To Serve Them All My Days - Week 4

[Hugh]

This week's section covers the second half of Part III and the first chapter of part IV.

[Brian E]

TO SERVE THEM ALL MY DAYS – 4th Week - PART III, Chapters 3 & 4; PART IV, Chapter 1

As Hugh put his Chapter Summaries in spoiler threads, I will continue to do so too:
(view spoiler)[
PART III
CHAPTER 3
SubCh.1 – David is down, not even cheered by daughter Grace surviving. Based on Ellie’s advice, he does not attend Beth and Joan’s funeral. David thinks of leaving Bamfyld. Boyer presents David with replacement editions of cherished books David lost in the fire as “he could do with a couple of old friends now,” and convinces David that Bamfyldians need him as he “gets through to them in a way older masters don’t and can’t.”
SubCh.2 – to increase David’s school ties, Herries assigns him responsibility during the holidays for “The Sunsetters,” the school’s permanent residents. David crafts a plan to extend a Havelock dorm to accommodate them. He starts writing a book on the War of Roses era and befriends Classics master Barnaby. The staff was still in two groups: the pro-Algy and his nurturing method group led by Howarth with David and Barnaby, and the anti-Algy group of aggressive young modernists led by Carter.
SubCh.3 – Grace is recovering. Her face scars will fade soon and she will get to 95% but will always limp somewhat. Grace has a great attitude and wants to host the new boys teas her mother used to host. A general strike starts while David is on holiday break and Carter digs him over the phone as “pink” for his worker sympathies as a result of his feeling toward Welsh miners. Herries chastises David for being so thin-skinned about Carter and advises David to call a truce in preparation for Herries’ replacement. David provides supporting argument in favor of the strikers during a school debate. David discovers that a Carter remark has most of the school referring to his Havelock dorm as the “Kremlin.” David confronts Carter about the remark, Carter gets enraged and serious unpleasantries and shoves are exchanged. Herries breaks it up, chastises David while alone and David volunteers to write an apology that is delivered to Carter. Carter accepts the apology and says he was ‘unprofessional” himself. A truce for now.
CHAPTER 4
SubCh.1 – It’s Michaelmas term 1926 as Grace moves back to Havelock and Boyer departs. Grace is a serious determined yet patient little girl who quickly becomes a favorite with the boys, especially with the artsy Spats Winterbourne, who finds Grace to be a talented artist. Spats buys her all types of art supplies. David appoints the overweight but popular scholar Stratton-Forbes as head house prefect, and he and David successfully deal with a bed-wetting issue.
SubCh.2 – Grace’s new boys tea is a success with the 6-year-old looking grandmotherly happily pouring tea. Algy stages his last opera and, to David’s surprise, sneaks in Grace as a midshipman. Grace and David go to Wales for Christmas with his folks.

PART IV
CHAPTER 1
SubCh.1 – End of February 1927. Howarth is in disarray after getting a letter from a lawyer informing him that his only love, who he was engaged with for a year and who married a stockbroker rather than wait on him to make more money, dies. The letter informed him of her affectionate bequest of 8,000 pounds and his pick of the library. Howarth admits he has had a liaison for pay with a local barmaid. Horwath convinces David to apply for Algy’s job and David agrees, only to serve as a block to Carter, who already has applied. David enlists Governing Board member Brigadier Cooper in support, who enthusiastically offers to work for him as he shares the desire to stop Carter. David takes Grace to London to spend Easter holiday with Beth’s people.
SubCh.2 – David runs into Julia Darbyshire now working in a managerial position at a London teashop since leaving teaching after her incident with Blades. They have a love affair during the holiday.
SubCh.3 – David brings Grace to visit Julia and they all get along famously the rest of the holiday. On the last night David proposes and Julia rejects him, saying she couldn’t return to Bamfyld for obvious reasons, or really any school as she didn’t want to be either a housemaster’s or headmaster’s wife, so would hate it and they’d fight. Back at school, the search for Algy’s replacement is down to a final six. Carter and David arrive for their interviews and Carter acts nervously friendly to David entering his interview. Carter finishes his and its David’s turn. (hide spoiler)]

[Nidhi]

Thank you Brian, for the summaries. I will soon catch up with this section.

[Cat]

As a question, for Week 3 and 4, (view spoiler)[what do you think about the way in which grief is portrayed within these two sections (hide spoiler)]?

[Brian E]

Cat wrote: "As a question, for Week 3 and 4, [spoilers removed]?"

I don't have any special thought on how grief was portrayed. Death makes for a dramatic story as does the grieving response. People handle grief differently and all responses seemed in the normal range. However, I did think it unusual that, based on Ellie's advice, David skipped the funeral services to save himself from grieving in front of others. Different time and place, different societal expectations I guess.

Why don't you tell us what you thought about the subject and then, if I have any thoughts on that, I will respond.

[Nidhi]

I finished part IV two days ago. This book has an element which i always look for in good literature i.e zest for life, both David and Grace are brave survivors, the integrity and comradeship of the school adds to the zeal.
I feel that the book is a bit modern , it was written in 1972 but it is portraying 1920s. The reason is the portrayal of Beth and Julia, they are straightforward and determined. Especially how Julia handled the marriage proposal by David. Also the modernistic approach towards Grace Musical and Artistic Therapies.

[Nidhi]

Cat wrote: "As a question, for Week 3 and 4, [spoilers removed]?"

During the first scene of meeting between Herries and David I observed the way author handled grief, I would call it catharsis by juxtaposing one grief with other. David was wallowing under his personal pain and Herries showed him the photo of "batch of 15' lost boys.
(view spoiler)[When David loses Beth and Joan, his grief is again juxtaposed by Winterbourn's.
This process is suggest by Howarth for Christine, when she loses her unborn baby. At last Chris recovers from depression through this process by observing and helping an 11 years old student who was undergoing emotional crisis. (hide spoiler)]

[Brian E]

Nidhi, for the sake of anyone in the future reading this novel along with the threads you might want to consider putting the part of your post, the last two sentences, that deal with events not yet occurring by Week 4 in spoilers.

[Nidhi]

Tomorrow I will put my comment in spoilers alert tag. Right now I am using app.

[Brian E]

Nidhi wrote: "Tomorrow I will put my comment in spoilers alert tag. Right now I am using app."

Yeah. I avoid using the app as, not only is it more limited, but I am too. I'm inept at using my phone as a full-use computer. I was out of town for 3 days using the app to check in and hoped Hugh wouldn't post Week 9 while I was gone because I had no idea how to post my Word document summary via the app.
I don't think we need to stress about the unlikely possibility of anyone else starting the book getting to Week 4 yet.

[Nidhi]

That is funny. It's just the opposite with me. I get lost on website, it's numerous threads, most of the time I don't remember which book I am reading for which group. To keep myself updated for challenges, I make notes on my phone. And its not only GR , I am equally hopeless in navigating Facebook too.