The First World War thundered, which left an indelible imprint on the destinies and souls of the inhabitants of Germany. The country is suffering from a severe economic crisis.
The friendship of Robert Lokamp, Gottfried Lenz and Otto Kester began in their school years. Then they fought together, and at the time of the novel they worked in a car repair shop. Robert celebrates his thirtieth birthday - he is sad, he is disturbed by memories. He is tormented by the memory of graduating from school, of being drafted into the army at the age of eighteen in 1916
year, about the wounding of Kester, about the horrific death of fellow soldiers from poisonous gases and severe wounds. 1919
the year was no less difficult - during the putsch, Lenz and Kester were arrested, there was nothing to eat, and prices rose sharply. Kester tried to make money as best he could. He first studied at the university, then tried himself as a pilot and race car driver, but, in the end, he acquired a car repair shop. Lenz and Lokamp joined Kester. Friends earned a little, but enough to live on, and only memories still haunted. To fight the past, there was only one effective weapon - vodka.
Kester and Lenz solemnly welcome the birthday boy with a gift - no one knows where and how they got six bottles of old rum. But comrades will celebrate later, after work. At the auction, friends bought an old, dilapidated car, which they call "Karl". They've been working late, put a powerful race car engine in a Cadillac, and now they're having fun, noisily overtaking cars that look much better than the Carl. Lokamp, Lenz and Kester went to the suburbs to celebrate a birthday. There they meet a man and a woman whose car they had previously overtaken. Together they arrange a stormy feast in one of the roadside cafes.
After a fun celebration, Robbie returns to his home. There, the author introduces readers to the neighbors of Lokamp, who, by the will of fate, ended up here. These are the Hasse married couple, constantly quarreling over finances, the applicant Georg Blok, who is making every effort to enter, although he suffers from a lack of money, as well as Count Orlov, who is tormented by memories of life in Russia. The plight brings together all the inhabitants of the house - they help each other with money, useful advice and a good attitude. Not far from the guesthouse is a cemetery and the Café Internationale, where Robbie once worked as a pianist.
Robert makes an appointment with Patricia Holman, a girl he met at a roadside cafe on her birthday. While waiting for her, Lokamp drinks cognac. The cafe has a lot of customers, so they move to the bar. Fred, the owner of the establishment, greets Robbie, which gives the latter confidence. There is no one in the bar except Valentin Gauser. Robert has known him since the war. Valentin received an inheritance and now spends money on alcohol. Gauzer is happy that he did not die, and now celebrates it every day. Lokamp believes that Gauser is the only one who managed to make his own little happiness out of trouble. It's hard for Robert to keep up a conversation with Pat, but after drinking a lot, his tongue is still loosened. Seeing Pat home, Lokamp realizes that he is drunk. He is annoyed by this thought and, returning to the bar, gets completely drunk.
After consulting with Lenz, Robert sends Pat a bouquet of roses as an apology. Lokamp can't stop thinking about the girl. Her appearance in Robbie's life makes him reconsider all his views on the world. He remembers how the young men have changed after returning from the war. Despite their young age, they were devoid of faith. They were overcome by the desire to fight everything that was in the past - with lies and pride, self-interest and indifference, they stopped trusting anyone except their best friends. The time when spiritual values dominated has passed, now everything is decided by money and position in society.
Robert and Pat met again. A girl who has never driven a car before gets behind the wheel for the first time on a deserted street. At this moment, Robert and Pat feel an incredible closeness. This is followed by a trip to a bar, where they meet Lenz, with whom they go to an amusement park. After the lovers ride on the new carousel and roller coaster, the whole company goes to the pavilion, where they put plastic rings on hooks. Thanks to the agility of friends and experience (they had so much fun being at the front), Robbie and Lentz win all the prizes not only in this pavilion, but also in the next one. The third was closed by the arrival of the winners. Joyful friends distribute all the prizes won to passers-by, leaving only wine and a frying pan for themselves.
Lenz and Kester are respectful of Robert's feelings, so they gladly accept Pat into their society. Thus, she ended up at the races that Kester had signed up for. All week, the comrades carefully watched the "Karl". The rest of the mechanics chuckle at the Cadillac, which infuriates Lenz, though Robbie manages to calm him down. The start for "Karl" was unsuccessful - he left the penultimate one. But towards the end, he accelerated and, taking advantage of the interference in the enemy’s engine, Kester is ahead of him by two meters. Friends want to celebrate the victory in the bar, but the bartender Alphonse invites them to his place at his own expense. Comrades accept the invitation with great pleasure. At the feast, a lot of attention is paid to Pat, so Robert suggests that she slip away unnoticed. They go to a quiet and foggy cemetery near Robbie's boarding house, where they will then go. Pat likes Lokamp's room for its warmth. The girl falls asleep with her head resting on Robert's arm. Now he understands that he is loved, although he does not realize why.
There is no money, so friends at the auction buy a car and take turns working as drivers. The first was Robert. He got into a fight with a competitor, but then they became friends and drank vodka together. So Robbie became a taxi driver and made a new friend, Gustav.
Lokamp first visited Pat's apartment, which she once owned. Now the girl rents two rooms. The furniture here is tastefully selected and only reminds of the former well-being. Pat takes out rum and talks about his thorny life path; she had to endure hunger and a whole year in the hospital. She is still experiencing financial difficulties, so she gets a job as a record salesman. Robert is unhappy that Pat will have to depend on someone, but he cannot help the girl with anything. He is tormented by doubts that perhaps Pat does not need a man like Robbie, but a better one.
