and more than fear; they are thestrongest, most comforting thing there is anywhere: they are the voices of my comrades. I am no longer ... alone in the darkness;-- I belong to them and they to me; we all share the same fear and the same life, we are nearer thanlovers, in a simpler, a harder way; I could bury my face in them, in these voices, these words that have savedme and will stand by me. (Remarque, All Quiet IX. 186)Here, Baumer understands the reviving effects of his comrades words. Strikingly, as opposed to histownscitizens empty words, the words of Baumers comrades actually go beyond their literal meanings. That is,whereas Baumer notices that the words of the traditional world have no meaning, the words of his comradeshave more meaning than even they are aware of.In fact, true communication can exist in the world of the war with few or no words said at all. Thisphenomenon isperhaps best demonstrated in the novel during a scene involving Baumer and his Second Company mate,Stanislaus Katczinsky. This scene, with its Eucharistic overtones, can be counterpoised to Baumersmeetingwith Kemmerichs mother. During that meeting, Frau Kemmerich insisted on some kind of verbal attestationofBaumers spiritual disposition. As noted above, he is quite willing to give her such an asseverationbecause thewords he uses in doing so mean nothing to him. With Katczinsky, though, the situation is differentbecause thespirituality of the event is such that words are not necessary, in fact, would be hindrances to thecommunionBaumer and Katczinsky attain.The scene is a simple one. After Baumer and Katczinsky have stolen a goose, in a small deserted lean-tothey eatit together. We sit opposite one another, Kat and I, two soldiers in shabby coats, cooking a goose in the middleof the night. We dont talk much, but I believe we have a more complete communion with one another than even lovers have ... The grease drips from our h...
