How do the narrator’s experiences of war shape his ideas about combat? How does the specialized military vocabulary affect the reading of the text?

How are the soldiers’ relations with women and other civilians depicted in the novel? What are some of the significant contrasts between civilian life and military life in the text?

The novel examines the strict, hierarchical nature of the military. How does the narrator conceive of the differences between common soldiers like himself and his commanding officers? What does the novel suggest about the nature of the military?