All Quiet on the Western Front Post 10

In this next section we finally get to see what is like actually fighting on the front lines for Paul and his comrades. We left off with the beating of General Himmelstoss and the boys being high as a kite with satisfaction for they had been wanting to do that for a very long time. But now life on the front is not so fun. The section starts off with Paul, Kat, Muller, and a couple other friends of Pauls getting trucked out of the base. When they arrive at the front it is all calm and they are just getting set up for no fighting is occurring at the moment. But as the night progresses Kat, being the man of many mysteries, can feel it in his bones; there is going to be a bombardment tonight. Sure enough in the middle of the night the sky becomes like the fourth of July and Kat and Paul are on the run. There is a lot of gunfire but that is the least of anyones worries for the bombs are the only thing on any soldiers mind. They are able to find shelter behind trees, hills, and in ditches. But they are in the middle of a graveyard, so as each bomb falls to the ground bodies and coffins are flung into the air and land ontop of many soldiers. After a small bomb explodes right next to the pile of dirt Paul is hiding behind, Paul decides to make a jump into the hole it has created, for Paul says,"a bomber never lands in the same spot twice." Sure enough no harm comes to him but just as soon as the bombing stops the French unleash the gas. Kat yells over to Paul to put on his gas mask and tells him to pass it on to soldiers nearby. But being 1914 the masks barely block out the gas that they are exposed to. Paul's lungs begin to ache and he starts to get dizzy, but and the last second he forces himself awake. The fighting continues through the night and into the next morning and early afternoon. The section ends with Paul and Kat finally going back to base camp.

All Quiet on the Western Front Post 9

After learning about Katzcinsky's amazing talent last chapter i really didnt know what to expect in the following chapter. But low and behold the boys get lucky again for their most hated officer is coming to fight on the front with them, General Himmelstoss. The minute that name leaves the tongue of Tjaden, another good friend of Paul's, the boys set up a plan to get him back in the worst way possible. Lucky for them though Himmelstoss doesnt really know that the guys are stationed at the camp where he is going to. So one night on his way back from the pub, Himmelstoss takes his usual shortcut down an alley which leads him back to his base. But the boys are ready with clubs, a bed sheet and a pillow waiting behind a dumpster. So Muller runs behind the drunk Himmelstoss and throws the bed sheet over him. And at that the boys jump on him punching, kicking, biting, doing whatever they can to get all their anger out. They also had brought a pillow with them to muffle Himmelstoss' screams just so they could get the best out of their plan. The chapter ends with the boys running back to camp laughing their butts off at their revenge. Now this really got me thinking about how this might come back to get the guys later on in the book. I think in some way shape or form Himmelstoss will find out who it was that attacked him that night and will make them pay severly.

All Quiet on the Western Front Post 8

We left off with the death of Paul's very good friend, Kemmerich. The chapter ended with Paul giving Muller the boots, Kemmerichs most prized possession. the next chapter starts with the arrival of new troops. Now Paul, Kat, and the boys wanting to intimidate the new soldiers and make them earn their respect they go around camp harrassing soldiers they feel need to toughen up. It then branches off to Paul telling stories about how Katzcinsky is most amazing guy when it comes to survival. Paul tells us that Kat would be able to find a pot roast dinner in the middle of the Sahara Desert if thats what they wanted or needed. He would be able to find firewood in the plains of Africa, any natural resource or necessity you needed Kat could find. Paul then tells a story about how Paul and a couple other men land near an old abandoned barrack. So Kat asks one of the locals if there is anywhere he can find food, water, and fire wood. The man says everything is gone no animals, food, no nothin. So Kat goes out exploring and comes back with loads of fire wood, two loaves of bread and a bloody sack full of horse meat. Nobody can believe their eyes when they see him. So the rest of the night the soldiers just feast on horse meat and bread, Paul describes it as "mom's cooking in the middle of hell." Each soldier in the novel seems to have their own special trait that gets them through the day and is something you would never expect out of any of them.