Robert manages to successfully sell the refurbished Cadillac, which he immediately informs his friends, who are amazed by the commercial success of Lokamp, which does not happen to them so often. After receiving the check, Robbie takes a two-week vacation and takes Pat to the seaside. On the way, they stop in the forest, where they lie on the grass and listen to the cuckoo. The girl counted a hundred calls of the cuckoo and says that this is how much she would like to live. Kester took care of Pat and Robert - he announces the upcoming arrival of the couple Frau Müller, the owner of the hotel where Otto stayed the year after the war. The lovers are relaxing on the beach, but Robert is again haunted by memories of the war years. IN 1917
soldiers also basked on the beach without equipment and weapons. Soon many of them were killed. In the evening, the couple went for a walk in a Citroen, which was overshadowed by a sudden deterioration in Pat's health. The next day, she started bleeding. Robert seeks help from Kester, who finds Dr. Jaffe, who once treated Pat. The doctor was soon brought to the patient. After a couple of weeks, Pat felt somewhat better that she was able to get home.
Jaffe tells Robert the girl's medical history and strongly recommends resuming treatment at the sanatorium. He takes Lokamp on his rounds to show patients who are recovering. It was necessary for Robert not to show his anxiety. To cheer up the stalemate, he brings a gift from Gustav - a cute, thoroughbred puppy.
Working as a taxi driver does not provide much income, so Gustav invites Robert to go to the races. He is very lucky there. Appealing to Robbie good luck at that time was very helpful - "Karl" soon had the next race. Before the eyes of Robert and Gustav, an accident occurs, they help the victims get to the hospital and negotiate the conditions for repairing the damaged car. But they already have dangerous competitors - four other brothers saw this accident, and also wanted to get an order. The fight was tough (one of the brothers had already served time for murder), but the comrades won and immediately set to work.
The weather has deteriorated: it has become cold, and the rain is pouring without stopping. Dr. Jaffe informs Robert that Pat must be urgently taken to a sanatorium, where they are already waiting for her. The resort is located in the mountains, and the blue sky, bright sun and fluffy snow will definitely benefit Pat. Many former patients returning to the mountains meet on the train. Pat and Robert spent a week together.
However, here too, failure awaited friends. The owner of the car, which was recently repaired by friends, went bankrupt, and the car was put up for auction. The car is not insured, so the comrades will not receive anything for the work done. A decision was made to sell the workshop, as there is no other way out.
Robert is having dinner at the International Restaurant, where he meets some acquaintances. One of them, Lilly, a reluctant prostitute whose wedding was recently so lavishly celebrated, is getting a divorce because her husband has spent all her money and is now outraged by the girl's past, supposedly unknown to him before. Robert contacts the sanatorium. He is informed that Pat does not get out of bed. Robbie is so upset that he gets drunk. Kester persuades him to drive, despite his drunken state.
There is unrest in the city due to the growing movement of the Nazis. The workers naively believe that the fascists do not care about politics, and firmly believe that they will be helped. Lenz also goes to the rally, who was later taken away by his friends. On the way to the car, four guys appeared out of nowhere, one of whom shot Lenz. Kester tries to catch up with the killer, but he fails. Gottfried Lenz died.
Robert, Kester and Alphonse decide to find the culprit. In a suburban cafe, the killer was able to slip away, but was then killed by Alphonse anyway. Robbie and Kester leave for Pat, as they received a telegram asking them to come as soon as possible.
There is not enough money, so friends had to go to "Karl". Kester and Robert skeptically listen to the consolations of doctors and stories about the recovery of the hopelessly ill. Friends take Pat out of the sanatorium for lunch in the countryside. On the way back, they admire the sunset. Everyone understands that this is the last sunset of the girl, but they are silent about it. Kester leaves and soon sends money; Robbie realizes that Carl has been sold. Pat, too, can no longer listen to the consolations of doctors, so he asks Robert for permission to do whatever he wants in order to be absolutely happy in the last days. In March, when landslides began in the mountains, Patricia Holman died.
The action takes place in Germany around 1928. Three former soldiers, comrades from the First World War - Robert Lokamp (Robbie), Otto Kester and Gottfried Lenz - have a small car repair shop in the town.
They usually earn money thanks to Inspector Barzig, an expert from the Phoenix Insurance Company, who delivers cars after accidents for a car repair shop. In their free time, three comrades drive an old car with a large body. For its modest appearance and the enormous speed that the car develops, three friends nicknamed it "Karl" - "the ghost of the highway." In addition to repairs and driving, comrades like to drink with Ferdinand and Valentin in Alphonse's pub or the International cafe, where Robbie plays the piano.
Robbie befriends local prostitutes Lily, Rosa, the transvestite Kiki, and hermit widower Stefan Grigoleit, chairman of the Cattlemen's Union. Not far from the International, Lokamp rents a small apartment in a building near a cemetery. The mistress of the house, Frau Zalewski, loves Robert, and Frida, the maid, is at enmity with him.
Robert or Robbie, as he is commonly known, met a charming girl from a wealthy family, Patricia Holman (Pat). Although Robbie and Pat came from different backgrounds, they developed an affectionate relationship. The novel depicts the development of their love against the background of the economic and political crisis in pre-war Germany.
Issues
The novel continues the theme of the "lost generation". People who have gone through the fear of war cannot escape the ghosts of the past. War memories constantly torment the protagonist. Hungry childhood caused the illness of his beloved. But it was the military fraternity that rallied the three comrades Robert Lokamp, Otto Koester and Gottfried Lenz. And they are ready for anything for the sake of friendship. Despite the death that literally permeates the novel, he talks about the desire for life.
Robert Lokamp (Robbie) is the main character, it is on his behalf that the author leads the story. Co-owner of the Avrema auto repair shop, loves strong alcoholic drinks, and above all, rum.
Otto Kester is a friend of Robert since the war, the founder and co-owner of Avrem, an amateur race car driver. Calm and balanced in nature.
