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Jay Park Through her less than impressive portrayal in The Military Philosophers, one can only assume the worst of Pamela Flitton. As she gladly "[gave] men hell" with her seductive beauty ]and domineering persona, Pamela Flitton succeeds in her attempts to ruin the lives of countless men-old and young, powerful and pedestrian (74). However, one can only question her intentions and goals, as she continues to coax hopeless men into spiraling relationships. Her most obvious motives would be wealth, power, or quite possibly own insecurity-all of which seem logical. However, as Pamela Flitton seems to be " just as happy deranging the modest home life of a middle-aged air-raid woman, as compromising the commission of a rich and handsome Guards," none of the prior explanations accounts for Pamela's motivation behind her overwhelmingly malicious actions (74). One possible explanation, however, lies in her troubled past, which consisted largely of her drunken father and instability within her family. Her father, Cosmo, a "heavy drinker and professional gambler," who eventually abandoned his wife and daughter, must have given Pamela a false perception of men, especially as he was the only influential male figure in her life at the time (58). Due to the lack of a paternal figure, Pamela Flitton may have developed a twisted view of men, leading to a need for blind redemption and unjust revenge. Pamela's notorious relationships with countless men continue to unveil themselves throughout Nick's narration in The Military Philosophers. Starting with the two RAF officers who "were court-martialed as a consequence of a fight about which was to drive her home after a party," it becomes clear that Pamela simply must enter and exit relationships in a loud and tumultuous manner (73). Wooing men left and right, however, it is still quite unclear as to why Pamela feels the need to leave every man she encounters in distress. While Pamela's intimacies with men seem to be no more than heartless attempts to acquire power and wealth, Nick begins to realize that her intentions are not ones of ambition. As she was "scarcely interested in looks or money, rank or youth," Pamela Flitton found it much more satisfying to cause "deep suffering" to all the men she encountered (74). Whether with Odo Stevens or Widmerpool, Pamela ceaselessly works to become the central figure in their lives, only to vanish, hurting her victims just as her father had done to her years ago. In the case of Odo Stevens, she reassures Stevens that `[she] meant more to [him] than anyone else" not because she cared that Stevens was babbling about the deceased Priscilla, but most likely because Pamela needed to be first in his heart in order to deepen his suffering once she left. Moreover, with Pamela's hidden intentions in mind, her relationship with Widmerpool, which at first was unfathomable, begins to make more logical sense. Older and less experienced, Widmerpool would be an extremely naïve partner and, more importantly, one with "potentiality for deeper suffering"-the ideal relationship for Pamela (74). Looking further into Pamela's intentions for her inconsiderate actions, it becomes quite clear that her sole intention is not any of money, power, or fame. Instead, Pamela's escapades seem to be related to her revenge for her father's irresponsibility, which directly correlates to her vision of men. While her past does not and cannot serve as any form of justification of her actions, this explanation does, in fact, add another dimension to Pamela's character, who originally seemed to be no more than a manipulative and promiscuous mistress. |
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William Koven There hasn't been a prison invented yet that could hold me, although I was a little surprised at how quickly the Poles put me in the jug. They said I had, "gone a bit too far this time," but I don't see how it's my fault that those prissy Poles can't take a joke now and then. Maybe I should have stayed with the French; at least they kept booze around. Come to think of it, the French were pretty decent folks. Sometimes I wonder why I ever left them. Then I remember that whole mess with colonel, which I thought it was hilarious, but pretty well pissed him off. Either way, the damn Poles put me in a British detention barracks. Prison isn't so bad once you get used to it. Sure, they're all different, and some are worse than others, but in general you get a meal or two a day, sometimes even three, and you hardly have to do anything at all. In military prisons they sometimes make you do these damn drills where you have to go out and march around for a bit, but even so it's easier than being in the field and digging trenches all day. After a while, though, even a nice relaxing prison can get kind of boring, so I never stay in them very long. The British place they stuck me in wasn't so bad, but I could tell it was the kind of place that would have me twiddling my thumbs out of shear boredom in no time. So I decided I was going to leave. I wasn't quite sure how at first, since the security was better than most places I'd been stuck in the past, but at least the British weren't likely to just shoot you for the hell of it. I thought about trying a rather elaborate escape, which included a couple of disguises, but upon reflection I realized that even a four year old could have spotted the flaws in that plan. Keep it simple stupid, I had to remind myself. