Literary Genre

Section One: The Military Prison, France. World War I (pages 1-3)
A time for truth and reflection
The first pages of the novel provide us with a strong setting and context for the tale to come. The
Narrator, Alexander Moore, is an officer and a gentleman by his own account, and is imprisoned in a military
jail, awaiting execution. He is clearly in a war; by now the attack must be on/a hundred yards of mournful
earth and fighting for the British army; On His Majestys Service. The opening mood is one of
resignation to fate and faint regret. there is no place for speculation or hope, or even dreams. A strained
relationship with his parents is mentioned, as is a scathing reference to how he is being treated with respect
because of his class. The authority figure, Major Glendinning is mentioned, with a sense admiration and fear.
We hear that Alec is visited by the army Padre, in a vain attempt to get him to pray. Alec is clearly a man
awaiting certain death and when he tells us that the memoir we are about to read may be at times inaccurate, we
feel confident that we can trust the integrity of his account of events. This is deeply reflective first person
narrative, and is a retrospective fictional memoir. It is clearly set in a real place and time, so the genre is social
realism. Great descriptive detail will be used throughout the text to establish the cultural context with
conviction. It is also a historical novel, although the First World War setting is not fully established until we
hear about Alecs childhood.
His description of the nearby battlefield, the end of the world for many, the heroes and the cowards,
the masters and the slaves hints at his disgust at the bloodshed of war. It suggests that death is the greatest
leveller.
We know what follows will be an explanation of why Alec is in these circumstances and Johnstons
technique piques our interest in Alecs character. Her literary techniques draw us into the story. She uses a
convincing narrative voice, authentic and representative of his class and time. The entire narrative is circular in
structure as she begins at the inevitable end, creating the suspense as to whether Alec will die. She raises a lot
of unanswered questions for the reader, drawing us into the text to seek resolutions. Why is Alec facing death,
what has he done? There is a pervasive mood of futility, gloom and a foreshadowing used to hint at brutality to
come. She establishes the setting convincingly. Several key characters are introduced and thematic issues
established: The difficult relationship between Alec and his parents is noted, and the reader is left curious.
Similarly, the foundations for issues like the futility of war, the constraints of social class, and the rigid rules of
an authoritarian society are all clearly established in this first episode.





















Section Two: Co Wicklow, Ireland: Early 1900s to 1914 (pages 3-40)
A lonely childhood & a secret friend
As a child I was alone
The narrative begins in Co. Wicklow when Alec is a little boy, possibly around ten or twelve. The
Moores are substantial landowners, from the Protestant ascendancy class. This novel is in the Big House
genre of Irish writing, and as such charts the demise of a way of life that ended in Ireland with the changes
wrought by the First World War and the growing Nationalist movement that blossomed in the aftermath of the
1916 rising. Since the plantations in the 16
th
century, the British Empire had ruled Ireland and controlled most
of the land, leaving the vast majority of rural Irish as landless tenant farmers. Anglo-Irish lifestyles mirrored
that of the British Aristocracy in manners and custom. Most of the boys were sent to public schools in England
and their lives had a strange duality where in Ireland they were often seen as British and in England they were
seen as Irish.
In truth, this Anglo-Irish class emerged as a group in society who were both Irish and British, but their
Protestant faith and role as the ruling class set them apart from the majority of Irish people at the time. This
isolation from the rest of the community is a theme that Johnston returns to throughout this section of the
novel. Alec is imprisoned in his beautiful country home, without friends or a close emotional relationship with
family.
His mother seeks to isolate Alec even more than would be usual for the time. The Piano teacher who
visits weekly is dismissed because she fears and loathes his poverty. He must be ill, some terrible disease. I
get the feeling hes leaving it lying around all over the place. This foreshadows her anxiety about Jerry. It is
as if she fears that any contamination to their way of life will result in its destruction. There is a fin de sicle
atmosphere, a sense of knowing that a particular way of life is inevitably coming to an end. The perfect house,
frozen in time is a beautiful anachronism.
