The earth protects the soldiers from bombardments and it is a form of stability. Shows that the value of a human life is like a speck of dust, and the only thing that they are good for is to protect Paul from the bombardment.
In Chapter 4, Paul gives an ode to Earth. In the heat of battle the ground becomes a soldier's only comfort. The earth provides the soldiers with shelter and a place of safety. Shell holes that get blown into the earth that later serve as places of protection. Paul buries his face into earth and clings to it as the bullets fly over him. Earth becomes his mother, his father and his source of life,
“Earth with thy folds, and hollows, and holes, into which any man may fling himself and crouch down… O Earth, thou grantest us the great resisting surge of new-won life.”
