"We remember mighty little of all that rubbish. Anyway, it has never been the slightest use to us. At school nobody ever taught us how to light a cigarette in a storm of rain, nor how a fire could be made with wet wood--nor that it is best to stick a bayonet in the belly because there it doesn't get jammed, as it does in the ribs" (85).
During chapter 5, the readers took a break from reading detailed scenes during the battles by being able to listen to the conversations that Bäumer and his friends make. During these conversations an interesting topic is brought up, things taught in school. Since Müller is the person in their squad who takes his studies more serious than anyone, he asks tons of questions, both about studies and "what if's". Because of that, his friends make fun of him such as when he asks how many inhabitants Melbourne has and Bäumer responding with, "How do you expect to succeed in life if you don't know that?" The way the quote in the beginning connects to this is how Bäumer is saying that they don't remember any of the useless information thrown at them in school, the way Müller does. However, he does wish that the teachers at school taught them useful life skills such as how a fire could be made with wet wood. It can be inferred that this is the way that everyone thinks except Müller as no one agrees with Müller other than mocking him. Since they are soldiers and these people don't exactly have the greatest hope of getting out of war alive, they do not value their studies and don't plan ahead. This makes them have no guaranteed future if they make out alive, but what these people are focused on right now are staying alive and knowing skills to stay alive. This is the actual reason that Bäumer and his friends are making fun of Müller, because they are wondering how Müller can think about studies during war.
During chapter 5, the readers took a break from reading detailed scenes during the battles by being able to listen to the conversations that Bäumer and his friends make. During these conversations an interesting topic is brought up, things taught in school. Since Müller is the person in their squad who takes his studies more serious than anyone, he asks tons of questions, both about studies and "what if's". Because of that, his friends make fun of him such as when he asks how many inhabitants Melbourne has and Bäumer responding with, "How do you expect to succeed in life if you don't know that?" The way the quote in the beginning connects to this is how Bäumer is saying that they don't remember any of the useless information thrown at them in school, the way Müller does. However, he does wish that the teachers at school taught them useful life skills such as how a fire could be made with wet wood. It can be inferred that this is the way that everyone thinks except Müller as no one agrees with Müller other than mocking him. Since they are soldiers and these people don't exactly have the greatest hope of getting out of war alive, they do not value their studies and don't plan ahead. This makes them have no guaranteed future if they make out alive, but what these people are focused on right now are staying alive and knowing skills to stay alive. This is the actual reason that Bäumer and his friends are making fun of Müller, because they are wondering how Müller can think about studies during war.
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