Essay Questions

How does Waugh frame Jasper's chastisement of Charles on page 45?

Waugh presents the exasperation of Jasper toward Charles' choices through the use of facts about his misbehavior itself. This exasperation results from secondhand embarrassment about Charles' choices, in addition to the logistical concern of his stature as profligate.

Waugh carefully uses Charles' intermittent clarifications to Jasper's account as a way to include the emotions of each desire to clarify; he uses paragraph structure throughout Jasper's argument as a way to show pauses to the reader and enforce that Charles largely sees the details Jasper presents as positives.

Is there an interpretation of Sebastian that does not lead to pity?

Yes. The poor physical state of Sebastian at the end of the novel can be divorced from the behavior Sebastian exists throughout the rest of the novel in order to craft a vision of Sebastian's character that fits the defensive posture he chooses for most of the book.

Sebastian wishes to live against the world and continues to do so even throughout the waning of his physical health; this is a natural and required human devolution. Having been educated in the peak British system, he continues to disregard the collection of concepts that he chose to leave dormant upon the completion of his education. Thus, his transition to a less overtly cosmopolitan environment does not necessarily mean a dramatic change to his mentality. He opens his life to new directions instead of reliving the pageantry of his more youthful days.

How can the first scene be interpreted in the context of the rest of the novel?

The arrangement of estates and the military was fraught with questions of manners and logistics; Charles is stationed after such decisions took place, so he witnesses the result of details instead of how the negotiations took place. This is different than his entrance to the Flyte household, which was inextricably driven by Sebastian's wish to limit the exposure of Charles to his family and vice versa.

The beginning of the novel takes on enhanced significance when considering Sebastian as the main character - who happens to be absent throughout - of the scene, instead of Charles.