Burning down
This is another one of the moments in this series where the author has really reached the level of a really good story and one which takes a look at society then (and really has many parallels in modern society.) One of the defining characteristics of the author's work is that he tries to present the situation surrounding the war with a degree of reality, whether it be the sensationalistic news coverage or the fact that there is no such thing as glorious war. In this case he looks at the peace movement back home and how it is somewhat disorganized but also treated as a sort of criminal enterprise. The interplay here between the protesters and police could be one straight out of today's headlines with the one side using insults like "pigs" and the other using insults like "communists." In the end it shows just how desperate the entire situation was then (and really is for any application of modern war. "Guts and glory" this is not.
