All Quiet on the Western Front Lesson Plan

How would you describe the tone of the scene where Paul and company are cooking a massive feast for themselves while being bombarded? How does this scene differ from the rest of the novel? Are there other any similar moments of levity?

Arguably, this is one of the only scenes that verges on humor in a novel that is otherwise very serious and somber. In it, the reader gets a sense of the soldiers in high spirits, so thrilled by the good fortune of their feast that the barrage of artillery doesn't faze them. The scene is almost absurd, but its absurdity parallels the ongoing theme of the irrationality of war. Students might also point to the scene when the soldiers meet the...