Essay Questions

Why is Adam always short on money?

Adam is terrible with money. He is the kind of person who lets money slip through his fingers every time that he has it. He also prefers to come by money rather than to earn it. For example, he "wins" money in a bar, but rather than putting it to the wedding expenses, or saving it, he decides to use it for betting on a horse race. This is a disaster because he stupidly gives his money to the Major who predictably absconds with it.

Adam also has difficulty holding on to a job. He is a contracted novelist, but manages to have his manuscript confiscated and so ends up in a secondary contract that pays him a pittance. He then tries his hand at writing a gossip column but loses that job as well. He does not plan, or act responsibly, where money is concerned, and this is why he generally does not have any of it.

The first half of the novel seems to be structured differently to the first. Why is this, and does it affect the plot?

The first half of the novel is almost frivolous in tone and mood; champagne swilling, self-absorbed bright young things living the high life in London with no thought of responsibility are the focus of the narrative; however, the book changes abruptly and the narrative is filled with dark and almost apocalyptic wartime images similar to those from World War One (even though the war in the novel is actually a fictional one, as it was written during a time of peace.)

Scholars believe the reason for the swift and unusual turn in mood is due to the fact that Waugh's divorce, which was nasty and contentious, began during the writing of the novel. He was experiencing a great deal of emotional pain and so the shift in the narrative almost mirrors the shift in his mood and in his personal life.

The change in mood affects the plot in that the first half has several individual narratives that are unfinished, and also because the relationships between the characters are also hanging in the balance because the author does not return to them again.