In the early days of World War I, while studying medicine in Paris, Ferdinand Bardamu spots a military parade passing through the streets. Bardamu and his friend Arthur argue about the character of the French people until Bardamu is gripped by a wave of “enthusiasm” (15). He follows after the parade, shouting insults back at his friend. Bardamu follows the long parade through Paris as the crowds cheer. Eventually, they reach a quieter part of the city, and the soldiers close the gates behind Bardamu and the other civilians. This is how Bardamu joins the military. He spends months in training to fight in a war that he neither understands nor cares about. To Bardamu, the war “made no sense at all” (17). He is sent to the frontlines, where Germans shoot at him for reasons he cannot comprehend. Bardamu’s fear turns to panic, and he begins to wonder whether he is “the last coward on earth” (18). He wishes that he were in prison, rather than the front lines. Bardamu plots to extricate himself from this chaotic and dangerous situation.