Guy’s inability to live a life of fulfilment and feel a sense of inclusion plays a part in Waugh’s satirising of the upper class. Waugh suggests that the exclusivity of the upper class prevents Guy living a life of fulfilment. Guy wants to become a part of the war effort in order to make himself useful but finds himself being excluded. This is supported by Lord Kilbannock who remarks that ‘It’s a very exclusive war at present. Once you’re in, there’s every opportunity. Waugh is able to satirise the upper class by ridiculing the principles, actions and traditions of the Halberdiers. Waugh often patronises the Halberdiers with Guy thinking ‘…it seemed impossible that anything conducted by the Halberdiers could fall short of excellence’. However, this statement is ironic as, in the same chapter, Guy and half a dozen of the Halberdiers receive the wrong order, culminating in them missing the train to their new destination, Kut-al-Imara House. This shows that the Halberdiers give the appearance of a well organised force, but in reality, they are not an efficient fighting force.
Waugh also satirises the upper class through the use of double-barreled names. In the passage, the name ‘Box-Bender’ is mentioned. Throughout the novel, Waugh uses double-barrelled names for numerous characters, such as ‘Ritchie-Hook, Sarum-Smith’ and a triple-barrelled name for ‘Grace-Groundling-Marchpole’. In their endeavour to remain exclusive, they have embellished their names to the extent of comical pomposity. However, the name ‘Crouchback’ serves only to exclude Guy yet further, giving a pathetic image of a poor, old man bent over with a sore back.
The exclusiveness of the upper class is translated into the theme of selfishness by many characters throughout the novel. Firstly, many young soldiers had their lives ruined by generals such as Ritchie-Hook who were prepared to carelessly ‘spend them’. In the passage, Waugh argues that ‘Most of them had gone straight from school to the trenches and spent the rest of their lives forgetting the mice and lice and noise.’ The repetition of the word ‘and’ in this sentence emphasises the negative aspects of war. Secondly, in this novel as a whole, Virginia represents the selfishness of the upper class. She is prepared to use men for their money and leave them if they lose their money. For example, when talking to Guy outside the passage, Virginia reminisces ‘It was the year everyone went broke…That was another of the troubles with Tommy’ and ‘Money gone, Me gone, all in one go’. Both these comments show that Virginia left her husbands when they had no money, illustrating her lack of principles and selfishness.
Waugh extends the theme of selfishness in the novel to society in general, when the hotel owners raise their prices such as at the Marine Hotel. ‘Managements and servants had settled down to the simple policy of doing less than they had done before, for rather more money.’ They are exploiting their fellow countrymen as they know that comfortable accommodation is at a premium.
The moral issues involving Apthorpe’s selfish and ruthless attitude to promotion relate to the theme of justice in the novel. During the passage, justice is considered briefly by the old soldiers. Box-Bender’s view is that ‘You’d have a general strike and the whole country in collapse if you set up to be just’. This reinforces the moral issue that a selfish, immoral man finds it easier to progress in our society, illustrated by men in authority such as the Brigade Major and Ritchie-Hook. Guy takes the Brigade Major’s advice and takes a bottle of whisky to Apthorpe in hospital as an act of kindness, but this results in the death of Apthorpe for which he is forced to take full responsibility. Neither the Brigade Major nor Ritchie-Hook give him any support. This event shows that army life encourages a ruthless, selfish attitude as a lack of justice within the army ranks will ensure this type of character succeeds.
