyone is family. On the battlefield everyone is treated like family. Even if they are not friends, they would defend each other like brothers. So far, this book has displayed a lot of comradeship and showed us how important it is during battle.