Gottfried Lenz - comrade of Robert Lokamp since the war, co-owner of Avrem. Hot, cheerful, sensual, for which he is often called "the last romantic." Tall and thin with a mop of straw hair on his head.
Patricia Holman (Pat) is a slender, thin girl with silky brown hair and long fingers. She came from an impoverished aristocratic family.
Ferdinand Grau is a plump artist who paints the dead to order and loves to philosophize.
Valentin Gauser is Robbie's comrade since the war. He was especially worried about her, because he was very much afraid for his own life. After returning from the front, he undertook to celebrate life and enjoy every minute of it - to drink away all his huge inheritance.
Alphonse is the owner of a pub and a great friend of Lenz. Likes fights and choral music. A strong, calm person with small eyes.
Selected quotes "Walking graveyard steaks" - the final phrase of a drunken Robbie during a quarrel with a fat passer-by.
Modesty and conscientiousness are rewarded only in novels.
“Only a fool wins in life, a wise man sees too many obstacles and loses confidence until he has time to start something.” - Ferdinand Grau.
“We all live with illusions and debts ... Illusions are from the past, and debts are at the expense of the future,” Gottfried Lenz and Ferdinand Grau.
“A woman should not tell a man that she loves him. Let her shining, happy eyes speak for it,” Robbie.
Love is born in a person, but never ends in it.
Happiness is the most uncertain and costly thing in the world.
To be able to forget is the motto of today, and endless reflections, really, are useless!
It is sometimes necessary to deviate from principles, otherwise they do not bring joy.
Human life lasts a very long time for one love.
Morality is an invention of mankind, but not a conclusion from life experience.
"It's better to die when you want to live than to live to the point that you want to die" - Pat.
"If you want to live, it means that there is something that you love" - Pat.
"Three Comrades" - a novel written in 1936, belongs to the list of the "Golden Fund of World Literature of the 20th Century". It is included in the Remarque trilogy about the "lost generation" along with the novels All Quiet on the Western Front and The Return. The story that Remarque created in the work “Three Comrades”, a summary of which allows you to find out the main plot twists and issues, remains relevant today.
- Otto Kester is a thoughtful man, pedantic, calm, a former pilot. In the novel, he owns a workshop where his friends work. He always helps his friends out of trouble, helps them solve problems.
- Gottfried Lenz is a cheerful man who is always in a good mood. Likes to talk, joke and have a good time. In the novel, his life is cut short at a fascist rally: he is hit by a random bullet.
- Robert Lokamp is a former soldier who survived World War I. Without a profession and education, he changes jobs, not lingering on them for too long. Robert cannot come to terms with the past, constantly remembers the war years. Because of the war, he does not have a permanent job, home and family, he often thinks about it. He is transformed by a girl - Patricia, with whom he falls in love. These relationships change his outlook and character.
- Patricia Holman is Lokamp's lover. She is very beautiful, smart, open to new experiences and people. Likes to relax, joke, have a good time. She is mortally ill with tuberculosis, but this did not break Patricia: she was able to maintain her fortitude during this illness and follow her principles until the end of her life.
Through the relationship of these heroes, Erich Maria Remarque reveals the theme of the “lost generation”: generations of people who went to war at a young age and lost the opportunity to form as a person, start a family, develop character resilience.
Summary by chapter
The novel has a total of 28 chapters, each of which represents a completed piece of history.
Note! It is conditionally possible to divide the narrative into three parts: the beginning of the development of events, the climax and the end.
A brief retelling will help you quickly understand the topic.
The story takes place in the late 1920s in post-war Germany. All around devastation, lack of jobs. People are trying to get their own food in any way, protests break out on the streets from time to time.
Initial chapters
Three friends who returned from the war are trying to find themselves and settle in a new world. They repair and resell used cars.
The story begins with Robert Lokamp turning 30 years old. He is sad for the lost opportunities, remembers his life and realizes that he has not achieved anything. He drowns out the longing in his soul with alcohol.
In turn, he recalls all the years of his life: how he was called up for service at the age of 18, the revolution after the war and famine, arrests, the death of his mother, attempts to build a life in a post-war society. At the beginning of the story, all this was left in the past, life improved as much as it was possible under those conditions.
In the evening, friends go to the races, where they take part. There they meet a girl named Patricia Holman, the action is transferred to a tavern, where men drink and chat with a new acquaintance. New acquaintances talk all night, share their memories, discuss various topics. All the men liked Patricia very much, especially Robert, who felt attracted to her.
Middle of the story
The next morning, Robert thinks about his new acquaintance all the time. He remembers last night and replays all the conversations in his head to understand how Patricia feels for him.
Readers get acquainted with the place where he lives - Frau Zalewski's boarding house, his neighbors. Together with Robert, the childless spouses Hasse live in the house, who constantly swear because of a lack of money, Count Orlov, who misses his homeland and has no relatives and friends in a foreign country.
There also lives the widow Bender, who lost two children in the war, the student Blok, who never has a job and always wants to eat. This place symbolizes in the novel a haven of people who hold on to the past and do not think about the future: all residents are united by the lack of a permanent place in life, thoughts about the past, problems in the present.
Robert gathers courage and calls Patricia, asking her out on a date. But during the meeting, he is timid, unable to keep up the conversation and gets drunk from the experience. At home, he realizes that he behaved inappropriately, on the advice of a friend, he sends flowers to the girl. The next day, he apologizes and takes the girl on a second date. They have a good time, ride a car, talk a lot. They have fun in the amusement park, find a lot in common, feel the kinship of souls. Robert gets the feeling that he has known Patricia not for 2 days, but for many years.
