Quick notes on how many miles to babylon

Her refusal to allow Alec to go away to school is not the result of her grief at their separation but because she would be left alone with a husband she detests.

She uses her son in a most despicable way, as a buffer between herself and her husband. She brings her son to Europe not for the love of learning but as a means of dealing with his unsuitable friendship with Jerry. Friendship Alec feels real affection for his father. He realises that his mother abuses his father but he is helpless to prevent it. He misjudges Alicia, only realising his mistake when it is too late to rectify it.

It is interesting to note that Mr Moore deteriorates in the absence of his son. The friendship which develops between Alec and Jerry is the only real love and affection which Alec experiences. However, he shares the same sad home life as Alec. Both Alec and Jerry are capable horsemen.

They plan to somehow overcome their class barriers to breed and train horses together. War The images of hatred in the novel revolve around references to the First World War and the Irish Nationalist cause.

From the earliest moments in the novel, the impending war in Europe forms the backdrop to the feuding husband and wife. It is possible to argue that the hatred between Alicia and Frederick Moore is used as a compressed image of the hatred between the allied and enemy forces in the war.

The inferences to madness in the novel serve the same moral function as the images of war. They make the reader understand that love is the essential element to the survival of the world because without it there is only chaos, cruelty and hatred.

Their parting scene in the novel, though it seems superficial, is actually heart-rending. Both Jerry and Alec ridicule their mothers for their hypocritical show of grief as they go to war. The description of the war in the novel evokes a sense of horror in the reader. The trenches which Alec describes are a physical representation for the reader of humankind without the redemptive power of love.

It is like descending into the hell which he describes so well in the course of the novel. Alec embraces the friendship of Jerry, caring for his welfare and trying to buffer some of the abuse hurled at him by the officers.

It seems that Alec and Jerry should become insensitive to feeling and the little kindnesses which make life bearable. Yet despite this ultimatum, Alec continues to befriend Jerry and their smallest gestures of help to each other indicate the pointlessness of the war which rages around them.

This murder illustrates the breakdown of the inherent moral code in humanity. After the murder, Glendinning never once shows remorse or disgust for his act.

Crowe goes to the front again tomorrow with the rest of his squalid friends. Friendship The reunion between Jerry and Alec near the end of the novel is very moving.

This poignancy is more effective because the reader of the novel suspects that the reunion will be short-lived:. He threw an arm across my shoulders and we lay in silence. My warmth was spreading through him, but the hand that clasped the back of my neck was still cold as a stone fresh from the sea. When Jerry is found he is put into the detention camp where Alec visits him to carry out the greatest test to their friendship and love.

They reminisce about their youthful dreams and ambitions. Jerry confesses for the last time that he loves his country above his king. It seems an odd thing to say before death but it is important to remember its symbolic significance.

For Jerry, his country encompasses more than the nationalist cause, more than the land itself; it reflects his belief about the brutality of war, the uselessness of it. This novel fits into the category of social realism.

It is a story which is extremely true to life. Johnston does not over-exaggerate her plot or stretch it beyond the bounds of credibility. It is a novel based firmly in an actual time and place in history. Her main characters belong to clearly defined social backgrounds, the Anglo Irish gentry and the Catholic underclass of Ireland in the early s.

Both men are accurately drawn as they each possess certain qualities of their respective backgrounds. The bigotries which attempt to divide them both at home and on the battlefield are all too real in the novel. It is, therefore, a book rooted in reality. In many respects, the novel takes on the form of an autobiography. It could also be said to be a confessional work. It begins with an officer alone in his room, about to face death by firing squad and he is writing his last thoughts.

Therefore, the novel is told in flashback. The novel is presented strictly in chronological order with only a few slight references to the past, as Jerry and Alec at times of depression or crisis look back longingly to the good times they spent together in the Irish countryside.

It is divided into two distinct settings: Ireland and France. It is a simply structured but completely effective novel with a plot that is uncomplicated and direct.

She does not waste words on rambling descriptions nor does she overuse images for exaggerated effect. This makes her images all the more memorable when she does use them. Clarity is her main strength. She describes her characters and the action in the plot in a concise condensed manner.