All Quiet on the Western Front Post 7

We now return to the soldiers hospital with Paul sitting next to Kemmerichs bed. Kemmerich has survived thus far but is not going to see another day, Paul explains. His hands only bone, and his legs are like twigs. His face is a sickly yellow and all hope for survival has lost his heart, Paul can see it in his eyes. As Paul sits next to his dear friend Kemmerich, he talks about old childhood memories and their mischievious acts to their teachers. Paul is trying as hard as he can to try and yank any tid-bit of faith out of Kemmerich to try and revive his spirit, but all hope is lost when Kemmerich finally looks Paul in the eyes and tells him his boots may go to Muller. Now this is a huge part of the chapter for Kemmerichs boots are his last prized possesion and him leaving them really shows he has given up all faith in living. Through Paul's teary eyes he gives his friend one last hug goodbye and begins to exit the room. As he glances one last time through the doorway Kemmerich goes stiff and slowly falls away. Panicking at the sight of his closest friend dying, he runs to try and retrieve a doctor or a nurse but none are in sight. Finally Paul is able to find one but all the nurse says is, "cool it buddy, its my seventeenth death today leave him be, by the way we need the bed space so say one last goodbye and get outta here." Unable to control himself Paul rushes down the hallway, tears streaming down his face, through the exit door and out into the night. The chapter ends with Paul giving the boots to Muller and both beginning to mourn the death of a close and dear friend.

All Quiet on the Western Front Post 6

In AQWF, Paul Baumer tells us about his journey through the army from the beginning to the present. He describes how harsh his army career started out at first because of his listing with the most intense and harsh army general, General Himmelstoss. Paul explains to us how Himmelstoss was not a large man, he was, "a small undersized fellow with a foxy, waxed moustache, who had seen twelve years of service and was in civil life a postman." A small fellow but he took no gruff from anyone. He was the strictest general and was proud of it. Paul enlightens us on how Himmelstoss was not only strict towards Paul and his comrades, but also took a special disliking to these young twenty year olds. Many chores were assigned to Paul, the worst of the lot at that, they included; having to remake Himmelstoss' bed fourteen times in one hour, kneading a pair of his iron boots for twenty hours to make them soft as butter, scrubbing the Corporals Mess with a toothbrush, and many more brutal and purposeless chores. The chores were just have the problem, Paul explains, the training only got worse; having to stand out in freshly plowed fields doing "prepare to advance, advance!" until he was a pile of mud. But overall Paul informs us that Himmelstoss, being as brutal and relentless as he was, couldn't have prepared Paul and his comrades more for the front line and the trenches for without his training, Paul says, he would have died within days out on the western front.

All Quiet on the Western Front Post 5

AQWF is getting really good. Thanks to both Quinn Deeds and my mom and dad's reccomendations I have successfully chosen a book that I do not want to put down. I feel that I like it so much because the author, Erich Remarque's, writing style is so vivid and interactive that the reader feels as though he has known a character like Paul Baumer for a while. I left off where Paul and his comrades are just leaving the hospital. They have just visited their friend Kemmerich who has just had his leg amputated. They are all grieving for Kemmerich because the doctors told the guys that he will probably not make it through the night. As they enter his room all of them try to maintain the best of spirits but are still very melancholy. One of Pauls commrades sees a pair of Kemmerichs very nice, stern, top of the line boots lying under the bed and kind of pesters Kemmerich in which I portrayed to be a very jerk-like thing to do for a friend who is dying and needs all the confidence he can get. But as Paul's friend pesters Kemmerich to have the boots Paul notices that Kemmerichs eyes no longer have that "flicker of life" as they used to. He feels sorry for his friend and elbows his pestering commrade in the gut to make him stop. The guys leave the hospital all down in the dumps like for they are going to miss their old friend who used to fight alongside them, as would any human being at the loss of someone who was dear to them.

Annotation 2

Beriebeck, Helmut. "Why Soft Drinks Contribute to Obesity." Natural News.com. 1 Sept. 2008. 7 Dec. 2008 .
The author, Helmut Beriebeck, talks about how the increased consumption of soft drinks over the past years has been a contributing factor to the increased obesity rates. In his first statement Beriebeck talks about how high fructose corn syrup which was introduced 30 years ago is now a main ingredient in almost all soft drinks. Now this may just seem coincidential at first but not after studies that have been done. Studies have shown that high fructose syrup does not trigger the same safety signals to the body as something like sucrose sweetening does. So because of the increased intake of high fructose corn syrup due to the increased intake of things like soft drinks one can conclude that high fructose corn syrup is a major leading cause of obesity in many people’s lives.