At the start of the book, the protagonist, Paul Baumer, is nineteen years old. The company he is a part of has just come back from the front for rations. Only eighty out of the original one-hundred and fifty men return. The cook only will give them rations for eighty men but eventually give them everything. Soon after, Paul finds his former classmate, Kemmerich, in a bed with his leg amputated and dying. He has a new pair of boots he cannot wear. Their comrade, Muller, wants these boots, but only if there is no chance of Kemmerich using them. Kemmerich soon dies and tells Paul to give his boots to Muller.

New recruits are sent to the front, and Paul's friend Katczinsky(otherwise known as Kat) has made a great stew of beef and beans. He said that if all men in the army were given the same food and the same wages that wars would end immedia

Paul receives seventeen days leave from the front to go home. When he gets there, he has a difficult time being there. His family is asking about how well the German forces are doing, hearing glowing reports at home. Paul's father wants Paul to parade around the town in his uniform to display how proud he is of his son the soldier. All of this makes Paul very uneasy. He does not want to say that the Germans are doing poorly in battle and that he does not want to continue in this war. The civilians are under a different impression, that the Germans are doing wonderfully in battle. The government has told them that to increase morale on the home-front. They are proud of their soldiers where they should not(at least according to Paul). He also finds out how his mother is dying of cancer and that Kantorek has been conscripted as a soldier. Paul goes to Kemmerich's mother to tell her that her son's death was instant and painless(where is was not). He then proceeds to a training camp with Russian prisoners-of-war nearby and sees how they are people too, not the inhuman monsters that the German government made them out to be.

Paul and his friends are given an easy assignment for three weeks, to protect a supply depot away from the fighting. Paul and Kropp both get injured and have to bribe a sergeant- major with cigars in order to get on the hospital train together. When they get to the hospital, Paul undergoes surgery and Kropp's leg is amputated. After the surgery, Paul have a short leave at home, then returns to his company. When he returns, he finds that the Germans have gone on a large offense. One by one, Paul's friends die in combat. By the fall of 1918, Paul is the only one remaining out of his circle of friends. Soldiers everywhere believe that the Germans are going to surrender soon and that peace will come. Paul gets poisoned in a gas attack and is granted a short leave. He believes that he is ruined for peacetime, because war is

Some common words found in the essay are:
Paul Kat, Western Front, Paul Kropp, Soon Paul, World War, Corporal Himmelstoss, Katczinskyotherwise Kat, Paul Baumer, British French, Maria Remarque, western front, trench warfare, world war, war trench warfare, short leave, paul returns, leg amputated, perspective american, german soldiers, war trench, quiet western front, world war trench, germans doing,
Approximate Word count = 1329
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)