Willie Keith

In a chapter appropriately titled Through the Looking Glass, the novel starts by introducing the reader to the protagonist of the novel, Willie Keith, from whose viewpoint the entire novel is told. Seeking a way to avoid being drafted into the infantry, Willie Keith-an educated, piano-playing dilettante-is joining the U.S. Navy. His days in training are interspersed with a series of flashbacks that introduce us to his former life and to his girlfriend, an Italian-American singer called May Wynn. A rebellious type, Keith immediately gets into trouble, and faces expulsion throughout his training period. He eventually passes, and is assigned to the USS Caine.

The Caine

Keith arrives in San Francisco to report to his ship and amuses some military officers with his piano playing. To his horror, the Caine is a rusty vessel that seems on the verge of collapse, and Keith feels only...