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got; it looked like I was in for a challenge. Then, something even better than I could have possibly imagined came up. Two officers, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, walked right up to the front door of the barracks and asked for me. Tweedledee did all the talking while Tweedledum just sort of looked impatient. There was some arguing, but after a few minutes and much shuffling of papers, the two blokes were finally brought over to where I was. After looking at me for a moment, Tweedledee spoke. "Szymanski, right?" I told him that's what some people call me. Tweedledee laughed and Tweedledum handed me a couple of papers. After trying to wade through all the military jargon, I ask Tweedledee what the hell was going on and he explained that the charges against me had been found to be false and were being dropped. The documents were clearly fraudulent, but some lieutenant colonel named Sonny Farebrother had signed the damn things anyways. I wasn't going to complain. "Come on, you're out of here." It was the first, and so far the last, time I've ever left a prison the same way I came in, through the front door escorted by a couple of officers. Once we were in the car, Tweedledee started talking again. "Name's Odo Stevens. We've got a job for you and it looks like we might end up working in the same area for a bit." Then he rambled on for a while about something or another. The gist of it all was that the British wanted me to knock off someone or another rather important. Seems they figured I had the skills to handle the job and also the kind of reputation that would let them cut ties with me if necessary. They even offered me a commission. Things kept getting better and better. The whole affair didn't turn out quite the way it was supposed to, but I walked away in the end which is what matters. A couple of days after Odo picked me up at the prison I was shipped off on an airplane. Now, no one told me where I was going, they said it wasn't important, so I took my time getting to the airport and stopped by the prison wearing my second lieutenant's uniform. Then, when I finally got the airport, I asked again about where I was going. The captain in charge there said I was going home for all he knew, and then he told me to shut up and get on the airplane. The last thing they told me was to make contact with some guy named Peter Templer once I got to my destination. Well, it took a while, but I eventually found Templer. I have no idea how he got himself involved in anything secret since he was definitely a bit old to be out in the field. I honestly didn't like him much. He was kind of stuck up, and kept trying to get with every girl he saw. One time when we were at a bar together he told me that he used to be quite the ladies man, which was hard to believe after watching how he consistently made a fool of himself. Maybe he was just getting old. Another night, after having a bit too much to drink, Templer started talking about Pam. I didn't like how he talked about her; he had nothing good to say. She was a real devil both in and out of bed, but nobody should talk about a woman the way Peter Templer talked about Pam. I think that's one of the things I disliked most about him. He also seemed to enjoy gambling and was pretty good. He managed to take a lot of my money. Fortunately I found other ways to supplement my pay. It was too bad that I had to report to Templer. It's never a good thing to dislike your boss, especially when the other side is willing to pay quite nice sum of money for your services. I never really betrayed our mission, but selling little bits of information here and there gave me a comfortable amount of income. One night, Odo Stevens, who showed up as part of our mission for no good reason that I could see, almost found me out in a bar. But I managed to get him so roaring drunk that I don't think he remembered anything from that night. Stevens just can't hold his alcohol. Anyways, since our primary mission was to knock off the head of the local Gestapo, I thought it made sense to get a little friendly with them; gain some of their trust and all. At any rate, we eventually got the whole operation set up and ready to go. Odo and I were the ones actually set to do the dirty work, but the way Templer talked about it you'd never know. We were just waiting a few more days for everything to fall into place when we got an order to abort the mission. Someone at the top had changed their mind. After the work we'd put in, it pissed us all off. Stevens got so thoroughly drunk that night that he couldn't keep his damn mouth shut. He started complaining about our mission and said more than he should have. From what we'd been told, there were already plans to extract us, but after Stevens very public drunken rant it became obvious that those plans would have to be executed quickly if we were actually going to escape. Stevens somehow managed to get everything together and got out the next day. I was told to stay low and my extraction would come a few days later. Peter, on the other hand, wasn't told anything about how he was getting out. It seemed like quite an oversight to me. But I heard rumors from Cairo that some high ranking officer, Widmer something or another, had it out for Templer. Since there seemed to be no immediate plan to extract him, I could believe someone wanted Templer dead. So, I thought I'd do them a favor and maybe win some brownie points. Besides, I wanted to get some of my own back at Templer, and I even managed to weasel a bit of money out of my Gestapo contacts for betraying Peter. So the night before my extraction I found Templer in a bar and put him out of his misery. The next day everything went smoothly and I got out to Cairo. The best part is, I didn't even have to go back to jail for any of that. |