The drawing room smelt of apple wood and turf, and, in the autumn, the bitter end-of-the-year smell of
chrysanthemums which stood in pots massed in one of the deep bay windows, shades of yellow, gold, bronze
and white, like a second fire in the room. The black ebony case of the Steinway grand reflected the flowers.
Johnstons descriptions of the lavish house are detailed, historically accurate and create a series of
tableaux that firmly establish the cultural context of the period. In good historical fiction, the reader needs a
vision of the world the characters inhabit. Also the seasons are often used to hint at the emotional state of the
characters. Usually this is considered figurative or metaphorical language. When human qualities are directly
ascribed to the weather this is pathetic fallacy.
Alecs father and mother argue over whether he should be sent away to school. This is the first of many
cold and vicious arguments between them. Their marital relationship is clearly dead and all that remains is
bitterness and anger. The cause of this breakdown is left a mystery at this point, allowing for a measure of
suspense. Alec is a pawn in his mothers hateful games. She is relentlessly cruel towards her husband. She
does not want to be left alone with him, so denies Alec the opportunity of school. She is utterly selfish. As a
character, she is a magnificent creation, as the reader longs to see her wishes thwarted and becomes very
emotionally involved with her manipulative schemes. Alec is clearly damaged by this hostile family
environment. All the hatred and aggression are repressed; voices are never raised in front of the servants. To
the rest of the world, their lives look perfect. Johnston is critical of this faade of perfection, presenting us with
the emotional sterility beneath.
I watched the daffodils and kept my mouth shut. Their words rolled past me up and down the polished length
of the table. Their conversations were always the same, like some terrible game, except that unlike normal
games, the winner was always the same. They never raised their voices; the words dropped malevolent and
cool from their well-bred mouths. Green ringlets of apple peel fell from my mothers fingers on to her plate.
The author is telling us that this life is a charade, emotionally repressed and dishonest. Despite its
outward beauty, which is lovingly presented, it is clear that Johnston disapproves of the cold snobbery
associated with the class she describes. Note how accurate her period descriptions of the manners, behaviour
and settings are in the novel.
I had a friend. A private and secret friend. I never went to his house or he to mine
Jerrys arrival is a breath of fresh air for Alec, suffocating in the stuffy, hateful atmosphere of his grand
home. There is suspense as the reader knows that the friendship will be inevitably discovered. Jerrys
invitation to Alec to jump into the lake and join him; come on in why dont you, is symbolic of how
liberating and pleasurable this relationship will be for Alec. Many times in the text the boys are indirectly
compared to wild swans: This is a reference to the Children of Lir who go to Tir na nOg, the land of eternal
youth. Alecs mother feeds the swans on their lake and it is one of the few moments when she displays any
humanity in the text. This is an interesting comparison as Alec describes that magical landscape of Wicklow as
a Babylon, an ideal land that features in the childrens rhyme. It hints at the early death of the two young men,
they will never return.
But youre only the same age as I am. I mean a child. Were children yet Alec tells Jerry. Jerry knows they
cannot stay in the land of eternal childhood forever. When Alec tells him that he should work on the estate
Jerry refuses. He says it would change the nature of their friendship. Your father, you. Its all one. They
wouldnt let us be friends
The boys forge a strong friendship based on their mutual love of horses and hunting. They secretly
school horses up in the hills and engage in many rites of passage together. Alec takes his first drink of Poteen
with Jerry. Jerry is the worldlier of the two boys. He has more exposure to the realities of life, and knows that
their different social positions will separate them later. He also shows a greater knowledge of the political
realities of the time. He knows that war is coming and says were going to fix the British, alluding to his
interest in the nationalist movement. Alec is less enthusiastic to face reality.
War, I said. It didnt seem possible that war could ever touch us within the magic circle of hills
Again, this presentation of Co. Wicklow as part of the Celtic twilight is faithful to the culture of the
time, especially the work of W. B.Yeats who is quoted in the text. It places the text in the correct cultural
timeframe.
Alecs mother discovers the friendship and takes Alec on a grand tour of Europe to bring the friendship
to an end. No more Jerry. No Jeremiah. End to that. Yes. What is interesting here is that his father supports
her decision to end the friendship, even if he is not so critical of Jerry.
