[Music] in Chapter one of All Quiet on the Western Front the narrator young German Paul boomer describes his current life on the front lines of World War one his platoon is resting five miles behind the front and they've eaten well for the first time in a long while they've received a substantial ration of cigars cigarettes and chewing tobacco owing to the fact that half of the men in the platoon were killed in combat the previous day these extra rations were meant for the now dead soldiers most of the men have received letters from home and are resting in a meadow where they can still hear bombs from the frontlines in the distance as they enjoy their extra rations Paul Boomer and his friends are uneasy in their awareness that they could very well have been the ones who died the narrator then introduces his various comrades crop the clearest thinker among us Muller who still studies for school exams jhaddon a skinny locksmith with a huge appetite and Kachinsky or cat the leader of their group who's much older than the rest of them Paul notes that he and most of his comrades are 19 years old and that the men's behavior here is very different from their behavior at home here they go to the bathroom shamelessly in front of each other and they don't hesitate to use vulgar language crop has received a letter from their old school teacher Cantor ik who had encouraged Paul and his friends to volunteer for the war for the sake of patriotic duty Paul notes that not to have volunteered would have meant that he and his friends would have been ostracized by their families and community and that there were thousands of Cantor X all of whom were convinced that they were acting for the best in a way that cost them nothing he now feels bitter that he trusted adults like Cantor Eck who were supposed to mentor and guide them instead they failed them by idealizing war Paul and his friends visit a wounded comrade Franz kenric in the infirmary camera has just had his leg amputated someone stole his watch while he was unconscious but Paul feels that the theft doesn't matter because he thinks camera quill likely died in the infirmary anyway Muller eyes kim uruk's boots realizing that they'll be useful for one of them to keep rather than present the novel as the story of a glorious war hero chapter one is quick to paint a picture of how the brutal realities of modern war affect soldiers many previous novels about war tend to emphasize the nobility and honor of being a soldier leaving out the bloodier tragic aspects of warfare and the psychological damage that results also Paul saw authority figures such as Cantor act as mentors with wisdom to be respected but after witnessing the death of his friends in battle he realizes canter akin his generation know nothing about the realities of war and are able to hide behind books and lectures while instructing younger people on the concept of honor and duty you