Put Out More Flags by Evelyn Waugh
Basil Seal is an upper-class criminal who causes trouble wherever he goes. He is crazy, wicked, and dangerous to know, which makes his sister, mother, and mistress very anxious. It seems like the ideal opportunity for more excitement and adventure when Neville Chamberlain declares war on Germany. Basil responds to the call to duty and departs to live out his greatest moment as a war hero. As he slips into the Ministry of Information and a shadowy division of Military Security, Basil’s survival instincts come to the fore. When will Basil’s big chance to fight finally come, with Europe paralyzed in the “phoney war”?
Put Out More Flags by Evelyn Waugh
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Put Out More Flags by Evelyn Waugh, which was released in 1942, is arguably one of his least well-known books but also one of his bravest. It mocks Great Britain’s government, its war effort, and its arrogant culture at a time when Hitler’s guns were only a few miles off England’s shore. It is at once a light comic comedy and an acerbic morality drama. I was drawn to read Animal Farm as a history student and voracious reader for a variety of reasons. First of all, it is a timeless piece. Since it was brief, I couldn’t think of a reason why I hadn’t read it already. Second, I was already aware of the analogies Orwell draws between the characters in Animal Farm and European actors since I was a history major.
This is an intriguing account of how one segment of British society reacted when World War Two first broke out. Despite the tragic nature of the calamity, Waugh successfully injects humour into the events as they play out. Does Waugh turn everything on its head and demonstrate what a valiant and honourable conflict World War II actually was?
