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Foreshadowing Stringham's Death Michael Donelan
A Soldier's Art brings us back in touch with one of our good friends Charles Stringham. Nick is very surprised to find Stringham serving him potatoes one night in F Mess and is happy to have reconnected with him. Shortly after their first encounter we see that Charles is a wholly different individual, one that does not want to remember days past. During Nick's last conversation with Stringham he reads a single stanza from Robert Browning's Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came. Charles declares that the poem "has about twenty different meanings." (221 SA) Yet, it appears he is unaware that this stanza is foreshadowing the death that awaits him as soon as he and the Mobile Laundry Unit are shipped off to the East. In the first couplet, we see Stringham struggle to redefine himself in his sobriety and his new role in the army. Browning's stanza begins, "I shut my eyes and turned them on my heart. As a man calls for wine before he fights." (221 SA) Stringham is attempting to shift through his tumultuous life to find meaning, and what he has found is the ritualism and structure of the army to give himself purpose. Stringham is reflecting as if these are his last moments of introspection before he heads into battle knowing he is going to die. The reference to wine alludes to Stringham's fight with alcoholism "before" joining the army. The alcoholism is again referred to in the third line of the stanza, "I asked one draught of earlier, happier sights" (221 SA) reminding the reader of times that Stringham was dependent upon drink. Now that he has regained his sobriety he realizes, "even I myself grasped I'd become the most desperate of bores by being permanently sober" (80 SA). The one draught is referring to the drinks that he would consume at earlier parties, which were happier sights for everyone. Stringham enjoying his drunken stupor and all those he entertained reaping the benefits of his intoxication. In the forth line of the stanza we move away from events past and towards current events. Stringham reads, "ere fitly I could hope to play my part" (221 SA). When the war came along Stringham "began to develop all sorts of martial ambitions ... The long and the short of it was, I entered the army." (80 SA) War being brought upon England led Charles to sign up for the army so that he can play his part, or at least feel as though he is doing so. Early in this encounter, Nick asks if he and Widmerpool can "find something better" for Stringham. At this question Charles is almost offended. Nick responds awkwardly "`I don't know. I thought there might be something.'" (76 SA) Stringham believes he has the talent and that "It's just a question of developing latent ability. I never dreamed I possessed such potentialities. It's been marvelous to release them." (77 SA) This is Stringham's idea of playing his part in the war. He has no desire to relinquish his duties as F Mess waiter, regardless of the job. Furthermore, when it comes time for the Mobile Laundry Unit to be shipped to the Far East, Stringham states there is "Not a doubt" (220 SA) that he would want to get out of this relocation as Nick suggests, a change that will ultimately lead to his death. This book's title is taken from the fifth line, "think first, fight afterwards - the soldier's art" (221 SA). This is the reason why Stringham joined the army in the first place. The glorified ideal of fighting and dying for your country: "fell in action. I'm always struck by that phrase" (78 SA) Stringham says when talking about Chips Lovell dying in battle. Charles has already done his thinking in life and now he can finally do his fighting in the army. The last line in the stanza "One taste of the old time sets all to rights."(221 SA) is the defining piece that leads one to conclude this poem is foreshadowing Stringham's now imminent death. Old memories are revisited one last time during Nick and Stringham's last meeting. The two have caught up with one another bringing closure to their relationship, tying the strings and things between them are reconciled. It is ok for Stringham to go and fulfill his destiny as indicated in the poem and die valiantly for his country in the name of the soldier's art. |
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Cassidy Carpenter The reappearance of Stringham in A Soldier's Art is not only startling but also worrisome. At first it is refreshing to see an old face, but it is obvious that this is not the same Stringham we know and love. It is easiest to say that something is just `off' about him, that he seems out of it, and generally disconnected from the world. After Stringham's years of alcoholism, his sober self is a mere empty shell of his once vibrant character. A syndrome that most commonly occurs in long-term alcoholics is called Wernicke Encephalopathy. The symptoms and causes of this disorder make sense of Stringham's newly developed characteristics and helps give a medical explanation for the loss of his vibrant character. Wernicke Encephalopathy is caused by thiamine (vitamin B-1) deficiency (Emedicine 1). It was described by Dr. Carl Wernicke as a triad of "acute mental confusion, ataxia, and ophthalmoplegia" (Emedicine 1). Ataxia is loss of muscle coordination and ophthalmoplegia is paralysis of the motor nerves of the eye, resulting in a loss of eye