Revise and learn about the characters in Jennifer Johnston's How Many Miles to Babylon? - BBC Bitesize - CCEA GCSE English Literature

Summary

Summary: How Many Miles to Babylon? was written by Jennifer Johnston and published in 1974. It is told by Alec Moore, an army officer awaiting execution by the military during World War One, who reflects on how his childhood and past actions have led to his situation.

Title: Framed as a question, complete with question mark, suggesting uncertainty; the line itself is taken from a nursery rhyme which Alec sings carelessly to the priest as he awaits his execution, simpler childhood concerns with adult seriousness and mortality. Babylon was a city referred to in the Bible; the fact it is an unknown distance away implies a difficult journey, and may suggest difficulty in reaching peace.

Narrative perspective: How Many Miles to Babylon? is told from a perspective. First person is where the story is told by one of the characters involved in the story – in this case, Alec – who describes the action from their point of view and regards events with their own understanding.

Setting: Ireland and later France, in the period leading up to and including the outbreak of the World War One in 1914.

Themes:

Friendship
Loyalty
Social class
Family relationships
War and combat
Leadership
Control
Mercy
Political beliefs
Masculinity

Characters in How Many Miles to Babylon?

The main character in How Many Miles to Babylon? is Alec, the army officer we first meet at the start of the story who narrates the story. He recounts events in flashback that have led to him being imprisoned in a cell and awaiting execution. As the account is based on his own experiences, we meet the characters that were significant in his life and hear his impressions of them.

Character map for How Many Miles to Babylon? Five illustrated characters are linked by purple connecting lines. At the centre is Alec, labelled with the traits: “Privileged”, “Lonely”, “Loyal”, and “Tragic”. Above Alec is Jerry, labelled: “Poor”, “Adventurous”, “Dutiful”, and “Compassionate”. To the upper left is Frederick, labelled: “Weak”, “Caring”, “Resigned”, and “Submissive”. To the upper right is Alicia, labelled: “Controlling”, “Snobbish”, “Cruel”, and “Cold”. At the lower left is Officer Bennett, labelled: “Likeable”, “Socialist”, “Disillusioned”, and “Friendly”. At the lower right is Major Glendinning, labelled: “Heartless”, “Spiteful”, “Authoritarian”, and “Insensitive”. Purple connecting lines show relationships between the characters, with Alec positioned as the central figure. — Figure caption,
Character map for How Many Miles to Babylon?

The other main characters featured in the novel are Alec’s parents and his friend, Jerry; the fact there are not many characters in the story as a whole show both how isolated and lonely Alec’s childhood was and how important his central friendship with Jerry was for him.

The ruthless army officer Major Glendinning becomes the main of the story, creating problems for Alec and Jerry and eventually bringing about the deaths of both of them.

Alexander Moore – Alec

Characteristic	Evidence and analysis
Privileged	Right from the opening line of the novel it is clear that Alec is rich and . He refers to himself as “an officer and a gentleman” and the rest of his narration shows he is the son of an landlord who grew up on an estate in Ireland. The fact that Alec trains to be an officer also reveals his class. At the beginning of World War One only those men from the upper classes could become officers in the army, although this changed as the war went on. Alec’s wealth growing up is presented through the grand setting of his parents’ house – “the pictures, the polished banister” – and the fact that servants do most of the labour in the house. Tutors are brought in to teach him Latin and piano, studies typical of the cultured education a young man of his class would receive. Alec’s mother takes him with her to Europe – supposedly to further his education – at a time when travelling like this was only for the very wealthy. He comes home to a new horse, a chestnut mare that the groom comments cost a “queer price”.
Lonely	Despite the material wealth Alec is born into, he does not portray his childhood as being particularly happy. Most of the time he is very lonely due to the lack of children his own age and parents who are cold and unaffectionate. His experience of relationships is limited to his parents' unhappy marriage and while he says that “I never minded being alone” because “I had never known anything else”, he admits himself to “being rather short on team spirit”. His friendship with Jerry is therefore all important in his life. The significance of this is shown in Johnston’s use of short sentences: “I had a friend. A private and secret friend.” Having a companion is such a new and exciting experience for him that in his memories “it all seems idyllic”. The subsequent friendship is so strong that it continues throughout their short lives.
Loyal	Despite the disapproval of his mother and Major Glendinning, Alec remains loyal to Jerry right to the end. His mother’s attempts to break their bond fail as they continue their friendship in secret. When Alicia Jerry as one of “those sort of people”, Alec defends his friend, saying: “Jerry’s not stupid and he’s not a criminal”. When Alec becomes an army officer he continues his friendship with Jerry. He includes him in horse riding with Bennett as he knows how much Jerry loves horses. He saves him rum – the only thing that comforted soldiers in the horrific trench conditions – as he knows Jerry won’t have any and tells him to: “Finish it. It’s all for you.” He acts on Jerry’s behalf when he asks Glendinning if Jerry can have compassionate leave, even though he knows it will get him in trouble. He also keeps quiet when he notices that Jerry has gone absent without leave. In the end, Alec shows the ultimate loyalty when he is prepared to die to ensure his friend has a dignified death.
Tragic	Alec is a character. He dies at a young age, with only an unhappy childhood and an adulthood of war behind him. He frequently talks about loneliness before meeting Jerry, and when he does find a companion his mother does everything she can to discourage their friendship. The first time they meet he describes how they “lay and looked at the forbidden sun”, perhaps the fact that their friendship will never be accepted. Indeed, when Alec does escape the limitations of his cold family home, he is again separated from Jerry by rank because of their class difference. Although there are episodes of joy in Alec’s short life – his times at the lake with Jerry and the freedom of horse riding, for example – there seems little hope from the beginning that he will ever be truly happy. Johnston structures the novel so that each occasion of joy is followed by unhappiness – such as conflict with his mother, the horrors of war, or in the end the despair of shooting his friend in a final act. At the end his acceptance that “They will never understand” suggests he has resigned himself hopelessly to the fact that there is nothing left to do but “sit and wait and write”.