Over time, young people realize that they are in love. Friends gladly accept Patricia into their circle. Robert has the illusion that everything is starting to improve: he successfully sells one car, gets some money, he develops a relationship with a girl, they go on vacation to the sea.
The lovers spend the first days together, walking and talking a lot. Robert is fascinated by Patricia, her love of life and her desire to do whatever you want, not to be attached to anything. He admires the character and behavior of the girl.
Patricia's disease
The euphoria of happiness is interrupted by Patricia's illness - it turns out that she has long been ill with tuberculosis. She becomes ill one day - bleeding opens. The girl is sent to the hospital.
The friends find Dr. Jaffe, who is treating Pat. He says that it can be cured if you follow the regime and all the recommendations. The doctor advises to go to a sanatorium in Switzerland, where the girl is best suited for the climate and conditions.
Simultaneously with these events, problems arise in the workshop, the men make the difficult decision to sell their small business. Fascist rallies are raging on the streets. From time to time, uprisings rise in the city, henchmen of fascism walk along the streets. Robert does not care about politics, he is treating his beloved. Lenz regularly attends rallies, at one of the meetings in a street shootout a bullet hits him, and he dies. Friends find the killer and take revenge.
Completion of the story
Robert is trying to find money for the treatment of the girl, he is helped by friends with the proceeds from the sale of his favorite cars. The man understands that this is a very big sacrifice on their part, but he cannot refuse.
Patricia is getting worse, but she claims that she does not want to spend time in sadness and longing. She is in a good mood, has a positive attitude, still loves life and communication. The girl does not lose hope.
Young people talk a lot, joke, discuss their feelings, remember the short time they spent together. Patricia is slowly dying, Robert was by her side until the last minute, reassured her and listened. In the last minutes, his beloved did not recognize him.
Problems of the work: a brief analysis
Erich Maria Remarque shows how the war created a lost generation of young people who, after returning from the war, cannot find their place in life. They have returned home to a state that is in decline and economic recession as a result of the defeat in the war. The state of the country creates many problems for the heroes: the need to constantly look for work, pay for housing, treatment. The main problems that are revealed against the background of all this:
- Post-war depression, which concerns not only social standards, but also the people who live in the country.
- The hopelessness that has become a part of the life of all the heroes: Pat's illness, Robert's difficulties. Fate constantly tests them with its blows, the heroes sacrifice something, lose something.
- The problem of losing loved ones. It is relevant both for the war and for the post-war society, everyone experiences this loss in different ways.
- The key issue is friendship. Friends support each other, help in difficult times, donate a lot. It is thanks to these feelings that they feel alive, reveal themselves from the best side. Revenge for the death of a friend, selling a business to help a loved one - these actions testify to the reality of the feelings of the characters, and their willingness to share the most precious.
- The problem of fascism, a political issue, is also touched upon in the novel. Events develop against the backdrop of the establishment of a dictatorship, the characters have different attitudes to the riots in the street, but this applies to each of them. Lenz even dies in a random shootout.
Important! The novel "Three Comrades" is deep and multifaceted, it tells about friendship, love, war, faith and its loss.
It begins optimistically - in front of readers are heroes who drink a lot, joke and talk. They spend their lives carefree and enjoy every moment.
But the essence of this lifestyle is gradually revealed - people hide their souls, their fears from the past and experiences behind the festivities. Each of the characters has its own history associated with losses and war. And such a way of life is a screen behind which they try to hide their real selves.
THREE COMRADES
The protagonist, Robert Lokamp, comes to work early in the morning and sees an old woman, cleaning lady Mathilde Stoss, clumsily dancing. It is not the first time he finds her in this form and knows that the reason for the dances is the cognac left in plain sight in the evening. But today is his birthday, and instead of scolding the old woman, Lokamp treats her to Hawaiian rum. Delighted that her sin is forgotten, the old woman thanks him and, glorifying the birthday man, leaves. Lokamp sits down at the table, takes out a sheet of paper and tries to write down what has been with him for thirty years. He has the feeling that he is sixteen and sixty at the same time. Real life for him began at the age of eighteen, when he became a recruit. War, revolution, famine, coup, death of a mother. Now he works in "Avrema" - "Car repair shop of Kester and Co." The past, according to Robert, sometimes suddenly rolls over and glares at him with its dead eyes, but for these cases there is vodka. Lenz and Kester arrive, front-line comrades and companions of Lokamp. Gottfried Lenz presents a friend with a horoscope and an amulet, six bottles of rum "twice as old" as the birthday boy decided to drink in nature. After working for the day, the friends get into their old Carl racing car and go to have fun. The main entertainment on the road is to use the unsightly appearance of the car to provoke other drivers to overtake, leaving them with a nose as a result. Lenz, who calls himself the last romantic, claims that "Karl" plays an educational role: he teaches to appreciate the creativity contained in an inconspicuous shell. This time Otto Koester overtakes the Buick. When the comrades stop at a restaurant, the Buick's driver, Binding, catches up with them. His young companion Patricia Holman gets out of the car. The comrades simply did not notice the passenger in the heat of excitement. After meeting, it was decided to have dinner together. Binding examines the "Karl", discusses cars with Kester, sings soldiers' songs in the gazebo with Lenz.
Otto, Robert and Pat remain at the table. Robert is attracted to a girl, but he can't get her attention. But the morning sadness passes, and Lokamp falls into an amazing state: “It seemed that everything was indifferent, just to be alive.” He looks at Pat with new eyes, and he doesn't want to let her go so easily. Saying that he is worried about how drunk Binding will get home, he asks the girl for her phone number.
