The Second World War. The story of the landing and capture by the Americans of the fictional island of Anapopei, where the Japanese were concentrated, develops, as it were, on several levels. This is a chronicle of hostilities, a detailed recreation of the atmosphere of a weekly war, this is a psychological portrait of a man in the war, given through a combination of images of individual representatives of the American landing, this is growing in the background and the image of pre-war America, and finally, this is a novel essay about power.
The composition of the novel is determined by the existence of three sections. The narrative itself - the story of the assault and capture of Anapopeia - is interrupted by dramatic splashes ("choir"), where the voices of the characters make themselves felt, without author's comments, as well as excursions into the characters' past (the so-called Time Machine). The time machine is a short biography of heroes representing a variety of social groups and regions of America. Irishman Roy Gallagher, Mexican Martinez, Texan Sam Croft, Brooklyn Jew Joe Goldstein, Pole Casimir Zhenvich and many others appear to the readers as “typical representatives” of a country where, in times of peace, there is a fierce struggle for existence and only the strongest survive.
War is the habitual state of humanity as its author portrays. The Americans are fighting the Japanese for Anapopeia, and at the same time, the soldiers, as they know how, defend their small rights and privileges in the struggle with each other and officers, and those, in turn, fight for the ranks and titles, for prestige. The confrontation between authoritarian general Edward Cummings and his adjutant, Lieutenant Robert Hearn, is particularly clear.
The story of Hearn’s minor successes and failures is a reflection of the ambiguous position of liberal intellectuals in a pragmatic world. Before the war, Hearn tried to find himself in social activities, but his contacts with communists and trade union leaders were fruitless. There is a growing sense of frustration and fatigue in him, the feeling that an attempt to put ideals into practice is just vanity, and the only thing that remains of a thin, extraordinary personality is “to live without losing the style”, which, according to Hearn, is like a Hemingway code of the present men. He is desperately trying to maintain at least the appearance of freedom and defend his dignity.
But the chief of Hirn, looking at Napoleons Edward Cummings, has a good sense of sedition and is trying to put in the place of the obstinate adjutant. If Hearn wanders from one obscure semi-truth to another, then Cummings knows no doubt and, changing his mind over the thinkers of the past, minted the aphorism for the aphorism: “The fact that you have a gun and the other one is not an accident, but the result of all that what you have achieved; " “We live in the middle of the century of a new era, are on the verge of a revival of unlimited power”; “The army acts much better if you are afraid of the person who stands above you, and you are contemptuous and arrogant of subordinates”; "The machine technology of our time requires consolidation, and this is impossible if there is no fear, because most people should become slaves to machines, and few will go to such joy."
Cummings’s arguments about the Second World War are not less essential for understanding the image of the general and the military machine as a whole: “Historically, the purpose of this war is to turn America’s potential energy into kinetic. If you think carefully, the concept of fascism is very viable, because it is based on instincts. It is only a pity that fascism originated in the wrong country ... We have power, material means, and armed forces. The vacuum of our life as a whole is filled with released energy, and there is no doubt that we left the back of the story ... "
Fascism in the novel exists on two levels - ideological and everyday.
If Edward Cummings is an ideologist and even a poet of fascism, then Sam Croft is a spontaneous fascist who receives genuine pleasure from violence. As the Time Machine testifies, for the first time Croft killed a man when he was still in the ranks of the National Guard. He deliberately shot the striker, although the team was to shoot in the air. War gives Croft a unique opportunity to kill on official grounds - and enjoy it. He will treat the captive Japanese with chocolate, look at photographs of his wife and children, but as soon as something similar to the human community appears, Croft will calmly shoot the Japanese at point blank range. So he’s more interested.
Unable to find a place in peaceful America, Lieutenant Hearn and in the conditions of war can not find himself. He is a stranger among soldiers and among officers. Feeling hostility to the fascist boss, he decides on a desperate act. Having appeared in the tent to the general and not catching the last, he leaves a note - and a cigarette butt on the floor, which plunges his boss into the fury. He hurriedly calls Hearn, conducts an educational conversation with him, and then drops a new cigarette butt on the floor and forces the obstinate adjutant to pick it up. Hearn obeys the order of the general - and thereby yields to his will. From now on, Cummings will do without his services, and the lieutenant will be transferred to a reconnaissance platoon. Sergeant Croft, who was the main one there before, is not at all enthusiastic and ready to do anything to get rid of unnecessary custody.
Soon, the reconnaissance platoon goes on a mission, and Croft has a great opportunity to restore the status quo and his position as commander. Hiding the data about the Japanese ambush, he calmly watches as the lieutenant goes to the Japanese machine gun in order to die in a matter of moments.
It seems that strong personalities triumph. Lieutenant Hearn died, the island is captured by the Americans, but this victory is a matter of blind chance.
Carefully developed by Cummings, the operation to capture Anapopeia requires serious support from the sea. The general goes to headquarters to convince the authorities of the need to allocate warships for his needs. But while he is negotiating, while a platoon of times of leaders is climbing Mount Anak to go behind the enemy lines, the mediocre Major Dulleson is launching a clearly erroneous attack. But instead of suffering a shameful defeat, the Americans win a brilliant victory. A random shell kills the Japanese commander, and his closest assistants die. In the ranks of the Japanese panic begins. Ammunition and food depots become easy prey for the Americans, who soon take over the island easily.
Both Cummings and Croft are out of work. The victory took place contrary to their efforts. Triumphing His Majesty the Absurd. As if making fun of the attempts of American commanders of all levels to direct life into the channel of cause and effect dependencies, he turns into nothing the efforts of aggressive pragmatists. A man remains alone with a mysterious, impenetrable reality, where there are far more enemies than allies, where dark, hidden forces rage against which resistance is useless. Moral edification is uttered by one of Croft's platoon soldiers, the elemental absurdist Wolsen: “A man bears his burden as long as he can bear it, and then becomes exhausted. He alone fights against everyone and everything, and this ultimately breaks him. It turns out to be a small cog that creaks and groans if the machine runs too fast. ” The rational beginning is defeated in a clash with General Absurd.
The next appearance of the “choir” is now connected with the question: “What will we do after the war?” The soldiers speak differently, but no one is particularly happy at the thought that it will be possible to take off their military uniforms, although the army for most of them is not a panacea for all ills. Sergeant Croft will summarize the summary of the short discussion: “Thinking about these things is a waste of time. The war will continue for a long time. ”
The war of all with everyone. Outside of America and on its territory.