Jeremiah Crowe – Jerry

Characteristic	Evidence and analysis
Poor	As a child of a poor family and later a labourer for one of the Moore’s , Jerry is obviously less privileged than Alec. Tenants did not own any property and often had few rights. The first thing Alec notices about Jerry is his feet, “bare, dust-grey and with soles obviously as hard and impervious to stones, thorns, damp, as were the soles of my expensive black leather shoes”. This of Jerry’s bare feet with the expensive shoes Alec wears shows the difference in class between the two characters immediately. Even in winter Jerry “moved awkwardly in a pair of men’s boots tied onto him with string”, obviously having to make do with boots too big for him and with no laces. We see his poverty highlighted later on too when Alec notices that Jerry is wearing “an old pair of my breeches” (trousers), and Alec is embarrassed by his privileged position. This class distinction continues even when the men join the army and Jerry is separated from his friend by rank.
Adventurous	Jerry’s wild untamed nature is hinted at in Johnston’s initial description of his feet – especially when with the contrasting description of the leather shoes worn by Alec. This free fun-loving nature is reinforced on their first real meeting when Jerry is swimming naked on the Moores’ private property. He shows little fear when Alec discovers him, his “shining, grinning face” inviting Alec to “Come on in, why don’t you?” The enthusiastic way he moves is emphasised by the “Sparks of water” that “flew from his arm”. The adjectives and verbs used to describe Jerry portray an electric joy in life that seems alien to Alec, who has only lived with the and lack of emotion in his household. This adventurous personality is shown throughout the novel: Jerry introduces Alec to drinking; he convinces him to go to war in such a spontaneous way and in the end he makes the dangerous decision to look for his father without permission. Alec first meets Jerry breaking the rules by swimming in the Moores’ lake, and it is significant that in the end this adventurous streak leads to his end.
Dutiful	Despite his wild and adventurous nature, Jerry shows himself to be reliable and dutiful when necessary. He is loyal in his duties to his family. He admits to going to war in the first place because his parents need the money they would get if he was a soldier. This same duty is shown when his father, also a soldier, goes missing on the battlefield and Jerry leaves to search for him – despite knowing the penalty for . While he feels no loyalty to the British King, he is willing to risk his life to do what his mother asks of him. We also see that – again whilst feeling no duty towards the British whom he is fighting for – he says he is willing to bear arms for Ireland. This happens when he goes horse riding with Alec and Bennett – he tells the others that he’s an and he’s learning how to use a rifle for the fight in Ireland.
Compassionate	Jerry’s concern for his mother when his father is lost – despite frequent hints that his family life is not terribly happy – show him to be caring and compassionate. Even though he’s aware the chances of finding his father are slim, he still goes in search of him. He knows his mother will be anxious and that she will find it difficult financially without his father’s pay or the pension she would receive on his death. It is also obvious Jerry worries about the conditions that the horses are being kept in when he requests to be transferred, because “They need someone like me there”. He has previously voiced his concerns that “They’re not looking after those animals at all … The spirit’s gone out of them”. Even when Bennett teases him about “Irish sentiment creeping in” and tells him that “Perspective is needed”, Jerry is unfazed and tells him to “shut up, can’t you”. It is clear that Jerry can sympathise with animals, even as Bennett reminds him of the human casualties and that “Dead horses don’t smell any worse than dead men.” This shows that, despite the dehumanising effects of war, Jerry still has compassion for the horses that he has loved since childhood.