The next morning, Sunday, Robert slowly packs up and leaves Frau Zalewski's boarding house. The guesthouse is next to a cemetery, an amusement park, the Café Internationale, where prostitutes wait for clients, and the Salvation Army Assembly Hall. Robert has been living there for many years, his neighbors are lonely, unsettled people, they have either already lost their jobs or live in fear of losing it. These are the Hasse spouses, constantly quarreling because of lack of money, the secretary Erna Benig, the Russian Count Orlov - a hired dance partner; Georg Blok, a student who can't find a job to pay for his studies. Robert's social circle is small: front-line comrades and prostitutes from cafes who consider him their friend.
All day Robbie wanders aimlessly around the city. In the evening he comes to the workshop, helps Otto with the repair of the Cadillac, which they intend to then profitably sell. Refusing to go to boxing, Robert returns to the boarding house and visits a neighbor. Deciding to finally call Patricia, he finds her at home. Irritation and discontent disappear. Robert asks how we arrived yesterday, and suggests that Pat meet the day after tomorrow. After changing his mind, he goes to boxing. Now everything around him seems comfortable.
On Tuesday morning, the Cadillac is ready. Friends compose an advertisement for the sale and immediately get a new job: they need to restore a Ford that has been in an accident. A half-drunk baker crashed into a brick wall on him, his pregnant wife died from blood loss, he does not mourn, but seeks to extract greater benefits from insurance.
A date with Pat is scheduled for five o'clock in some ladies' candy store, they are uncomfortable in it, Robert offers to go to a bar. There is a familiar atmosphere: colleague Valentin Gauser, who daily celebrates that he is still alive; well-trained bartender Fred, twilight and coolness. Pat seems to the hero an impregnable Amazon, a creature from another world. He had not communicated with girls for a long time and simply lost the skill of communicating in private.
The cafe is too noisy, in the silence of the bar, a casual conversation does not work. Then Robert orders rum and he loosens his tongue. Seeing off Pat, Robbie is horrified: why didn’t he tell her, besides, he doesn’t remember anything! Having quarreled with a passer-by, he returns to the bar and gets drunk to the green devils. Robert does not tell his friends about the meeting with Pat.
In the evening, Lilly, a prostitute from the hotel, is honored at the Café Internationale. She marries and says goodbye to her friends. Not everyone is so lucky. Rosa the Iron Mare was left alone with the child, she gave her daughter to an orphanage. Mimi's husband died in the war from pneumonia, and not in battle, so no pension was given for him, and the woman was forced to go to the panel. Lokamp is invited as a dear guest of these women lost in life. According to Robert, in the world “everything fell apart, was saturated with falsehood and was forgotten. And if you didn't know how to forget, then you were left with nothing but impotence, despair, indifference and vodka. Dealers were celebrating. Corruption. Poverty". A lonely person cannot be left, he has nothing but loneliness, Lokamp believes. And so he does not dare to have a serious relationship with Pat, being afraid to become attached to the girl: "Possession is already a loss." But in the morning he sends her a large bouquet of roses, she thanks him on the phone.
The auto repair shop is trying to stay afloat. Friends are looking for a buyer for a refurbished Cadillac. Kester seeks tax cuts in the finance department. Bring in a Ford for repairs. Lenz, Kester and the artist Ferdinand Grau, who paints portraits of the dead, call themselves lost people; their lives are shattered, and it is impossible to glue the pieces together. All of them. like Robert, went through the war. But Robert, in their opinion, is not yet dead.
Relationship with Pat develops. Robert drives her in a Cadillac, which he later manages to sell for a profit. Introduces friends, leads to his room. There, young people kiss for the first time. But they don’t talk about falling in love, on the contrary, they claim that they are not in love, trying to convince themselves that there is no serious relationship between them, although they spend the night together. They go to places familiar to Lokamp, often dine with Alfons, a friend of Lenz and the owner of a pub, the girl quickly becomes her own company.
Friends buy taxis at an auction and start driving, Robert learns the profession of a taxi driver. The Ford is repaired and the owner, the baker, is taking it. His pregnant wife died in the accident. Despite the fact that another woman is already hovering around him, the widower commissions a portrait of his dead wife from the artist Grau.
Robert comes to visit Patricia for the first time and is surprised by the rich, by his standards, environment. It turns out that Pat lives in his former apartment, where he rents two rooms, and she has her own furniture. The girl speaks from time to time about feeling unwell, that she was ill for a year without going out, but she doesn’t talk about it anymore. She talks about the upcoming work - under the patronage of a friend, Breuer, she can work as a gramophone saleswoman, she has a musical education. Robbie looks around the room and bedroom, Pat treats him to a specially bought rum - he has not yet been so taken care of. He feels himself getting sentimental and for the first time gets drunk not out of grief, but out of joy. After having lunch with his comrades, he returns to the girl and feels his stiffness disappear and there is a feeling that nothing in their relationship can be fake. They are having fun with Robert's friends. They go to the theater and there they meet Breuer, who invites them to a restaurant. Restaurants and old acquaintances of Pat replace each other, and Robert begins to be jealous of her past. In addition, Patricia loves to dance, but Robert does not know how. She dances with Breuer and Lokamp only gets angry and drinks rum. When Breuer takes them home, Robert does not even say goodbye to Pat, but asks to be dropped off at the bar. But intoxication does not come, and feelings are aggravated. He is insanely longing for Pat. Returning home, he finds a frozen girl at his door. Realizing what this return, waiting, was for her, Robbie is distraught. He warms Pat with tea, she stays with him until the next evening. “True love does not tolerate strangers,” they say to each other.
Meanwhile, the baker's new passion incites him to buy a Cadillac. He comes to the workshop, where he learns that the car has been sold. Seeing a resale opportunity, Lokamp negotiates with a previous buyer and closes the deal for everyone's benefit.