His father seems to have retreated into his own world. He shows no interest in current affairs and is
horrified by the impending war. He makes an effort to try to get to know Alec. He seems to have had little
interest in his childhood and now wants to educate Alec about his role as heir to the estate. Their relationship
does blossom once Alec returns from Europe, much to Mrs Moores distaste. Mr. Moore is disappointed and
thwarted man, who has lost all his fight. He seems to be happy to accept the status quo; to dissuade Alec from
maintaining his relationship with Jerry, he says: the responsibilities and limitations of the class into which you
are born. They have to be accepted. But then after all, look at the advantages. Once you accept the advantages
then the rest follows. Chaos can set in so easily.
It is hard to see what those advantages might be, in such a cold and sterile place. The wealth and luxury
seem lifeless and pointless in contrast to Jerrys vibrant take on the world.
In the final part of this section, Johnston quotes from Miltons Paradise Lost. There is a sense of
foreboding. It is winter and it is a time of endings. Mr. Moores health has started to fade and news of the war
comes on the train from Dublin and becomes more threatening. The one note of hope is that Alec is keen to
learn about the land from his father and admires his philosophy. Mr. Moore sees his role as a steward or
caretaker, and seems to know that a time will come when they have to return the land to the people of Ireland.
The cultural context is authentic as John Redmonds political speech exhorting Irishmen to join the British
Army is included in the text. Food for Cannons is Mr. Moores prophetic response.
His father is reading W.B. Yeats poem The Rose of Battle when Mrs. Moore arrives excitedly into the
drawing room to announce the death of Christopher Boyle, a neighbours son, at Flanders. She is strangely
excited and we are fearful that she will want Alec to go. She announces cruelly to her husband when
Alexander goes to the war, you wont have him to rely on as you do now. She sees the war as an opportunity
to break up the growing relationship between father and son. She also seems to relish the role of a grieving and
brave mother.














Section Three: Co. Wicklow, Ireland Page 40-70
Dispossessed in a sentence
Commentary
Ah, my boy, youll go alright. Youre a coward so youll go.
In this section, Alec and Jerry form a pact to enlist in the British Army and go and fight in the war.
Both feel compelled to go because of pressure from their mothers. Jerrys father is already at war and his
mother wants him to follow, as the British Army salary is good. Alec and his father, Frederick, both realise that
despite their abhorrence of the war, Alicias wishes will prevail and that Alec will be pressured by her to
depart. The manner of that departure is particularly cruel. When it appears that Alec will successfully resist
her wishes and remain with his father, Alicia becomes very jealous of their developing relationship. She is
critical of their similarities: You grow more and more like him every day. Mannerisms. Turns of phrase.
Freakish ways of using your mind. She wants Alec to be her companion alone and become a solace for her
failed marriage. She is unwilling to allow any relationship develop between father and son. This is perhaps her
chief motivation for speeding him to the front. I had hoped that when you grew up, my darling, I wouldnt
have to be so lonely any more. Initially, she accuses Alec of cowardice to pressurise him, but when this is met
with derision she drops her bombshell: She tells Alec that Frederick is not his real father. She says that she
married him out of necessity to conceal her pregnancy all those years ago. She says she does not remember
Alecs real father, claiming he is dead. It is tempting to see this as a cruel tale to trick Alec into enlisting, but
something about it rings true. It would certainly explain Alicias bitterness, frustration and shocking treatment
of her family.
Alec leaves the house in a haze of shock and sorrow. He finds Jerry and some of the other tenants
listening to a blind fiddler, dancing and drinking by a bonfire out on the estate. The music calls to him from the
darkness, leading him out of the sadness of the house. He confides in Jerry and they agree to enlist together.
Jerry is going for the cash, he insists. They are singing folk songs and dancing wildly, getting drunk. Despite a
long time apart their friendship is easily re-ignited. They talk about their fears. Jerry thinks that the experience
may be useful when he returns to help with the cause of Irish nationalism. To sober up, they go for a swim in
the lake and the scene is shot through with a frisson of sexuality. Jerry wonders what it would be like to be
with a girl. He compares Alicias beauty to Helen of Troy: whose beauty summoned Greece to arms/And
drew a thousand ships to Tendos and Johnstons thematic reflection on the slaughter of young, innocent men a
criticism of the senseless and futile waste of human life to follow.