The rushes bowed to her as a little rippling wind stirred through them. A thousand green pikemen bowing. It heaved uncomfortably and its blackness was broken from time to time by tiny figures of white, mistakes. Their conversations were always the same, like some terrible game, except that unlike normal games, the winner was always the same. They never raised their voices, the words dropped malevolent and cool from their well-bred mouths. The emptiness of the Irish landscape and the emptiness of the inhabitants of the Big House are matched by the desolation of the war fields.

They discuss building jumps for the horses. Pg 21 They discuss their future working with horses and then we find out of an impending war. Alec tries to avoid the question unsuccessfully. Pg 24 After a prolonged silence Alec tries to sing but his mother tells him to stop because he is no good at it.

Mrs Moore forbids Alec from seeing Jerry. Pg 25 Mrs Moore tells Alec that she wishes to take him to Europe to further his education. Mrs Moore tells him it is all arranged. Alec suggests he might not want to go but his mother tells him he would be foolish to think of such an idea. Pg 26 That evening they sit for dinner and everything is very formal.

Alec suggests he is spoken to like a stranger when asked to sit down. Mr Moore tells Alec that he feels it would be a good idea if he saw a bit of the world. Mr Moore is not convincing in suggesting he had a say in the matter. Pg 27 When asked his opinion on the matter by his father, Alec does not get a chance to answer as his mother answers for him.

Pg 29 Mrs Moore is angry that Alec heard about the war from Jerry and tells him never to see Jerry again. Mr Moore agrees that it is an unsuitable relationship. Mr Moore talks about the responsibilities and restrictions of class. Mr Moore agrees and tells Alec to do as he is told. Pg 31 Alec returns from Europe. Alec feels that his father has waned while he was away. They begin working together and Mr Moore buys Alec a horse called Morrigan.

The horse is called after an Irish witch and Mrs Moore is horrified at the name. Pg 34 Alec and Jerry meet at a point to point after Jerry has won a race. Alec remarks on the polite clapping from the people within the ring and the cheering from those outside it. Alec and Jerry discuss his new horse when Mrs Moore interrupts to take Alec away only glancing at Jerry. Mrs Moore says she believes Jerry is a criminal. We are told that war has broken out.

Pg 36 Mr Moore is angry at the war and Alec suggests he started to drink more after hearing of it. Pg 37 Mr Moore enters the room to say that Christopher Boyle has been killed. Mr Moore calls them fools. Pg 38 They discuss Mr Moore growing old and Mrs Moore tells him that when Alec goes to war he will not have him to rely on. Alec gets up to leave but is told to sit down as the argument continues. Pg 40 The argument continues and Mr Moore gets up in anger.

Mrs Moore calls him a fool and tells him to leave and go about his work. Pg 41 Alec joins his father in the drawing room and they discuss his mother. Pg 42 Mr Moore says that now he knows that his wife hates him.

Mr Moore tells Alec that he will go to war because he is a coward. Mr Moore hopes that when he dies Alec will look after the land. Pg 43 Mr Moore is beginning to get drunk and remarks on how it is pointless talking to his wife. Pg 44 Alec leaves his father and goes to his mother. She comments on how they are becoming alike.

Pg 45 Alec says he is not going to war to be killed but his mother tells him he will not be killed because he is a coward. Pg 46 Mrs Moore suggests she only stayed with her husband because of Alec. Alec is shocked and Mrs Moore says she is serious.

Pg 47 Mrs Moore tells Alec that his real father is dead. She says she tried to make her husband happy for a short time but it did not last. Pg 50 Alec joins him in drinking and Jerry tells Alec he is joining the army in the morning.

Pg 51 Jerry tells Alec he is joining the army for the money. Pg 52 They watch a man pay the fiddle and people dancing. Alec tells Jerry he is joining the army in the morning also. Alec feels that he wants to die. Pg 53 Alec tells Jerry what his mother told him and how he would like to leave in the morning without seeing his father. Depending on the study guide provider SparkNotes, Shmoop, etc.

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