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Erica Bakies Throughout The Dance, we are constantly bombarded with old friends whom we (and Nick) haven't seen in ages. While reunions are usually fun: -- catching up on new events, remembering the good old days, etc. -- Nick's encounter with Peter Templer in the beginning of The Military Philosophers is not one of excited remembrance or mutual happiness in seeing an old friend. In fact, Templer seems to not even care that his good friend, Nick, from years ago, shows up unexpectedly at the same meeting. While twice Nick, expects that Templer himself. Instead, he is "indifferent" to the fact that Nick is even there. How can an old friend whom we (and Nick) think we know so well, turn around and become so different? Nick remembers a change in Templer even from the last time they met, at Stourwater. He says, "I had been struck by a hardness, even brutality of expression that had changed someone I had once known so well," (15). What was once a fun-loving, laid-back man changes into something much colder and unnatural. Foreshadowed occurrences, usually involving women who were once passionate about him, end up changing Templer far more than he could ever have imagined. When first encountering Templer, Nick takes his hostility and ignorance to a personal level. Nick, unusually put off by Templer's reaction to seeing him, even says that he "began to regret suggesting" that they have a chat after the meeting (19). He describes in detail all the things about Templer that has changed, trying to justify why Templer could possibly be mad at him for. Nick said that Templer has lost weight and resembles more of his younger self, yet Nick says that, "His manner was so unforthcoming, so far from recognizing we were old friends who had not met for a long time," (TMP, 19). They have been friends since Eaton, and so it doesn't make sense to Nick that Templer would be so ignorant and unhappy at their meeting. The nosy questions that Nick proceeds to ask are so that he can justify that Templer's coldness, and confirm that it is not himself that is at fault. For the most part, Templer changes because of drastic events in his life. One of these is the confinement in an asylum of his ex-wife, Betty, whom we met at Sir Magnus Donners. While there was some indication that something was wrong with not only their marriage by Betty herself, such an extreme level of disorder is completely unexpected. While at Sir Magnus Donners, Betty became very upset when her husband willfully engages in actions typical of his then-personality while depicting the sin Lust with two other women. While this may have been an early indication of something not all-together perfect, her condition quickly withers. The movie depicts her as not only incapacitated, but almost brain dead. This has a profound affect on Templer, especially since she is his wife. Despite the fact that he seems to pay little attention or show care to her, he still once cared enough to marry her, and her mental problems did affect him. Betty's condition may have been drastic enough to drive him into the arms of another woman, Pamela Flitton. After Pamela is finished with the men that she sleeps with, she merely walks away, leaving them heartbroken or worse (case in point, Widermpool). This happened to Templer, and explains Templer's lack of interest in women as well as his drastic personality change. Pamela is a woman who craves the power to control men. She works her magic on her conquests who have increasingly more power than the next. When she decides that Widmerpool is a far greater challenge than Templer, she leaves him. When Nick encounters Templer, he has a crave for power than is completely unlike him. Nick even says, "The thought of Widmerpool's potential powers evidently excited him," (20). Pamela changed him, and now he is doing anything he can to become more the man that he thinks that she wants. However, Templer brings up what he thinks is a lighter note and says that he is no longer dating. It is possible that this is because the last two women he has dated have left him heartbroken and damaged. Clearly Pamela and Betty are the direct causes for Templer's personality change. Even if these women hadn't treated him the way they did (either intentionally or unintentionally), he would have changed quite a bit from what Nick was used to. Templer's exposure to the war as well as the added responsibilities of being a ranked soldier are very stressful. This adds to his personality, and more than likely would have changed his priorities anyways. Pamela and Betty create radical situations that a normal person would not have to deal with, and they, more than responsibilities or war, changed Templer from the guy Nick knew so well to a power-seeking and dispassionate individual. |