Taking a two-week vacation, Robert is taking Patricia to the sea. They enjoy the beauty of nature and solitude, but suddenly misfortune occurs. Pat suddenly begins to bleed from the lungs. It turns out that she has long been ill with tuberculosis. Robert often noticed that Pat's cheerfulness was abruptly replaced by fatigue, but the girl hid the illness from Robert, thinking that he would become afraid of her. The local doctor is doing everything he can, but the help of the permanent doctor Pat is needed. Robert calls his friends and Kester brings the professor
Jaffe on his "Karl" in an unthinkable short time. The bleeding stops, Pat gradually comes to his senses. The professor's verdict is to go home, the local climate does not suit the girl.
As he leaves, Robert thinks it was all just a bad dream. He dreams of moving Pat to a boarding house, where the room next to him is just being vacated. Then Robert will be able to constantly look after the sick girl.
But Pat doesn't want to be seen as sick. The Buddies have to be creative and replace the ingredients in the cocktail with non-alcoholic ones, show that they are not among the first to leave the cafe and treat her as usual. Unexpectedly for Robbie Pat agrees to move in with him. So that the girl does not get bored during the day when he is at work, Robert gives her an Irish Terrier puppy.
The comrades make little money from hauling, and besides, working moments sometimes have to be resolved with their fists. The hero now needs to earn twice as much, and unemployment is growing, and the unfavorable winter for auto repair is approaching.
Lokamp meets with Patricia's doctor. Jaffe tells him that two years ago the girl underwent a six-month course of treatment in a sanatorium, after which her condition improved. We need to go back to the mountains for treatment. It is impossible to stay in the city of Pat: both lungs are affected. It is not known what to expect, improvement or deterioration. Seeing the state of Robert, Jaffe leads him through the wards. A woman without a nose, a man in agony, paralyzed, a crippled child, a woman with an amputated breast, a worker with crushed kidneys - an endless chain of suffering ends with the look of one patient, in which Robert reads masculinity and calmness. “It would be pointless to reassure you with words,” says Jaffe, “many of these people suffer more than Pat, but most survive. The terminally ill may outlive the healthy."
The professor himself had a twenty-year-old wife who died of the flu nine years ago. He advises Robert not to show his anxiety and send Pat to a sanatorium in the fall.
Everything is worse with money. A random win at the races saves Robbie's financial situation a little. He is forced not to buy flowers for his beloved, but to cut off in the park and church garden. The car, restored after the accident, turns out to be owned by a bankrupt, it is sold under the hammer, the workshop is deprived of a possible income. "Karl", technically improved, races and comes first, but this money will not last long. Life is reduced to the struggle for existence. Against this background, the happiness of love seems overwhelming.
But everything around says that love is not enough to survive. Hasse's neighbor's wife is leaving, she has found a richer man. This happens just when the spouse is seeking a long-awaited increase in salary. Unable to survive the departure of his wife, Hasse commits suicide - hangs himself. Many leave thus from an insoluble problem - unemployment. Robert and Pat go to the museum for the exhibition of Persian carpets and see quite a lot of visitors, but, according to the caretaker, now people come to the museum on free days not from craving for beauty, but because they have nothing to do; In winter, when they get cold, they come in to warm up. “Humanity has created immortal works of art, but failed to give each of its fellows at least enough bread,” Lokamp reflects.
In mid-October, Dr. Jaffe tells Robert that it's time for Patricia to go for treatment. A farewell dinner is arranged for the girl at Alphonse's. Robert drives her. On the train, they meet fellow travelers, many of them go for treatment not for the first time. Robert reassures himself: it's stupid to worry, people returned from there and lived at home for a whole year. And Pat will be back. The resort is more like a hotel. Robbie spends a week in the guest wing, but he has to go home, earn money for treatment, paid for until January. Pat has to stay in the mountains until May. Locamp should be making more money than before, but too many failures have fallen on the workshop.
In early November, the comrades were forced to sell the Citroen. With this money it was still possible to maintain a workshop, but the situation is getting worse every week. Robert is offered to work part-time at the International Cafe, playing the piano. Pat writes letters.
After Christmas Eve, demonstrations begin, people demand work and bread. The police disperse the demonstrators, there are casualties. Kester and Lokamp go to look for Lenz, he is at one of the political meetings. His friends find him just in time, pull him out of the fight and leave minutes before the police arrive. Gottfried lingers near a street astrologer and receives a prediction: he will live to be eighty years old. Literally a few minutes later, Lenz dies - a passerby shoots at him. Kester decides to punish the criminal himself. The killer is tracked, but he is hiding. Finally, friends meet him in a cafe, Kester pursues him, but Alphonse is ahead of Otto. He avenged his friend himself. The workshop is up for sale. Kester goes to work as a race car driver for the firm.
Robbie still plays in the cafe for prostitutes. A telegram arrives at the boarding house from Pat asking him to come as soon as possible. Robert calls the sanatorium, he is told that the girl had a slight bleeding a few days ago. Kester brings a friend in the Karl. Patricia is not told about Lenz's death. She rejoices at the meeting, takes her friends to a bar, they ride the Karl, they drive up to the highway along which Kester will go home. Pat looks longingly into the distance, and everyone understands that she will not come back. The doctor gives disappointing forecasts. The girl asks Robert to stay with her. He cannot refuse, but he needs money for treatment. Kester leaves and promises to help.
Robbie gets permission to live in the room next to Pat. Gets acquainted with some inhabitants of the sanatorium. They behave differently, but there is no feeling that they are seriously ill people. A husband comes to one of the patients and loudly admires how healthy and good she is here. "Yes, it's not good for me!" - the woman cannot stand it, imprisoned in the mountains for two years already. It is especially difficult for the residents of the sanatorium when the foehn wind blows and “feverish weather” sets in.
