Dan mentions historian Arnold Toynbee in a conversation with Randy. Discuss the significance of this passage in terms of the theme of the novel.

Randy believes that individuals have an effect on war itself, that things people do can cause a "bigger" damage than to just themselves. Toynbee compares the reactions of people and nations in times of crisis and believes that in both cases they are caused in the same way. He says that in times of crisis individuals either step up to the challenge or "they melt in the heat of crisis and come apart like fat in the pan." The same applies to nations.