Hypocrisy of War

Maugham reveals the hypocrisy of governments that recruit young men to fight wars for the honor and glory of their country. Sydney explains how Englishmen initially believed that "every sacrifice was worth it." At the end of the war, they were convinced that those who died did not do so in vain. Men "who were broken and shattered . . . were buoyed up by the thought that if they'd given everything they'd given it in a great cause."

Yet, Sydney insists, these men were "the dupes of the incompetent fools who ruled the nations." They were, he concludes, "sacrificed to their vanity, their greed, and their stupidity." He worries that "they'll muddle us all into another war," and declares that if they do, he will go out into the streets and yell, "it's all bunk what they're saying to you, about honour and patriotism and glory, bunk, bunk...