Patients go skiing, arrange evening parties and kindly play the lucky ones who are discharged healthy.
The last lucky man is Roth, two years ago he was promised that he would die, but suddenly recovery comes. Roth's problem is that he squandered money in those two years, and now he jokes grimly that he will die exactly as the doctors predicted, but from a bullet. Robert is ready to kill him if it would save Pat.
There are also lovers among them - an elderly Russian and an eighteen-year-old Spaniard Rita. The violinist fights for her attention in a peculiar way, as if competing with the Russian: whoever survives will win. But Rita dies, whose condition was less dangerous than that of Pat. Patricia begins to panic, forbids Robbie to drink from the same glass with her and kiss her, fearing that he will get sick. She says she wants him to be healthy, get married and have children. But ironic life turns the situation around. Robert has caught a cold and becomes a danger to Pat, he is isolated. The cold passes quickly, but this he amused the girl. Both come to the same thought: "We succeeded, only it did not last long." The hair dryer is blowing again. Pat no longer gets out of bed and is getting weaker every day. She is especially afraid of the last hour between night and morning. Robert moves his bed to his beloved's room and every night sits next to her, telling everything he can remember, brings the radio. The only thing Pat says she thinks about is life and death: “Better to die when you still want to live than to die when you really want to die. When you still want to live, it means that you have something you love. So, of course, it’s harder, but at the same time it’s easier ... I’m grateful to fate that I had you. Every morning the girl is greeted with relief: she has not died. Robert knows she can't get up anymore. Pat melts before our eyes, does not want Robert to see her, exhausted by the disease. The ticking of the clock frightens her, Robbie smashes it against the wall, "breaking time in the middle." Pat dies painfully, exactly at the hour she was afraid of. Until the last, Robert holds his beloved by the hand. Then he himself washes away the blood from the body, combs Pat, puts her on his bed, covers her with a blanket and, without taking his eyes off her, sits by the bed until morning. “Then morning came, and she was gone.”
Searched here:
- remark three comrades summary
- analysis of the first chapter three comrades
- write an essay briefly Three comrades
The novel has been acclaimed by critics the most humane classic. Few of the authors could so accurately show the character of the actors and play on their contrast. In the novel, a person is shown from the other side, when he is at the bottom of despair. Erich Maria Remarque began writing the novel Three Comrades in 1932. The author was a former front-line soldier and later became an ardent pacifist.
In contact with
The fate of the work
The book was written by Remarque as a saga about his generation. Remarque "Three Comrades" summary appeared in German only after the Second World War, that is, a decade later. Few people can imagine the emotional state of the writer, who finished the work only in 1936.
In your homeland the author has become a pariah, it was made so by the German fascists. The Nazis raided while watching a film based on the work of the classic, and the circulation of his books was banned. The book almost immediately acquired the status of a world bestseller, but Remarque's book was banned at home. The novel has an intriguing and life-affirming plot that has shaped the new German spirituality.
Three comrades
The book is about love, friendship, courage. The book teaches how to adequately withstand the blows of fate and live on. The novel is written about Remarque's generation. It begins with events that took place on the morning of Robert Lokamp's thirtieth birthday. The first chapter has t the main role in the whole work. It tells about the character of the characters, here the reader gets acquainted with the main characters of the work. Robert comes to an auto shop where he works as a mechanic before his day job.
1. Robert has known his colleagues since childhood.
- His friend is the enterprising strong man Otto Kester.
- And the second friend is the artistic and sincere person Gottfried Lenz.
The first friend began his career as a pilot, later he became a racer. Otto is the most unpredictable of his friends, he's an excellent driver, and he's a professional car mechanic. The second friend has always been the soul of the company, he jokes a lot. Gottfried is sociable, enjoys the attention of women. He also has many friends among the bartenders. Robert Lokamp has a business streak, so he often negotiates. They have been together since childhood, grew up together, studied and fought together. And now they work together. They have a strong friendship that men have:
- They are frank with each other.
- Are benevolent.
- They help each other in difficult situations.
- Self-respect reigns between them.
Robert's birthday
Robert delved into himself and began to remember his own life. He sinks into deep thought. He sees a cleaner, an elderly Frau Stoss, who thinks that there is no one in the room and sips from a bottle of rum, which the mechanics have not finished drinking. It's Robert's birthday today, so he doesn't rebuke the woman, but pours her another glass. When the woman, after congratulating Robert, leaves, sad memories come over him. Further, his life is presented in a certain chronology:
Friendship between Robert and his friends
Thanks to the war and the revolution, the main character was left alone. The novel does not mention if Robert has any relatives, but friends have replaced them. They work together in a car repair shop, spend their leisure time together, help each other financially and morally, and run their simple business together. When gloomy memories of war and death began to surface in their memory, they crushed them by drinking alcoholic beverages.
They had ex-soldier syndrome when the ghosts of dead comrades come in a dream and there is no strength to forget all the horror experienced ... The author described this state based on his own experience. Here is a description of the entire generation of Germans, who after the war were unclaimed by society. But not all people succumbed to the general despair, among them were the three friends Lokamp, Lenz and Kester. They succeeded:
- Repair cars.
- Bought a Cadillac and repaired it for sale.
- For the sake of interest, they turned an old wreck into a sports coupe that had a powerful sports engine.
Episode on the way
Robbie celebrates his birthday, and Gottfried gives him an "amulet against evil rock", which he got from the granddaughter of the Inca leader. Otto gives him 6 bottles of rum. They planned a picnic in the evening, but there was a work day ahead. On the way to the picnic, friends have fun. They play on the contrast of the appearance of the car and its filling. Friends call the car Carl.