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Nick Anschuetz The previous two books of the "World War II Trilogy" of Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time series, The Valley of Bones and The Soldier's Art, have marked death and sadness for Nick Jenkins. We have seen Nick struggle to find friends in the Army and spend a considerable amount of time away from his wife. Meanwhile, we witness his friends and acquaintances drop like flies due to German bombs. If The Military Philosophers is any different, it is worse. Nick sees the dreaded Widmerpool gain more and more power and his two oldest friends die. This makes The Military Philosophers the most depressing of all the volumes in the series for the reader. As I have stated in my previous two essays, The "World War II Trilogy" is a far cry from the earlier novels. A tragedy in Nick's early life might involve a woman unknowingly playing with man's heart. A tragedy in this latest trilogy involves the death of a character, and it's usually someone we like. And, as we see our friends die, we also see the most hated characters climb the power ladder. As we first see in The Valley of Bones, Widmerpool has been gaining higher and higher rank in the British Army. By the end of The Military Philosophers, he is Colonel Widmerpool, and he finally admits what we've always known when he says to Nick, "I have come to the conclusion that I enjoy power." (205) He continues his bad attitude towards Nick when he abruptly dismisses him from a meeting because he was not important enough: "'Do go away Nicholas. I have some highly secret matters to deal with on the next agenda. I can't begin on them with people like you hanging about the room.'" (19) Widmerpool seems to be unconscious of his attitude towards Nick when they see each other at a mutual party and Widmerpool proceeds to tell Nick all about his engagement to Pamela Flitton, the Devil Incarnate. During this scene in the film, Widmerpool refers to Nick as "one of [his] oldest and closest friends." We see Nick's frustration with Widmerpool continue to grow as he, as Pennistone puts it, "[passes] into a world beyond good and evil." (197) The Military Philosophers contains the biggest tragedy so far in the series; maybe not for Nick, but certainly for the reader. Stringham and Templer, Nick's two oldest friends, die while in the line of duty. Stringham's death is not much of a surprise; Stringham had been beaten down throughout the series, and it seemed inevitable that if he were sent somewhere, he would not come back. Templer's death, however, comes completely out of nowhere. Nick had no idea Templer was working undercover, and his death comes as a shock to him and to us. Stringham's and Templer's deaths now make Widmerpool Nick's oldest acquaintance. For us, this is a travesty. It's safe to say that however Nick feels about a character, we feel that way doubly. Although Nick parted ways with Stringham and Templer, it always brought smiles to our faces when they would reappear. They represented the start of our journey into A Dance to the Music of Time. However, with their death comes the harrowing realization that the dreaded Widmerpool is now our only link to the beginning. It seems fitting that he should be responsible for Stringham's and Templer's deaths. Powell does give Widmerpool his comeuppance, however, when Widmerpool becomes engaged to Pamela Flitton. She is ostensibly the only character who stands up to Widmerpool. When they fight, they fight as equals. They only way Pamela seems alive is when she is angry: "She was in a sudden rage. Her usually dead white face now had some colour in it." (210) Widmerpool, for some reason, is oblivious to her tendencies: "Widmerpool, not surprisingly, was apparently stupefied by this onslaught; myself scarcely so." (211) However, never forget that Widmerpool is basically Pamela Flitton in male form: "His own rage made him able to stand up to her." (212) Anthony Powell's The Military Philosophers is the saddest installment so far in the series, at least for the readers. The deaths of Stringham and Templer make Widmerpool, who has been becoming worse and worse as he quenches his thirst for power, our only link to the beginning of the novel. However, we may see Widmerpool return to his previous state as someone you can deal with once the war ends. At that point, there will no longer be a rank associated with his name and he will be married to Pamela Flitton, who will most definitely keep him in check. Nevertheless, we do see signs of Widmerpool returning to his old form when he says to Nick, "I fear the war has taken a sad toll of our friends." (206) Spoken by anyone else, it would be the most heart-wrenching line of the novel. However, spoken by Widmerpool, it is taken as false grief. However, this still a chance that Widmerpool meant what he said, and we may look to a more agreeable Widmerpool in the future. Don't count on it, though. |
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Dana Feeny Jumping into A Dance to the Music of Time in book nine has been an adventure to say the least. After my struggle to look beyond the military lingo of the book and uncover the plot, I discovered the complexity and extent of this story. Familiarizing myself with the numerous characters and their relationships was a feat not easily accomplished. I often asked myself, "whose sister-in-law is whose mom is whose wife who divorced who really loved who?" With so much of my attention focused on these characters, I forgot about the man who created them. I have spent the last few weeks trying to get to know Nick and the constant flow of people that pass in and out of his life; now I would like to look into Powell's life and hopefully gain a refreshing new perspective. Powell was born in 1905 in