The following morning, Alec takes his leave of Frederick. The conversation is tragic and full of wasted
opportunities. They speak of the hunt and keep their feelings packed away. His father gives him his
Grandfathers gold watch. Sentimentality doesnt suit either of us. Let us call this a traditional gesture.
There is a terrible finality in the goodbye. Ever gallant, his father insists that Alec is kind to his mother as he
leaves. It is clear from their parting that Alec is running away to war to escape her clutches. He tells her;
About what you said last night. I dont believe you. I will never believe you. But it is clear that the damage
has been done. She wants him to send exciting letters and call back when in uniform. There is nothing left
between them as he turns and goes out the door. The section ends with a sense of dread that he will never
return.
Cultural Context and Literary Genre
Cultural Context is carefully established in the text. In terms of Literary Genre it is worth noting how
Johnston achieves this. She is historically accurate and well-researched. She uses relevant quotes and allusions
that support the themes in the novel.
Johnston takes trouble to locate the novel in a real historical place and time. The references to Mr.
Redmonds speech refer to John Redmond, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. He gave two speeches in
August/Sept 1914 encouraging Irishmen to enlist and support the war effort. Fredericks response tells us a
great deal about how the Anglo-Irish view themselves as being apart from the English. He calls Redmond a
short sighted old fool and says: I have never aspired to being an Englishman, nor do I have such aspirations
for my son.
The pressure on young men to enlist was enormous at this time. They were seen as disloyal and
cowardly if they did not join up. Dulce et decorum est. Conscription was never imposed in Ireland, but it
was traditional at the time to put considerable social pressure on young men to enlist. Among Alecs class it
was considered the decent thing to do. In the novel, Jerry represents the thousands of ordinary Irishmen who
joined up out of financial need, or from a desire to fight for the right cause.
In all, about 210,000 Irishmen served in the British forces during World War One. Since there was no
conscription, about 140,000 of these joined during the war as volunteers. Some 35,000 Irish died. Irishmen
enlisted for the war effort for a variety of reasons. Some, just like their fellows in other warring states, joined
up for the perceived justice of the cause. But in Ireland, which in 1914 was deeply divided between nationalist
and unionist political groups, more local considerations played an important part for many individuals. the
freedom of small nations such as Belgium or Serbia, was that of Ireland as well.
Her use of setting is excellent. Johnston uses the image of the blind fiddler playing to the tenants to
locate the novel firmly on an Irish estate. The Poteen and Irish dancing (the reel) are an accurate portrayal of
life at this time for ordinary Irish people. The almost enchanting mystical nature of the scene is very much part
of the Celtic twilight era.
The repressed emotional relationships that cripple the Moore family are a portrayal of the lifestyle of the
Anglo-Irish class. Johnstons creates scenes that are very evocative of place and time. Look at page 48, when
Alec moves through the silent house, past the dying embers in the fire, across black and white polished tiles of
the front hall and into the night. He hears the bark of a fox, a fiddle playing, as the cold gravel on the drive
crunches under his feet. Literary Genre: Her descriptive skills and ability to create an emotive atmosphere
are superb.
When Alec joins Jerry at the dancing, Johnston uses references to folk songs in her work for thematic
comment and to establish the setting. Good men and true in this house who do dwell. Also; I bear no hate
against living thing, But I love my country above my king. : These lines are from verses of The Croppy
Boy. This is a famous folk song about the 1798 rebellion in Co. Wexford and commemorates the bravery of a
young man fighting the British for a republican cause.
Johnstons Genre here is the historical novel and she evokes the manners of the period flawlessly.
Look at how Alec dresses for breakfast on the morning of his departure. Mother was always most insistent on
an immaculate appearance at the breakfast table; this quote manages to evoke the period as well as being an
indictment of its failures.
Her literary technique is also notable in how Johnston moves the narrative forward. Her use of dialogue
is very naturalistic and this is evident in the conversation between Alec and Jerry as they drink and dance on the
night before their departure. The conversation flows freely in the text, very credibly. Note the different dialect
and accents created for the two men, which emphasizes the class difference and their different personalities.
