Quote 28
When my mother says to me "dear boy," it means much more than when another uses it. I know well enough that the jar of whortleberries is the only one they have had for months, and that she has kept it for me; and the somewhat stale cakes that she gives me too. She has taken a favourable opportunity of getting a few and has put them all by for me. (7.126)
This is the only moment in which we get a taste of a kind of sacrifice different from that of soldiers giving up their lives for their country. Paul's mother's sacrifice is born out of love for him, and she sacrifices her rations, her family's own food, for the sake of her son. This kind of love stands out like a neon light in the harsh and violent context of war.
Quote 29
Ah! Mother! I know what these underpants have cost you in waiting, and walking, and begging! Ah! Mother, mother! how can it be that I must part from you? Who else is there that has any claim on me but you? Here I sit and there you are lying, and we have much to say, that we could never say it. (7.277)
When Paul says, "Who else is there that has any claim on me but you," we think he is referring to the powers that be in the German government who compel him to fight for his country. After all that his mother has done and sacrificed in order to raise him and keep him strong, Paul faces the likely possibility of having his life taken from him in the war. This fact makes all of his mother's sacrifices even more monumental.
Quote 30
I look at the portraits once more; they are clearly not rich people. I might send them money anonymously if I earn anything later on. I seize upon that, it is at least something to hold onto. This dead man is bound up with my life, therefore I must do everything, promise everything in order to save myself. (9.151)
After nearly going mad staring at a man he has killed with his own hands, Paul regains a sense of composure when he vows to spend the rest of his life making money for the dead man's family. The idea of sacrificing the rest of his life for such a cause brings him peace. This idea of sacrifice is very different from the idea of sacrificing one's life for one's country. In this case, Paul hopes to help bring happiness to his supposed enemy's family.