movement. Long-term alcohol abuse is the most common cause of Wernicke Encephalopathy. Due to prolonged alcohol consumption the intestines are only able to absorb thiamine at half the rate of normal functioning (Emedicine 3). Thiamine is responsible for the metabolism of carbohydrates and is a key component in three crucial enzyme systems (Emedicine 2). Wernicke Encephalopathy can develop into what is known as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome which adds memory loss to the previously described symptoms. The disease is frequently unrecognized and it is likely that it has a higher incidence than commonly assumed (Emedicine 2). The characteristics of acute confusion, loss of general motor control, and eye movement are illustrated by Stringham in his reappearance in A Soldier's Art (Emedicine 3). Though details such as these are difficult to identify specifically within the text, they are alluded to by Nick's conversations with him. Stringham seems to talk in rambling paragraphs, not truly upholding a conversation with Nick. It is as if Stringham is lost in thought. Nick comments that, "he seemed far away, to have forgotten completely that we were talking. I wondered how sane he remained" (SA 81). In general Stringham gives one the feeling of not being quite right mentally now that he is sober again. He talks about how the army suits him because he is not under the strain of social pressure. Stringham says that trying to keep up socially "had begun to get me down for some reason. Make me tired" (SA 80). He is unable to keep up with the same energy level and emotional attachment to the outside world because he is still trying to sort out his own life. To fulfill the second rung of the triad, Nick describes Stringham's eyes as "bloodshot ... with dark, bluish rims, were alive, but gave at the same time an impression of poor health" (SA 68). His ill health is obvious from the time Nick sees him, the details of his sunken yet strained eyes give rise to the possibility of developing nerve damage in his eyes. The lack of eye movement itself is not detailed in the book but is illustrated in the movie representation. Stringham always seems to be looking directly forward and avoiding eye contact with Nick. The criteria of lack of motor control is explained by Stringham not being "medically graded A.1." (SA 76). Stringham says that this explains, "why in the past one's so often woken up feeling like the wrath of God" (76). This is referring to his reoccurring hangovers after a night of drinking, the very root of his current physical and mental problems. There seem to be underlying psychological issues at work beyond the medical explanation of a thiamine deficiency that prevents Stringham from moving past his physical symptoms. Consider his opening description in A Question of Upbringing with "fits of melancholy." The degrading recovery under Tuffy's hold and being shunned from his own family has had a further detrimental psychological impact on Stringham. Now that he is back in the real world with an unstable mental condition, any chance of recovery is undermined by his development of Wernicke Encephalopathy. Stringham has paid the full price for his alcoholism, and it is a sad place to find our dear friend who always seemed to be living life to the fullest. Source: Salen M.D., Philip N. Wernicke Encephalopathy. Emedicine, from WebMD, Oct. 24, 2006 < http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic642.htm>. |
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John Bukawyn At the conclusion of The Valley of Bones, Nick and the reader are surprised by the sudden appearance of Widmerpool. Throughout The Dance, Nick runs into people unexpectedly and these types of coincidences characterize the entire series. During The Soldier's Art chance is also prevalent; however it is displayed quite differently and more solemnly. Rather than simply meeting up with an old friend and reminiscing about the past, the war and chance bring sorrow and death. What used to be a happy encounter between two people turns into tragedy in the eighth installment. During wartime, the youthful escapades that Nick once enjoyed escape him, while the harsh realities of adulthood come to life through coincidence and chance. Stringham, a childhood friend of Nick's, reenters The Dance to Nick's own astonishment. Nick sits down to dinner in F mess, expecting to be served by Robbins, the regular waiter. As Nick scoops potatoes from the serving platter, however, he does not recognize his attendant at first, commenting that he, "glanced at the waiter's face for a second, then looked away, feeling…faintly, indeterminately uneasy" (SA, 68). As the attendant moved around the table, Nick was able to glance at him, finally recognizing that it was his long-time friend, Stringham. Was it not coincidence that after Widmerpool assigned Nick to F mess, Stringham too was assigned there? Even more so, Stringham was merely the replacement to Robbins, who had gone to the hospital, "with rupture" (TSA, 70). Based on previous reunions with Stringham, the reader is led to expect something bad, and that is certainly what the reader gets. This time, however, is completely different. Speaking in a, "la-di-da," (SA, 70) voice, Stringham is a changed man: free of alcohol, women, but also emotion. Tuffy's restrictive watch stripped him of these. Reluctant to dine and reminisce about the past with Nick, Stringham