This is well done. You wont renege, Alec, will you. She also successfully permeates the text with suspense
as to how the two young men will fare in the war. There is a sense of foreboding too, created by the many
references to futile deaths in battle.
Again, her attention to small details gives the novel a depth and authenticity. Note how the
Grandfathers watch is from Balaclava. Almost all of her literary and historical references support her thesis on
the futility of war its brutal waste of human life.
when the hunting season is discussed it is with researched accuracy on her part. Alec names his horse
Morrigan after a wild witch or enchantress. According to Celtic tradition the Morrigan (a Triple Goddess of
Celtic myth; thought of as the Goddess of Death) flew over battles, shrieking like ravens and claiming dead
soldiers heads as trophies. Clearly the allusion serves as a warning.
As Alec departs for war, we are left with a sense of foreboding. His relationship with Alec has been
reignited and the depth of their affection for each other is very clear. Alec says I really rather liked being a
child, as they swim in the lake for the last time. He acknowledges that they are now adults. There is a lovely
symmetry to this, as their friendship began at the lake. Neither of them can escape their fate any longer. They
must leave the protection of their magical hills. The section end with Alec quoting the lullaby How many
miles to Babylon and this reminds the reader that he will never return.













Section Four: Pages- (70-93). Belfast Lough & Ypres, France.
The trouble with a war like this is you get the wrong types joining up. Non-starters: Major
Glendinning
Jerry and Alec spend six weeks training in Belfast before they are shipped to France. Their regiment is
the Royal Irish Rifles. Several new characters are introduced into the narrative. (Literary Genre) Firstly, Major
Glendinning is their commanding officer and becomes the new dominant authority figure in the mens lives.
Alec is billeted with Bennett, an English officer, drafted in to bolster the regiments officer class. Bennett
shares the two Irishmens love of hunting and a friendship is formed between the three men. We also meet
OKeefe who is a junior officer and the sinister Sgt. Barry, who is a stickler for army protocol and clearly
disapproves of Alecs unmilitary bearing. From the cultural context perspective, Johnston portrays the
countryside and the life of the soldiers with unflinching accuracy. On the boat to France a terrified soldier
commits suicide. As Alec reads the pompous advice issued to the men in their pay book (Do your duty
bravely. Fear God. Honour the King), he fears for poor Jerry and what awaits them all.
Once in France, they wade in mud and filth all the time, and are ordered not to eat any pork as the
pigs have been eating human remains. This horrifying image captures the brutality and chaos of the great
war. We are told that there is intense confusion and the army seem overwhelmed by their circumstances.
The threat of chaos and anarchy is close and therefore the commanding officers know that the need for
discipline is essential to maintain order. It is obvious that all the rigid class structures have been transferred
into army life. Thematically, Johnston identifies this period as a time of cataclysmic change, one where the
British Empire is coming to an end; where the class system is disintegrating.
Bennett gets hold of some horses and the three men go riding across the French countryside. It is a
small act of rebellion that is soon discovered. Johnston uses these conversations with Bennett to show the
differences between the English and the Irish. (Culture/Theme). Alec seems more Irish to the reader now, as
Bennetts typical Englishman acts as a foil to his character. Jerry and Alec often gang up on Bennett, who trots
out stereotypical views of the Irish, calling them romantics and cynics. It appears to me you attach the
adjective English to anything you dont like. Yet, Bennett shows a respect for Jerry that Alec appreciates and
a friendship is forged among the men. They chase a fox with enthusiasm sharing a brief moment of calm
before the storm. The war is close, and Jerry takes them up on a hill to see the battle raging over Ypres. It is an
astonishing scene, both terrible and beautiful. The sky is immense and filled with fire and smoke in a hue of
colour. Away to the left, the cathedral at Ypres pointed accusingly at heaven. It establishes setting well and
is offers vivid imagery of war. (Literary Genre/Cultural Context)
The Next morning we went up to the Front Line
Johnston describes the army movements clearly. The system was that we spent three days in the front
trenches and then withdrew to the support trenches for three days and then back to the front again She
captures the exhaustion of the men and the dangers they face. Snipers are a constant threat: The risk of being
hit by shells ever present. The shells would land behind us blowing great fountains of earth, stones, branches,
fragmented bodies of animals and men high into the air and we would be disagreeably peppered with the falling
debris. This artfully highlights the casual way human life is treated and how quickly the men must become
inured to the carnage all around them. Alecs understatement only adds to the horror. (LG/CC/T). In fact, Alec
talks about fear and says he is in a constant sweat. Yet, he does not fear dying; rather he fears that he will begin
to accept this dehumanising experience as normality.
