Chapter 32 Summary and Analysis

While in Cairo, Graves acted as examiner for the diploma class of the Higher Training College. Those who passed the examination would go on to offer English instruction at primary and secondary schools. Graves found the average candidate stunningly unprepared and presents three essays as an apology for his rapid abandonment of his teaching post in Cairo. The first essay, by Mahmoud Mohammed Mahmoud, examines the nature of the environment as a factor in evolution—the essay is nearly unreadable and largely nonsensical. The second essay, by Mohammed Mahmoud Mohammed, presumably examines the character of Lady Macbeth but in reality is simply an extensive quote from Shakespeare presented as the student's work (at the very least, the plagiarized Shakespearean text is at least grammatically correct). The third and final essay, by Mahmoud Mahmoud Mohammed, examines the best use of leisure...