Question

In the book "All Quiet on the Western Front," how do Paul and Albert's reactions to their injuries compare and contrast in Chapter 10?

a) Both Paul and Albert react with fear and despair.
b) Paul is hopeful while Albert is despondent.
c) Paul becomes indifferent, whereas Albert remains optimistic.
d) Paul and Albert react in the same way to their injuries.

Answer 1

Paul becomes indifferent to his injury, focusing on survival; Albert, on the other hand, becomes despondent, troubled by his amputated leg and future prospects in 'All Quiet on the Western Front'. The correct answer is option c) Paul becomes indifferent, whereas Albert remains optimistic.

Step-by-step explanation:

In All Quiet on the Western Front, the reactions of Paul and Albert to their injuries in Chapter 10 are different. While Paul becomes somewhat indifferent to his injury, focusing on the present and survival, Albert becomes increasingly despondent, reflecting on the impact his amputated leg will have on his future.

This contrast exemplifies the varying psychological responses soldiers had to their wounds during World War I, with some like Paul trying to maintain a level of detachment as a coping mechanism, and others like Albert unable to escape the dread of their altered futures.

The themes of hopelessness and the mechanized destruction of war, which rendered individual heroism irrelevant, are central to the novel and its portrayal of the soldier's experience on the Western Front.