Section 4 Summary

This section begins with the phrase, "If you want to be respected and looked up to..."

Mysteriously, this chapter begins with Bardamu's admission into a hospital for a war wound that is never explained. Bardamu is moved to a Paris hospital, because of the wound received in the war, of which he gives no details and he even receives a military medal. On the home front, people are getting organized; everyone wants to wear a uniform and participate in the struggle. Bardamu cynically notes that the men all have their fingers in each other's pockets or up women's skirts. People appear dutiful and patriotic on the surface, but their real motives are the familiar ones of profit and self-interest.

Bardamu's medal attracts a pretty American volunteer, the sexy, twenty-three year old Lola. Lola has come to assist France, a country she passionately admires...