The Girls

1. The Girls By: Sarah Seidler, Devon Moyer, and Sara Kane

2. Summary Paul says, “The houses on our side have been abandoned. On the other side through one occasionally sees inhabitants” (143). This shows how the soldiers have houses that are empty on their side of the lake and on the other side of the lake the houses have the occasional person in the house. There are women on the other side of the lake. The soldiers see them and try to have intercourse with the girls. The women are close to the front lines so they are low on necessities. Paul said, “the cigarettes we put in too, as well as three good rations of liver sausage” (146). The women are starving so they need the food. They will do anything for the food. The soldiers go over that night and end up staying with the women. When they leave they see Tjaden going over to the girls.

3. Theme This exerptexemplifies the cheapened value of human life. The war is so bad that women are willing to trade sex for food. The women are willing to degrade themselves as well as the men. Paul says, “they hold up every slice of livered sausage and admire it before they eat it, and we sit proudly by” (148). The women are so hungry that they are willing to do anything to live. If they do not have food they cannot survive. The war is the reason that so many people are not able to survive. Human life itself has decreased in its value.

4. Paul’s Mindset Paul thinks of being with the women as magnificent at first. Paul wants, “it all to fall from me, war and terror and grossness, in order to awaken young and happy” (150). He is thinking of how he does not want to deal with how bad the war is and all the bad stuff that is happening. He wants to leave the war and be happy and have the life that is good for him.