England. His father was an officer in the Welch Regiment so Powell spent his early life moving with his father's orders. Powell was sent to The New Beacon, a boarding school in Kent, around the age of 12. In 1919 Powell gained acceptance to Eton and enrolled in the fall. Though he claims that he easily formed relationships with people whom he liked, the reports from his housemaster noted that he grew reserved and moody over the years. Powell found pleasure in the visial arts and became a founder-member of the Eton Society of the Arts. He continued on to Balliol College, Oxford to read history at the age of seventeen. At the age of 21, in December of 1925, Powell lost his virginity to Lulu, a girl he met on a trip to Paris of whom little details are known. After finishing school, he was living in London and working as an apprentice at the publishers Duckworth and Company. Powell joined a Territorial Amry regiment in South London suburb. He published his first novel, Afternoon Men,in 1931by Duckworth's and supervised its producti himself. His second novel, Venusberg, followed shortly after in 1932. The novels kept coming and Powell pubished Froma View to a Death, in 1934. Powell met Lady Violet Pakenham in 1934 through her sisters and proposed to her that same year. He eventually left Duckworth publishing and began writing for Warner Brothers Studio. The job required long hours, but paid well. With this hard earned money, Powell and his wife moved to Hollywood hoping to gain work, however he received no offers and returned to London in 1937. With the threat of the war growing, Powell was accepted on the Army Officers Emergency reserve. The day war was declared, Lady Violet Powell received confirmation that she was pregnant again, after suffering two miscarriages. Powell was ordered to report for regimental duty in the rank of Second Lieutenant. Powell said that this "led no only into a new life, but entirely out of an old one, to which there was no return. Nothing was ever the same again." Powell took, time away from writing novels during the war. He was dedicated to the Army and focused his energy in excelling in his posts. Powell spent the years of the war travelling from division to division and finally in September of 1945 he began the three months' demobilization leave that brought his military career to an end. Though he was not writing, this time certainly affected his later books. I assume all my classmates already understood the extreme personal experience embedded in the plot of The Dance to the Music of Time, but prior to this research I was unaware of the similarities. Powell's education, military experience, and relationships with women are reflected in The Dance to the Music of Time. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Powell |
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James Seman In Anthony Powell's The Military Philosophers, Nick Jenkins works closely with the Polish government-in-exile, as well as the military men that are also a part of this government. After Poland was attacked and conquered by both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, many Poles fled the country, and wound up in Britain. Polish units on the ground, on the sea, in the air, and even in intelligence, helped the Allies towards an eventual victory against the Nazis. The Polish Army, while the government was in exile, was incredibly active on both the Western and Eastern fronts. On the Western Front, Polish units were reorganized in France soon after Poland was overrun. This new Polish force numbered somewhere around 80,000, but when France surrendered, about 20,000 Poles, as well as their top commander and later prime minister of the Polish government-in-exile General Sikorski, escaped to Britain; where they formed another fighting force, this time under British control . A little after this happens, Nick starts to work as a liaison between them and the British. This group became known as the Polish I Corps, and was later joined by the Polish II Corps when the Soviet Union released many of the Polish citizens that they captured when they invaded. The Polish II Corps was used extensively in the European Theater and was essential to victories at Monte Cassino as well as the battles of Ancona and Bologna . These additional troops were extremely useful throughout the entire European Campaign, and were able to turn the tide of battle at a crucial time, helping the Allies towards victory. The Polish Navy was a small but effective fighting force that was used in a variety of ways. Although the Polish naval forces were never very large, they made for effective convoy escorts, and sunk 12 ships during the course of the war . These convoy duties were one of the most important and hazardous naval missions of the war. Valuable war material had to be transported across the Atlantic Ocean from the United States to Britain, in large, slow, vulnerable merchant ships. They needed protection, and thus convoys were created to help escort ships across the ocean, which often concealed German submarines, which were otherwise capable of sinking them at any time. The Polish Air Force was a force to be reckoned with during World War Two. The Polish Air Force, while based in Britain, controled the fighter squadron that had the most air-to-air victories during the Battle of Britain. This squadron, the 303 Fighter Squadron was responsible for 126 air-to-air kills. There are two reasons why it was Polish pilots that scored the most air-to-air