I see how people turn against each other and silently, unconsciously, foolishly, obediently, innocently kill each other... And all the men of my age, here and there, throughout the world you see these things; my whole generation is experiencing these things with me... What do they expect from us if the time ever comes for the war to end? Over the years our business continued to kill: it was our first calling in life. Our knowledge of life is limited to death. What will happen next? And what will come of it? (194)This is the central theme of the novel. Paul and all other men of his age began life experiencing death. The older generations experienced the war after laying the foundation for their lives, and the younger generation did not really have to experience the war. Most of Paul's generation did not survive the war, and those who survived physically still lost the opportunity to live normally. Before his death, Paul realizes that time cannot take anything away from him: he had already lost hope in life, which is the only thing that time can