All Quiet on the Western Front Lesson Plan

Paul says that all soldiers believe in luck and chance. Do you? Why do you think this belief is important for soldiers on the front?

Students should draw on evidence from the novel to support their comments. Throughout the novel, Remarque (via Paul) comments upon the randomness of who lives and who dies in war. Students should consider how the techniques of modern warfare, such as aerial bombing and poisonous gas, alienate soldiers from one another and aim to kill as many of the faceless enemy as possible. Because of the scale of the attacks and the distance from which they are issued, their effects are devastating and widespread. There are several occasions in the novel...