leaves. After the encounter between the two, Nick comments that, "this reunion with an old friend had been the reverse of enjoyable, indeed upsetting, painful to a degree" (SA, 83). By coincidence the two meet in F mess of the Division, and by the end of their meeting Nick comes away, filled with sorrow. On his leave in London, Nick finds himself closer to the war and death then ever before. With all of the blitzes and blackouts, the threat of the German power is constantly present. The blitzes in fact cause another instance of chance. After Jenkins talks with Chips and later Priscilla in a nearby restaurant, a bomb hits the Jeavons' house, killing Priscilla, Molly, and a Polish officer, injuring Ted and others. The bomb leaves all other surrounding buildings untouched. Coincidently and tragically, Chips is killed later that night by a separate blitz. He is killed in the Madrid, as he attempted to look for Pricilla at Bijou Ardglass' fortieth birthday party. By mere chance and misfortune, the two lovers are killed and would never be able to mend things together. Max Pilgrim enlightens Nick as to what happened at the Madrid, saying it was, "Frenzied. Like Dante's Inferno ... suppose a few got away with it -- like myself" (SA, 156). Max is extremely lucky to have escaped the bombing barely scathed. It is he, though, that symbolizes the difference in coincidence during wartime. In earlier days, the focus was to survive and make headway in the social scene, in which one would run into different people on accident and in which Max Pilgrim was leading the pack: exemplified in his behavior at Milly Andriadis'. During wartime, however, the focus is on surviving the blitzes and living on to the next day. The only way to accomplish this is to avoid the bombs through luck and chance. At the height of German advancement, all of the characters in the novel are affected by the war, no matter what class, where they are, or whether or not they are enlisted in the army. The chance reunion with Stringham is less than enjoyable and the coincidental bombings that kill Priscilla and Chips Lovell in the same night are extremely unfortunate. In The Soldier's Art, the happier coincidental reunions of the past are no more, but rather now there are new ones that are filled with sorrow and death. |
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James Seman While on leave during Anthony Powell's A Soldier's Art, Nick applies to work as a liaison officer between the British army and the Free French. In an office nearby, an acquaintance of Nick's, David Pennistone, works with the "Polish Forces in Great Britain" (104). These two organizations, the Free French and the Polish Forces in Great Britain, are two examples of governments-in-exile. Over the course of World War Two, 12 countries had a government-in-exile. These governments-in-exile were established after their respective countries were invaded and conquered by the Axis powers. These governments-in-exile supported the Allies politically, and often as well in combat. The major supporters of Allied operations were the Free French and the Commonwealth of the Philippines. The Free French government was headed by Charles de Gaulle, and was the major resistance group in France during World War Two . Although they were most famous for their actions in France, they were most active overseas. They most often worked in concert with British forces, providing additional units to large British organization like corps and armies. Ironically, many of the members of the Free French were initially Vichy French. During Operation Torch in northern Africa, many of the Vichy defenders surrendered and joined the Free French side . The Free French also fought during Operation Overlord; and once the Allies were on the outskirts of Paris, the 2nd Armored Division, a Free French division, was the first Allied force to enter Paris . After that, the Free French Army swelled because of its triumphant return to France. This, in turn, was a part of the reason why, France got to play a major role in the post-war proceedings when the war ended, even getting a piece of Berlin . The Free French government in exile was extremely helpful to its British and American allies by providing additional troops to help win the war. The Commonwealth of the Philippines was organized by the United States, and granted the Philippine Islands commonwealth status in the organization of United States territory. After the Philippines were invaded and captured by the Japanese in the early stages of the war, the remaining members of the Philippine Army, as well as new groups like the Hukbalahap, or People's Army Against the Japanese fought guerrilla style actions against those Japanese troops on the islands . Also important is that although they were eventually defeated by the Japanese invation, the US and Filipino forces were able to last for much longer than was expected, this, in turn, delayed Japanese plans, which made their later defeats at Guadalcanal and in New Guinea possible . Once American forces reinvaded the islands, they were greeted as liberators, and were aided by the many Filipino guerrillas . The Philippine's government-in-exile helped the US and the rest of the Allies by providing a powerful distraction and by fighting a delaying action, which upset the carefully laid plans of the Japanese Empire. Both of these governments-in-exile's military forces were supremely useful to the Allied war effort. Much of this was a result of the leaders of these two groups. Charles de Gaulle, the leader of the Free French, was a very charismatic and persuasive public speaker, and, as a result, was able to excite the imagination of many, causing them to join "his" army. In the Philippines, it was a somewhat different story, as there was not really one group that controlled the actions of all of the Philippine resisters. The soldiers were fighting more for themselves and for their immediate superiors. This support from so many was vital for these two ventures to succeed. Succeed they did however, and they became two important members of the Allies. Works Cited: 1. "Free French Forces." Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_French_Forces. 3/12/2008. 3/13/2008. 2. Commonwealth of the Philippines" Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_the_Philippines. 2/18/2008. 3/13/2008. |
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Nicole Lee In the sixth novel of A Dance to the Music of Time (The Kindly Ones), Betty Templer emotionally breaks down while they are photographing the seven deadly sins. Similarly, in the eighth novel, The Soldier's Art, there is a scene in which Priscilla suddenly breaks down and leaves. One may glance over these occurrences quickly and categorize each as a small disturbance caused by Peter Templer and Odo Stevens, respectively. However, along with the similarities, there are a few key differences in the cause these and the in the reactions of both men. A similar characteristic of both of these breakdowns are the initial thoughts of Odo Stevens and Peter Templer. In The Soldier's Art, Stevens is unaware of what has actually upset Priscilla. At first, he thinks she is suddenly worried about the possibility of the blitz. She assures him that the conversation is simply boring her and Stevens then responds by agreeing to change the subject. He "spoke indulgently, but without grasping that something had gone badly wrong. (139)" "She was nearly in tears. Stevens plainly had no idea what had gone wrong. (140)" Similarly, in The Kindly Ones, Templer does not understand what is wrong with Betty. "At the height of the act, amid much laughter from the audience, I suddenly heard next to me a muffled howl. It was the noise a dog makes when accidentally trodden on. I turned to see what had happened. The sound came from Betty Templer. Tears were coursing down her cheeks. (132)" After she bursts into tears and leaves the room, he states, "oh dear, I'm afraid Betty is not feeling well again. Perhaps she should not have sat up so late.(133)" Both men prove to be clueless to the actual reason of their woman's emotional collapse. These situations are both provoked by actions of certain men, but to different degrees. In The Soldier's Art, it can be inferred that Priscilla overreacts. "She may reasonably have felt that no competition should be required of her to keep him to herself. There was, of course, no question of Stevens showing any real interest in Mrs. Maclintick, but in circumstances prevailing, Priscilla probably regarded all his attention as belonging to herself alone.(136)" She seems to become jealous of Stevens taking his attention off of her. Betty's reaction, although also an overreaction, could be said to have a more reasonable excuse. When Nick asks what is wrong with Betty, Widmerpool responds, "I have been told that Peter neglects her. (139)" It is obviously ridiculous for Betty to become upset with the single scene in which Templer is being photographed with other women, but her breakdown may be the result of a series of situations in which Peter somewhat neglects her. The actual reaction of Templer and Stevens, however, differs in each situation. In The Soldier's Art, Odo "seems anxious to do anything he can to please her. (139)" Although unsure of what exactly is going through Priscilla's mind, he offers numerous times to bring her home or to get her a taxi. Even though she refuses and leaves abruptly, he still "sets off across the room to follow her. (142)" Stevens' calm reaction may be attributed to the fact that "he was sufficiently experienced with women in general to have certain settled principles in dealing with situations of this kind. (140)" Whatever the reason may be, his reaction varies greatly from Templer's response to Betty's emotional discomposure. Peter Templer, who seems to be accustomed to this type of behavior from Betty, does nothing to prevent her from leaving the room. After she disappears, Widmerpool arrives, and he even stays and chats for a while until finally saying, "I think I'd better go up too ... see how Betty is getting on." Comforting her does not seem to be his main priority, in contrast to Stevens. Overall, these emotional breakdowns reveal insecurities in the two women. It is clearly shown that Priscilla is troubled if she does not have Stevens all to herself. During the visit, Odo converses with Mrs. Maclintick, which seems to provoke part of her breakdown. "This behavior (between Odo and Mrs. Maclintick), however light-hearted, was perhaps displeasing to Priscilla, no doubt unwilling to admit to herself that, for Stevens, one woman was, at least up to a point, as good as another. (136)" Although this presents no possibility of becoming serious romantic interest at all, "Priscilla probably regarded all his attention as belonging to herself alone. (137)" Similarly, Betty Templer starts crying when she sees Peter being photographed as lust with all the girls he is not married to. "Up to that moment she had been sitting silent on one of the dining-room chairs, watching the show, apparently fairly happy now that her own turn was passed. I thought she was even finding these antics a little amusing. Now as I looked at her, she jumped up and rushed from the room." (132) Throughout these scenes, Betty and Priscilla show similar insecurities, but the reactions of those around them make each situation unique. |
