The Practicality of War

           The theft of Kemmerich's watch and Mueller's plans to take his boots shows us how war has made the men think in a more practical sense, rather than strictly having a sympathetic and respectful stance. The watch was stolen whilst Kemmerich was unconscious and wounded in battle, meaning that a soldier saw that a man with a nice watch was either dead or dying, and therefore would not need to tell time anymore. And so, the soldier who is need of a watch, in need of money from a selling a watch, or in need of something as beautiful as a nice watch in such a brutal and unbearable place.
           Mueller was thinking along the same lines. He saw as well as the others that Kemmerich was dying. Even if he went home and continued to live, wearing a singular boot and not walking in it does a body no good. One of Mueller's constant pains has to do with the blisters caused by his cheap boots. He would be someone who could benefit greatly from nice supple boots, and it would only make sense that if they were going to go to anyone, a friend would be best.
           On the one hand, the random soldier who took the watch did not know Kemmerich, and therefore did one of two things; he heartlessly stole a wounded man's watch, or he took something that would not have otherwise been used, and decided to make use of it. Mueller, the reader knows, did the latter. But since the identity of the thief is unknown, we can only guess as to which he really did. It does not necessarily mean that the morals of men have been decayed by war, but rather that things must sometimes be overlooked for the sake of practicality and logic.