Chapter 6 Summary and Analysis

Robert Graves completed his education at Charterhouse in July of 1914. Before leaving, he had a long and humorous discussion with his friend, Nevill Barbour, about the apparent evils of public schools in general and Charterhouse specifically. They loathed the fourteen years they had spent in education and dreaded the coming three years at St. John's College, Oxford. Graves, in fact, did not enter St. John's College, Oxford until 1919 and did not complete his degree until 1926.

Graves' experience at Charterhouse was demeaning and unpleasant, particularly for the first several years. He was an excellent scholar, but as such was not valued by the other students who instead saw him as rather a fool. He was inept at sports and completely ignorant of sexual matters—both inexcusable shortcomings according to his peers. His parents, though wealthy, did not provide pocket money and...