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William Koven The Royal Air Force is no place for an artist. One day this guy, Ralph Barnby as I recall, showed up and said he was some sort of camouflage officer. He started painting everything in sight; he was such a damned nuisance, but Barnby took a lot of pride in his work. He was always around the airport with a can of paint in one hand and a brush in the other. He never seemed quite satisfied and was always changing the look of some airplane or building just a little bit. He made my Wimpy, a Vickers Wellington that is, look like some kind of whore wearing too much make up. I didn't like it very much. It's not dignified for an airplane to have too much paint, but Barnby insisted it was necessary. Now a Wimpy doesn't exactly look graceful, and it wasn't as pretty as the later Lancasters, but it had its own sort of ugly-duckling beauty. But after Barnby got through with my airplane, I was almost ashamed to fly her. "At least we'll be harder to shoot down," my copilot used to say. I kindly disagreed, or not too kindly sometimes. As much as I liked the old Wimpy's, they were bloody loud, and even if you look up and don't see it right away, you could still hear it. And besides, Barnby's stupid camouflage didn't seem to do a very good job. Bomber Command's airplanes were dropping like flies in those days, and I'd lost enough of my own squadron mates to know that a mere paint job wasn't enough to keep a plane from being shot down. In fact, the flamboyant colors Barnby used on some of the bombers probably helped to catch the German's eyes. I even told him so once. "As an artist, I can assure you that the colors I have put on your airplane will, in fact, make it much harder to see, and not as you say, `attract Germans like a barmaid like Norma.' You simply don't understand colors," was Barnby's response. Then I made some comment about how he was probably a queer. It seemed like the right thing to say at the time, but honestly I knew it wasn't true. One of the most frustrating things about Barnby was his skill with women. Said he used to spend quite some time painting them before the war and there wasn't a lady in town that he couldn't woo if he put his mind to it. Now, every airman prides himself on his ability to pick up a woman. After all, if you don't have the finesse and confidence to sweet talk a girl then there's no way you could coax something like a Wimpy back to base on one engine after being shot up on a bombing run. And besides, women find something exotic and dangerous about airmen, so an RAF uniform alone can get usually the most pathetic sod a girl for the night. But Barnby really didn't need any help. In fact, he put most of us other officers to shame. You could almost compare him to Don Juan or Casanova. I really just didn't understand what Barnby was doing in the RAF. Whatever my personal opinions, Barnby was an officer in the Royal Air Force, so the Queen, or someone at least, must have thought camouflage was important enough to have him around. And much as I hate to admit it, I guess there was something to the idea. But the worst part of the whole affair was that Bomber Command insisted we take Barnby up on the occasional operational flight so he could get a look at German camouflage. I remember the first time I took Barnby up flying he got air sick and made a bloody mess. I almost couldn't believe it, but he threw up all over the bombardier's compartment. Still, he got over it after a couple of flights. Of course, what really irked me was that when we took him along, Barnby replaced my bombardier and my airplane simply became an observational platform. Let me tell you, there is nothing worse than carrying an artist instead of bombs on a combat mission. That stupid artist made such a racket and fainted the first time the Germans actually shot at us while he was in the plane. Fortunately I was mostly flying night missions at that time, and there's no point in bringing an observer along during one of those. The Germans were doing one hell of a job bombing our cities and Bomber Command kept trying to back at them, but it was really a wasted effort since our Wimpy's weren't suited for night flying. Oh we did our best, but the Luftwaffe had better airplanes then. That did, however, begin to change, of course, during the war as better planes came into production. Bomber Command had even promised my squadron some of the first Lancasters if we were good. That's why I never complained about taking that stupid artist along; I was ready to do almost anything to get my hands on one of those new Lankies. Of course, I never did get to fly a Lancaster, since that stupid artist got us shot down. At least I was lucky enough to survive, unlike him. It wasn't anything special, just another raid on some German city with a couple of dozen bombers. We were told that we'd be attacking a