I was afraid that one day I might wake up and find that I had come to accept the grotesque obscenity of
the way we lived.
Even Bennett, originally enthusiastic for glory, is quick to accept the inglorious nature of his
circumstances. He sleeps well, unlike Alec, but notes that the soldiers are merely like performing dogs, pawns
in the war games arranged by the fat men at home. La Patrie, la Gloire, das Vaterland, Britons never shall
be slaves, and the performing dogs will all rush out and kill each other.
Alec keeps an eye on Jerry but is not supposed to fraternise with him at all. When Major Glendinning
finds them sharing a cup of tea up the lines he is unhappy. He chastises Alec in a way which mirrors Alicias
disapproval of the boys friendship. Again, to maintain the social and military order, the men must keep apart.
Let it be understood for once and for all that I will have no talking between men and the officers.
Talking. You know what I mean? Glendenning wants strict, impersonal discipline. He dislikes Alec, thinking
him weak and he has a prejudice against the damn bog Irish who he feels are ill-fit to be soldiers. This anti-
Irish feeling was present in the British army at that time. Glendinning is a character that seems to fit a
stereotype of standard issue British army officer, yet at the start of the novel Alec says that there were times he
admired him. He rightly criticizes the condition of the duck boarding and the state of the trenches, wanting
them cleaned up for the next battalion to arrive. He perceives a weakness in Alec; knows he is not a good
soldier. Bennett sees this too. He tells Alec that the men like him but will not follow him into the heat of
battle, will not trust him with their lives. Glendinning inspires this sort of trust, this sort of fear.
He tells Alec to mix and is suspicious of how different he is from others of his class and background.
He mistrusts his Irish heritage and his gentility. Technically, Johnston is establishing a conflict of values
between the two men that will be developed in the next section. They do not understand each others world
view. Glendennings experienced eye sees the capacity for quiet rebellion within Alec. He is watchful, as is
the ever-present Sgt. Barry.
















































Section Five: Pages- (93-124). West Outr and the front line.
I am afraid to see what makes him scream was all that was held in my mind: Alec
The readers attention is continually drawn to theme in the final third of the novel. Johnston asks us to
consider the brutal nature of war and its utter futility. She also, through as series of narrative events, asks us to
consider the total subjugation of the individual to the will of the many; (class/army/the nation state). The theme
of colonial power is explored throughout the text, but here we see its brutal consequences in time of war. We
are constantly reminded how the individual is merely a useful pawn in the war games of nations. Alec and
Jerry symbolise the millions of men crushed under the yoke of colonial power. Glendenning represents
colonialism, authority and the preservation of the old order. The novel inexorably builds towards a tragic
conclusion and we see no victory for the little man, (the individual), at its close. Rather men are
unquestioningly sacrificed for a cause they neither understand nor support. Johnston is asking us to consider the
irony of a war that was supposedly fought for ideals of self-determination by men who had any individualistic
impulses quashed.
Glendenning tells Alec; Make it your business to understand. Discipline must be maintained. Strict
impersonal discipline. At all times. In my company I will have it no other way.
We find Alec and Bennett in their quarters at West Outr trying to clean up and deal with their painful
chilblains. Alec is troubled by agonising running sores on his legs. Bennetts new cynicism is still evident. He
is contemptuous of the rules and suggests another ride out with the horses, before they go to the front. Alec is
wary but agrees to go. Bennett still finds Alecs Irishness confusing. Their friendship is genuine and indeed,
Bennett seems touched by Alecs gentle nature. He shows affection towards him and puts his hand lightly on
his head. I never expected to admire gentleness in a man. There are one or two references in the novel to
Alecs difference; it could be a hint at his sexuality but I feel here that the scene is to show how these are
not normal circumstances and Bennett is attracted to Alecs humanity amidst such brutality. He admires the
way Alec can hold onto that aspect of himself.
The small vignette when the men go riding is to remind the reader of the cultural setting and to show
that war touches all nations. The three men find themselves in a bar in a small local village, where the French
proprietor has lost his son in battle. The dialogue is partly in French for dramatic effect but has thematic
weight. Nous attendons monsieur, Jour par jour, nous attendons. Les Boches, Les Belges, Les Anglais, meme
les Francais, qui que ce soit, tout le monde souffrira ici. Again, the idea that all the world suffers here is
relevant to theme. Despite his ignorance of the language it is Jerry who can communicate best with the bar
owner, when Jerry blesses himself and offers a prayer in English, the man smiled at him. For the first time a
real smile. They share a common faith.
The conversation about Irish republicanism and Home Rule again places the novel in a specific context
culturally. However, it also feeds Johnstons ideas about the ceaseless nature of bloodshed and war. She
highlights the ambiguity of the Irish situation and foreshadows future bloodshed, referencing Patrick Pearses
ideas of blood sacrifice: Jerry says there are things more horrible than bloodshed, and slavery is one of them.
They stick in your mind words like that. Again, is Johnston asking when, if ever, is bloodshed necessary? She
is foreshadowing the incidents of coup de grace that will come in the novel. Is life worth sacrificing if it is to
be lived without freedom?
The section closes with a vain note of hope, when the men discuss the great races to be run at Ascot and
Longchamps. But their final toast is to the dead.
P.104. Once back at the war, we see Glendinning humiliate Jerry when he is tenacious enough to ask for
a transfer to the horse lines. Glendinning unfairly assumes he is seeking an easy billet. Sgt. Barry is furious
at what he perceives as insubordination. This suggests a real racial dislike of Jerry and the reader sees he will
be given little quarter should he transgress. At breakfast, Bennett tears up a letter from Alecs mother as he is
reading. He is trying to provoke a reaction from Alec, is clearly frightened of the combat to come. The letter is
a device to remind us of Alecs former life and how his relationship with his mother is irrevocably broken.
The screaming, I think, continued, or maybe it was inside my head
This key scene is the most graphic in the novel and perfectly describes the brutality of war. The men
are being disturbed and frightened by the death cries of a fatally wounded man, abandoned out in no-mans
land. Johnston uses this cry to symbolise the cruelty and pain of war. Not a prolonged scream, it rose and fell,
faded, deteriorated into a babbling from time to time and then occasionally there was a silence. Technically,
she dehumanises the everyman soldier and the scream becomes something hated, feared by the men, like
the wail of a banshee. It reminds the men of death and pain and they come to hate it.
Major Glendinning inspects the lines and is happy with the work the men have been doing. He decides
to stay the night and hears the screaming. When Alec reports that it is one of the men from the Gloucester
regiment, the Major decides to act. Well go out and see to him when Ive finished my report. It seems like a
rebuke to Alec that none of the men have acted already. Here, Johnston fleshes out Glendinnings character, so
that he is more than a one dimensional authoritarian British soldier. His taking of tea with a sliver of fresh
lemon is presented as a necessity rather than an affectation. His care with the knife foreshadows the efficient
way he will deal with the soldiers death. The lemon and white handkerchief may be seen as symbolic here,
elements of the civilisation that Glendinning believes in so passionately. They are talismans, protection against
the horror of war, the threat of chaos. We see a spark of humanity in this habit and dislike him a little less.
Lemon and tea is quintessentially English, so is a symbol of his culture.
His evident courage and decisiveness when he decides to try and ascertain the condition of the wounded
man is also something Johnston wants us to admire. It also is a stark contrast to Alecs reluctance and fear. I
think Johnston wants us to see that even though Alec is not a soldier that there is a merit in Glendinnings
particular brand of courage.