victories. Firstly, many of the Polish pilots were veterans of two previous German invasions: the Polish and French invasions. The other reason is that the pre-war Polish Air Force emphasized training, which meant that the pilots were often better trained than their adversaries, which provided a decisive advantage . Despite the fact that Poland had been mostly subjugated by both Germany and the Soviet Union, many Poles joined in the resistance movement, which was controlled by the government-in-exile. These resistance fighters did many things and helped the Allies in various ways. One of the most important things that the resistance provided to the Allies was intelligence. In fact, the Armia Krajowa (AK), the largest of the resistance groups in Poland and the official military arm of the Polish government-in-exile, was able to supply the British with pieces of a V-2 rocket that crashed, as well as plans for the pieces that were too big to transport back to London . In addition, the Polish Resistance was instrumental in the failed Warsaw Rebellion, when the AK tried to take over Warsaw long enough for the government-in-exile to come back and make peace . The Polish government-in-exile, as well as the Polish military units, were a very important Ally during World War Two. In fact, up to the entry of the Soviet Union in 1941, the Poles were the third largest Ally in terms of manpower . Polish units served with distinction during World War Two, often helping to exploit vulnerabilities in battle, as well as providing valuable escorts for convoys, experienced pilots, and valuable intelligence. Thus, Nick Jenkin's post of Polish liaison was, in fact, a fairly important one because he was dealing with one of the largest and most important of the Allies. Sources Cited: 1. "Armia Karjowa". Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armia_Krajowa. April 14, 2008. April 15, 2008. 2. "II Corps (Polish)". Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_II_Corps. March 25, 2008. April 15, 2008. 3. "Polish Contribution to World War II" Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_contribution_to_World_War_II#Polish_Forces_.28West.29. April 13, 2008. April 14, 2008. |
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Jimmy Yang In a work of such magnitude as A Dance to the Music of Time, death is a tragedy that inevitably must be faced. In the span of the twenty-odd years of Nick Jenkins' life we have seen, it is almost certain that we should see how death enters his life, and how he reacts to it. The first death that we saw Nick deal with was that of his friend, Mr. Deacon, in A Buyer's Market. When he dies, Nick seems relatively unaffected by his death, and he exits the dance as he entered: as an anecdote in Nick's life. It is inevitable, however, that as the Dance advances onward, people closer to Nick will have to leave. As we wrap up the third quarter of Powell's epic, particularly as the death toll of the Second World War begins to increase, more people whom Nick has met throughout his life, such as General Conyers, Molly Sleaford and Chips Lovell begin to pass away. Some of these deaths are relatively insignificant among the many of World War Two. However, two recent deaths of Nick's childhood friends, Charles Stringham in A Soldier's Art, and now Peter Templer in The Military Philosophers, have had a greater impact on Nick, and on us as the readers of Powell's epic. Stringham and Templer were the first friends that Nick introduced us to. When Nick was at Eton as a boy, Stringham and Templer lived in the same house as he and the three shared many experiences together such as the "Braddock alias Thorne" incident. Their friendship was not to last, however. After they left Eton, the three grew apart from one another, and in each book after the first, Nick only meets the two of them intermittently. When Nick does see Stringham or Templer, their lives seem to be heading downhill. While Stringham has a failed marriage with Peggy Stepney and turns to a life of drink, Templer seems to be fairly stable in his relationship with his wife Mona until it is shattered when she runs off with J.G. Quiggin. Stringham is eventually cared for by his mother's old secretary Tuffy Whedon, as Templer enters another unsuccessful marriage with his second wife Betty, who "went off her rocker." (MP, 21) The last we see of Stringham is when he is working as a mess waiter in Nick's division. The last we see of Templer is when he is about to be sent off on a secret mission, snubbed by Pamela Flitton. The events surrounding the deaths of Stringham and Templer share some surprising similarities. Both of their deaths occurred rather inconspicuously. While Templer is left high and dry in Egypt, Stringham dies unknown in a prison camp after he is captured in the Japanese occupation of Singapore. Perhaps the most significant similarity between the two deaths is Widmerpool's involvement. Just as we learn that it is Widmerpool who cut the English support from Templer in Egypt, we also learned in A Soldier's Art that Stringham was put in the Mobile Laundry by Widmerpool, who knew beforehand that it was going to the Far East. Curiously, the character of Pamela Flitton seems to appear on the occasion of both deaths. Mrs. Erdleigh says that Pamela "loves disaster and death." (MP, 131) Certainly, there are two occasions in The Military Philosophers where she brings the news of death to Nick. In the first instance, she tells Nick that Stringham "was at