Trench Journal- Literary Analysis (Ch 5)

Paul and his friends are back at camp trying to rid themselves of lice.
Himmelstoss has arrived at the front for overdoing it with some recruits.
Muller starts to ask the others what they'll do when the war is over and Haie says he'd stick it out with the army because it's easier than digging peat.
Himmelstoss approaches them and Tjaden calls him a dirty hound and continues to insult him.
Himmelstoss marches off to have Tjaden court-martialed. Haie laughs so hard he dislocates his jaw.
Muller continues to question the other soldiers which leads to them making fun of all the things they learned in school.
They discuss how difficult it will be to adjust to their lives after the war. Himmelstoss returns with the Sergeant-major who tells them that Tjaden must report to the Orderly Room in ten minutes.
The trial comes about and Kropp is given one day in jail and Tjaden gets three days in jail. Kat and Paul go to steal the two geese they spotted earlier. Paul grabs them but is attacked by a bull dog. He fires his gun and gets away with the birds. Kat cooks them and they give the leftovers to Kropp and Tjaden.


Paul feels good about Himmelstoss being reprimanded for how he treats recruits and about catching the two geese.


"Muller is insatiable and gives himself no peace"(Remarque 77).


Insatiable-incapable of being satisfied or appeased


"Everybody wants to be well in with a bobby"(Remarque 79).


Bobby-a policeman (term generally refers to a British Policeman)


The German navy, in order to stop the shipping of neutral countries and to defeat the British navy without suffering many losses, resorted to the U-boat to sink ships without taking any losses themselves. This cartoon shows a large hand labeled Germany reaching up from the depths of the sea to the ships floating on the surface. The cartoon is headed "Germany under all." This refers to the Germans' utilization of the submarine to sink their enemies navy with relatively little casualties. The Germans also used their subs to sink trading ships since they could not capture them and force them into port. This method worked and made the Germans an intimidating foe at sea.


In this chapter I learned that friendship can help a person overcome obstacles in their way and provide some relief from the stress one may endure.