Naivety is usually a characteristic of youth, but in the early chapters of the novel both young and aged alike seem to underestimate the prospects for war and the severe impact it will have on their lives. Discuss a few instances where characters reveal their naivety in regard to the coming war and its global impact.

Felix is soon planning to attend university. Discuss how many of his thoughts and behaviors are those of teenage angst. Felix feels like he is an adult, but do his relatives still view him as a child?

When Gabriel tells Charis that Austria declared war on Serbia and he appears upset, she laughs that he could be upset at "another silly Balkan war." What do we, twenty-first century readers, know that Charis does not? How did the declaration of war by Austria so dramatically affect world history? Use...