Education
Graves is forthright in his declarative manner of providing simple background information. He will state his height and weight as if declaring facts in court, for instance. He reserves the use of more figurative and entertaining language to make commentary upon these facts upon being laid out. For instance, his opinion of having to learn French as a matter of course for British education:
"French is a surface acquirement which I could forget quite easily if I had no reason to speak it every now and then."
Strange Weaponry
During his time in the war, Graves describes a very unusual weapon which took some time to figure out exactly how the enemy managed to actually use it. The weaponry is bathed in metaphor to bring forth all the details of its odd origin:
"Our greatest trial was the German canister – a two gallon drum with a cylinder containing about two pounds of an explosive called ammonal that looked like salmon paste, smelled like marzipan, and, when it went off, sounded like the Day of Judgement."
The Scourge of Society
Ever wonder what the scourge of society is? Robert Graves has the answer:
"Others try to rest through gumbling, which is the scourge of society and individual."
Still wondering what the scourge of society is? You are not alone. Maybe it's a typo; maybe he meant gambling. If so, it's a typo that has never been corrected. Gumbling must mean something. And whatever that society it is, it's a scourge.
The Climbing Game
Graves provides background on Geoffrey Young, Eton master and the President of the Climbers’ Club. Young is described as a man of great honor and by far the greatest climber he ever met; four of Young’s closest friends had died during climbs. The reason behind the man success is situated through a simile as a means delineating exactly how success is achieved.
“Before making any move he thought it out foot by foot, as though it were a chess problem.”
Knowledge
While on the subject of gumbling, Graves presents an alternative method for dealing with leisure time: reading companions to literature. He can’t resist acknowledging, however, that reading such selections may do some harm with the subtle reminder that while certain famous sayings are indeed famous, they were not necessarily originally said by those the companion books give credit:
“‘Every schoolboy knows’ that music is a moral law which gives a soul to the universe.”