small German base that shouldn't be heavily defended. Bomber Command ordered me to take Barnby along so he could get a look at how the base was camouflaged. I wasn't happy about it, but then, even if I didn't like it, orders are orders. So instead of carrying bombs, I once again carried an artist. As was far too common, Bomber Command's intelligence proved to be terrible; the Germans spotted our raid and there were quite a few more Luftwaffe fighters in the area than we were told there would be. A single Wimpy doesn't have many guns, but enough of them together can put awful lot of lead into the air. Unfortunately, we only had a small raiding force and no escort on that mission. Still, there were some good gunners in my squadron and in the end we took down most of the German fighters and most of the squadron made it back to base. I simply had the misfortune of carrying an artist along with me. The bombardier's compartment is in the nose of a Wimpy. Since the bombardier needs to be able to see, the nose has a glass bubble as well as well a bomb sight, which is why it was a perfect place for Barnby to observe from. The bombardier's compartment also has the nose gun in it. Now, my bombardier's a good shot, and I know he would have gotten that damn fighter, but my bombardier was on the ground. I'll admit that Barby didn't panic too much, and he even started shooting after I yelled at him enough. He didn't even faint that time. But he was an artist and he his aim was terrible. The fighter that got us flew in head on and gave Barnby a perfect shot at him. I was sure even that idiot couldn't miss something right in front of his nose, but the next thing I knew my Wimpy was missing a wing and both engines. I could have killed Barnby. Although, when I bailed out I noticed no one jumped from the nose compartment, so I guess the fighter beat me to it. Either way, I never saw him again. I also never got to fly again, since I spent the rest of the war in a POW camp. The Royal Air Force isn't any sort of place for an artist. |
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Nick Anschuetz As the Dance starts, the characters deal with their relatively trivial problems in relatively superficial ways. Peter Templer's wife leaves him so he simply finds another girlfriend, Barbara Goring pours sugar on Widmerpool's head and this is taken as the highest offense, and Uncle Giles' annoyance is merely taken for just that. The story seems to rest solely on parties and coincidence. However, World War II turns the Dance upside down. The war creates an evil outside force over which the members of the Dance have no control or defense. They are at its mercy, and glibness, sarcasm, and attitude will give neither the characters nor the reader any protection from the assault. In turn, this change leads to a much more interesting story as the characters literally have to fight for survival. We begin to notice this growing darkness in The Acceptance World when, after the Old Boy dinner, Stringham gets so drunk that Nick and Widmerpool practically have to carry him home and put him to bed. This marks the beginning of our knowledge of Stringham's alcoholism, and is also the first time we see a character with a real existential problem. Also in that novel we learn the British economy is in terrible shape, but that none of the characters are affected by it except for Widmerpool, and he only because he is an economist. The rest of the characters can sit comfortably on their patrician thrones and continue the Dance as if nothing was wrong. With the exception of At Lady Molly's, the next few books begin to show us some of the real horrors of life. At the beginning of Casanova's Chinese Restaurant, we learn that Nick's best friend Hugh Moreland will die before his time. In The Kindly Ones, Uncle Giles dies and World War II begins. This marks the time when the Dance really begins to fall apart. In The Valley of Bones and The Soldier's Art, we begin to see the war directly confront these well-born characters. As we all know, war changes life drastically. The aristocracy can no longer perch on their lofty laurels when artillery shells are being launched at them. Priscilla Tolland and Molly Jeavons are both killed during a shelling, leading to a brilliant scene in the movie where Ted Jeavons has to identify the bodies. Nick learns that there was much more to his affair with Jean Templer than he had previously known. Charles Stringham has led such a dejected life that he is content with serving food to Nick in the Army, and then being sent to the Far East, which eventually leads to his death. Robert Tolland dies in combat and Widmerpool finally shows himself for what he is: a man who will forget his friends in order to pursue selfishly anything that will benefit him. This collapse of the Dance is personified when Chips Lovell and everyone around him is killed by an artillery shell while dancing at a nightclub. Although the story has become more depressing, it has also become much more interesting. In the beginning of the fall term, I felt no connection between the characters and myself. However, as the tale unfolded, I began to see that these characters were not just aristocrats, but rather people who were stuck in an aristocratic position. Although their hardships were not those of the common man or soldier during this era, they still have a story to tell, and it is World War II that makes it worth hearing. |