This evening next to them drove a heaped Buick, his driver decided to brag about the capabilities of the car to his girlfriend and overtakes Carl several times. But after that, three comrades overtake Buick, leaving him far behind. The Buick driver caught up with his comrades near a roadside cafe where they planned to sit. Binding, the driver of the Buick, introduces his companion, Patricia Holman, to his comrades. They unconditionally liked the pretty, mysterious and silent girl. At the end of the feast, Robert takes the phone from the girl, supposedly to make sure that she arrived home safely.
Pension Frau Zalewski
In this chapter, Remarque describes the mini-hotel and its inhabitants. This building was typical of those times, where people survived with the last of their strength. This building was inhabited by Robert and his neighbors, who were not happy in their personal lives. Among the neighbors are the following heroes:
These people ended up in a boarding house because of the war and the revolution. In his apartment, Robert wakes up the next day and goes to have breakfast at the International Cafe. As a result, the man decides to call Patricia Holman.
Two dates with Patricia
Robert has had little contact with girls before, so he is shy and clumsy. The conversation with Patricia did not work out in any way, so the man drinks for courage. When Robbie realized that he was drunk, he returned to his home. Gottfried Lenz gives Rob good advice to send the girl a bouquet of roses. Pat accepted the flowers and Robert asked her out a second time. A young man teaches Patricia how to drive on Carla. During a date, young people felt attracted to each other. In the evening they visit a bar where they meet Gottfried and together they go to have fun in an amusement park.
Patricia Holman
Patricia is a very charming young girl, she always had a lot of admirers around her. But, unexpectedly for herself, she falls in love with a simple auto mechanic. She wants happiness, but her body is stricken with tuberculosis. Previously, she had already been treated for this disease and she got better. She believes that she is still young and will be able to overcome her illness. When the girl was convinced of her feelings for Robert, she invited him home.
Patricia smart, educated and lonely. She was born to wealthy parents, from whom she inherited beautiful furniture. She rents two rooms in a house that once belonged to her parents. But Pat wants to make a living on her own and is looking for a job as a record salesman.
In the 1920s, the crisis in Germany escalated and the income from the workshop began to bring less money. But friends did not fall into despair. They rented a taxi and worked on it. They then raced the Carl. He, driven by racer Otto, takes first place.
Love Robert and Pat
Pat has a crush on Robbie and shows him her favorite places in town. In the theater they meet her friend, Broiler, and he invites them to a restaurant. Pat loves to dance, but Robert doesn't know how to do it. Then the girl dances with Broiler. Robert is jealous of his beloved and gets drunk heavily. The situation is getting heated perhaps a quarrel should occur between young lovers.
But the couple reconciled:
- Robert didn't say goodbye to Pat at the restaurant. The broiler takes them home and drops Robert off at the bar, where he gets heavily drunk.
- When Robbie returns home, near the door he sees a frozen Pat, who was waiting for him.
- He warms his beloved with a cup of tea, and they spend time together until the evening.
The sickness returns to Pat
Pat's illness soon makes itself felt. But this does not portend anything. Robert was able to fulfill his old dream - he profitably sold the refurbished Cadillac. Robbie brags about the check to his friends. Now that he has received his share, he will be able to go on vacation to the sea with Pat for 2 weeks. But the unforeseen happened at sea - Pat developed a throat bleeding. Robbie informs Kester about this and he brings her doctor Jaffe to the sick girl on Carl. The doctor treats Patricia for a few days and she gets better.
Robert is always next to his beloved. She really likes him gift - Irish Terrier puppy. He became for her a joy and an outlet. But the doctors strongly recommend taking the sick girl to a mountain sanatorium, where there are seriously ill patients. Among the sick, Robbie meets a female patient who looks at him with calm courage. And he understands what he wants to tell Jaffe, who himself lost his wife: very often people with serious illnesses live longer than healthy people.
Workshop sale
Meanwhile, hard times are coming in Germany: hyperinflation has begun in the country and orders stop. But friends found a way out: when they drove through the race track on Carl, they noticed a crashed Citroen. They were able to beat off his repair from competitors. To repair the car, expensive parts had to be bought, but the profit had to justify the costs. But things didn't go so well. The owner of the car went bankrupt and the car had to be sold under the hammer. To cover the debts, friends sold the workshop.
Death of Lenz
At that time not harmless rallies were held in Germany, which got carried away by Gottfried Lenz. At one of the rallies, Robbie and Otto find their friend, and trying to calm him down, they lead him to the car. But Lenz fires on a Nazi fighter and is killed on the spot. Otto and Robbie want to avenge a friend by combing the city. But they were ahead of the bartender Alphonse.
Patricia's death
Robert learns by phone that his lover is on bed rest. Otto, who immediately realized something was wrong, takes his friend to the hospital on Karl. They watch the sunset with Patricia.
Friends know that he is the last in her life. Patricia's life ends an hour before dawn. In the morning, Lokamp receives a considerable amount of money from Crester. A friend sold Carl to raise money for a funeral.
One of the strongest moments of the novel is the description of the inner world of Robert, who realized that the girl next to him was already dead.
At night, Robbie does not leave Patricia, who has a throat bleeding. But Patricia is doomed... And then Robert utters beautiful words: “Then the morning came, and she was no longer there ...”.
Conclusion
What happened to Robert after the loss of his beloved friend and lover? Will circumstances break him? The author does not directly answer this question, the reader himself must figure out what happened to the main character. Robert was not left alone, his faithful friend and comrade Otto Kester is still with him. They have known each other for a long time and been through a lot of hardships together.. Usually after that people become closer.
In the novel, it was repeatedly described that friends can work together and make the right decisions. Therefore, the reader can be sure that if luck turns up with friends, they will not miss it. The retelling of the book does not convey the full depth of the novel, so everyone should read it!