Singapore." (MP, 59) Later on, while Nick is at the Embassy party with Widmerpool, he finds out about Templer's death, and about Widmerpool's involvement, from Pamela. "[Widmerpool] persuaded them to leave Peter to die. The nicest man I ever knew. He just had him killed." (MP, 211) With Stringham and Templer gone, the only one left of Nick's Eton acquaintances is Widmerpool. Yet from the fates of Stringham and Templer, perhaps we can infer something about Widmerpool's future. Though he has seen a steady rise in power until now, it is doubtful that this will last. Both Stringham and Templer became slowly less content with themselves after their first failed marriages. Similarly, their lives began to worsen as well. Though Widmerpool was engaged in At Lady Molly's, the marriage was called off, and Widmerpool has remained a bachelor up to this point. Now, however, Widmerpool is married, and to Pamela Flitton no less. Though she may not be the harbinger of Widmerpool's death as she was for Stringham's and Templer's, it is certain that if Widmerpool's life sees a downward turn, and it seems as though it might, she will be the one to tell Nick (certainly Widmerpool would be too prideful to tell Nick himself). Finally, just as Widmerpool was a catalyst in Stringham's and Templer's death, he will most certainly be a catalyst in his own downfall. |
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Alex Svec On March 5th, 1940 the Soviet Union authorized the mass killing of nearly 22,000 Polish citizens and soldiers. Those who died included an admiral, 14 generals, 24 colonels, 79 lieutenant colonels, 258 majors, 654 captains, 17 naval captains, 3,420 NCOs, seven chaplains, a prince, 43 officials, 85 privates, 131 refugees, 20 university professors, 300 physicians; several hundred lawyers, engineers, and teachers, more than 100 writers and journalists and around 200 pilots. The killings, both brutal and efficient, once discovered by the Germans in 1943 led to what could have been the loss of the second greatest allied force during World War II. Although the Soviet Union denied such allegations, and instead tried to place the blame on Germany, both England and the United States knew the truth. There was no easy solution to this problem. The Poles wanted justice; the Soviet Union wanted to be through with the matter and the rest of the Allies wanted to keep the peace. The question of what to do brought about the notion of consequentialism, and phrases such as "the end justifies the means" and "for the greater good." The oversimplified question was this: should the massacre of 20,000 Poles be overlooked in order to stop the potential loss of millions. Stopping potential loss of course meant keeping Soviet support, for they were much more valuable than the Poles in that point of the war, both because of greater numbers and ability to flank the enemy. Widmerpool, ever the unfeeling, uncaring realist, backs England and the United State's decision to deal with the Soviet/Polish problem later. He follows the consequentialist reasoning that there are greater matters at hand and that such a relatively small issue should not cause a stir. "In any case, whatever materializes, even if it does transpire - which I sincerely trust it will not - that the Russians behaved in such a very regrettable manner, how can this country possibly raise official objection, in the interests of a few thousand Polish exiles, who, however worthy their cause, cannot properly handle their diplomatic relations, even with fellow Slavs. It must be confessed also that the Poles themselves are in a position to offer only a very modest contribution, when it comes to the question of manpower." Although Widmerpool has been known to have some rather complicated points of view, most notably at the old boy's dinner with his economic rant, there are few hidden messages in this dictation of his; a few thousand Poles are not as important as the millions Germany could kill if not stopped. Personally I fall a few steps short of Widmerpool's strong beliefs. It almost seems that he is trying to convince himself and those around him that Katyn is not an important issue and that the Soviets are most likely not even responsible. I believe in the prioritization of the importance of the various allies, but for different reasons. Katyn most definitely was a major military issue and both English and American intelligence had good reason to believe it was indeed Soviet doing. In the end, another great consequentialist quote, it would seem that the right choice was made in overlooking the not so pretty incident. It is a difficult argument to make that the Allies' choice was either unethical or ethical. How does one define ethics during wartime? In my opinion the best option during the time would have been to carry out the war with Soviet support, as was done, and only if/after the war was won to raise the issue of Katyn. Pennistone has an excellent quote for this situation, for many seem to believe the government should act only with the purest of intention and the best morals. "A great illusion is that government is carried on by an infallible, incorruptible machine. Officials - all officials, of all governments - are just as capable of behaving in an irregular manner as anyone else. In fact they have the additional advantage of being able to sooth their conscience, if they happen to own one, by assuring themselves it's all for the country's good." Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyn |