This novel is written in a first person style. The book revolves around Paul Baumer, a nineteen year old student who enlisted into World War I with his classmates. There were twenty young men in Platoon #9, where he was assigned. Three of his classmates enlisted only due to their fear of being called cowards and all enlisted at the age of nineteen. Some of the names include Albert Krapp, Muller, Leer and also Tjaden, Haie Westhus and Detering. The leader of the group was a forty year old by the name of Katczinsky "Kat". Corporal Himmelstoss was the No. #9 Platoon Commander. Himmelstoss was a little man and was very strict and mean. He did not like the boys and he knew that he had to get rid of their innocence due to the fact he sensed their defiance. Himmelstoss had ten weeks to prepare the boys for war and he felt that the best way was to make them clean in order to understand orders and discipline. The boys had to scrub out Corporal's Mess with a toothbrush, clear all the barracks, and clean off snow using only a dustpan and a broom. They had to stand at attention with their brass rifle at their side without gloves for a quarter of an hour while Himmelstoss watched for the slightest movement. The boys hated Corporal Himmelstoss and felt as though they had taken enough abuse from their commander, which explains why they finally snapped by talking back and purposefully not obeying orders. The boys did not understand the behavior, which they viewed as cruel, was only their Commander trying to prepare them for the circumstances that they would face in the future. He
             felt that the preparation would make them ready to face the difficulties that would be encountered on the front line or the war in general. Unfortunately, no preparation would help the boys find out the full extent of what a war entails until they were fully into it.
             The ten weeks of training was finally over and the boys were deemed as ...