Genre
Fiction
Setting and Context
1930, London, and the "home counties"
Narrator and Point of View
The narrator is almost a mirror onto the narrative. He tells the story from his own perspective.
Tone and Mood
The tone is frivolous and also disapproving. There is a palpable mood of waiting for war to break out and therefore the mood is also uncertain.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Adam is the protagonist, the Major the antagonist.
Major Conflict
There is a conflict throughout the book between the generations; there is a particular dislike of the younger generation by those who lived through World War.
Climax
War is declared; Ginger and Adam are sent to fight in France, and Nina returns to London to wait for Ginger to come home.
Foreshadowing
Adam gives his money to a suspicious, perennially drunk character who goes by the name of The Major. This ill advised decision foreshadows his losing his money.
Understatement
The older generation consider Adam frivolous which is an understatement in that he does not make any effort to take part in his own life; he lets life happen to him and reacts to that. He has no specific goals and no drive to achieve them.
Allusions
Waugh alludes to "the war" although it is unclear which war he is referring to as the novel is set in 1930 when the country was actually between wars.
Imagery
N/A
Paradox
Adam and the Major are fighting in France, and this is generally a time when there are fewer supplies of basic necessities, however, they manage to get hold of confiscated champagne and continue their London lifestyle.
Parallelism
There is a parallel between Adam's lack of financial success and his falling out of favor with Nina.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
The Younger Generation is the way in which the younger characters are thought of by the older, establishment-type of character.
Personification
N/A