Alicia Moore

Characteristic	Evidence and analysis
Controlling	Alec’s mother is beautiful and charming to those around her. Perhaps this is why she has always had her own way in life, and has become dominant and controlling to anyone who has a relationship with her. She makes decisions about her child’s welfare which seem to be based on what will be most beneficial to her as opposed to him. She doesn’t want Alec to go to school because she has “no intention of remaining alone in this house” with her husband, Frederick. But she fails to acknowledge that this might make Alec lonely and ostracised. She emotionally blackmails Alec, frequently using her own feelings to persuade him to do things he does not want to do. His refusal to go to war is met with her response that “It means a lot to me” and “You are a coward.” In the end – in an attempt to force him to war because it is what she wants – she cruelly tells Alec that Frederick is not really his father. Throughout the novel she is seen to do whatever it takes to make things go her way.
Snobbish	Johnston uses Alec’s mother to show the class distinctions and the attitudes associated with them which were common in the early 20th century, especially before World War One. She is furious about Alec’s friendship with “that boy” from a lower class and will do anything – including taking Alec away to Europe with her – to ensure she puts an end to it. She dismisses Alec’s unfortunate piano teacher because she cannot bear him “dragging his disease and poverty into my drawing-room.” Her desire to be regarded as a woman of culture and breeding is illustrated by her refined eating and drinking, her piano playing and her dress code. She believes herself to be superior to others. Her entitled nature is shown for example when she summons a maid to do something as small as closing the curtains, instead of closing them herself. It is this strong belief in the inherent inferiority of people like Jerry that fuels her snobbery and her poor treatment of others.
Cruel	Alicia’s treatment of other people – often for her own selfish reasons – highlights her cruel and heartless nature. Despite being her son, even Alec cannot feel any warmth for such a cold and distant woman. In the opening paragraphs of the novel – before we have even met her character – he says that “My heart doesn’t bleed for her.” This indifference to his mother’s feelings as he awaits execution the flashback narrative where we see how her cruelty has affected him over the years. Mr Cave, the piano teacher, is speechless at her beauty: “Such a beautiful woman, God love her. So …” Yet soon after he says this, she cruelly dismisses him because of her disgust at his poverty. In this way her exterior beauty is with the ugliness of her personality, emphasising her spiteful nature. She heartlessly employs emotional blackmail to get her son to go to war. She sees it as a personal victory when he finally decides to go – with the description of her eyes as “triumphant blue”. The writer shows her as not at all worried for his life, but instead enjoying the sympathy she’ll receive from having a son at war and the fact that it will hurt her husband. She cruelly uses Alec as a pawn in her bitter fight with Frederick.

Frederick Moore

Characteristic	Evidence and analysis
Weak	Alec’s father, Frederick, is presented as weak in contrast to his wife’s domineering character. He rarely argues back. Even when he makes his disagreement perfectly clear, Alicia still manages to get her own way in most matters. She uses Alec to undermine her husband’s authority, such as when she refuses to send him to school as his father wishes. His arguments are never taken into account, they are swept under the carpet as Alicia determines what happens in their house. His anger at her dismissive attitude can be seen at times in his “shaking” hands. But he rarely voices it, perhaps having resigned himself to her control. At one point he tells Alec “You do what your mother tells you, my boy. That’s the way …”. Whether he really agrees with what he says is arguable, but it suggests that he has given up and there is no fight left in him. Even when it comes to the serious issue of Alec going off to war, Frederick’s strong feelings are ignored. He is against the idea, hoping that Alec will take over the family land and business. He believes those who are pro-war are “Damn bloody fools” and makes his opinion clear, describing the young men who sign up as “Food for cannons”. But in the end he is too weak to stand up to his wife. Her cruel emotional blackmail wears Alec down and Frederick loses his son to war.
Caring	As Alec gets older his father suggests that “Perhaps the time has come for us to get to know each other a little.” This shows that their relationship was distant when Alec was a small child. Such situations were not uncommon – especially among upper class fathers and their children – in the early 20th century. Because of Frederick’s suggestion – a sign that his father at least cares about his son – Alec grows closer to him. Frederick teaches Alec how to manage the estate, buys him a beautiful horse and speaks frankly to him about how much he loves the land. He is also shown to care about Alec’s welfare when he argues the case for sending him to school and not wanting him to go to war, even though he loses both these arguments. He pleads with Alicia that he has given her “everything that you have ever wanted” so that she must “ponder deeply before you take away my son.” His desperation shows that he cannot bear to lose Alec to war. He can’t express what he calls “sentimentality”, but his gesture in giving money and his watch to Alec before he leaves expresses how much he cares.

Characteristic

Evidence and analysis

Weak

Alec’s father, Frederick, is presented as weak in contrast to his wife’s domineering character. He rarely argues back.

Even when he makes his disagreement perfectly clear, Alicia still manages to get her own way in most matters. She uses Alec to undermine her husband’s authority, such as when she refuses to send him to school as his father wishes.

His arguments are never taken into account, they are swept under the carpet as Alicia determines what happens in their house. His anger at her dismissive attitude can be seen at times in his “shaking” hands. But he rarely voices it, perhaps having resigned himself to her control.

At one point he tells Alec “You do what your mother tells you, my boy. That’s the way …”. Whether he really agrees with what he says is arguable, but it suggests that he has given up and there is no fight left in him.

Even when it comes to the serious issue of Alec going off to war, Frederick’s strong feelings are ignored. He is against the idea, hoping that Alec will take over the family land and business.

He believes those who are pro-war are “Damn bloody fools” and makes his opinion clear, describing the young men who sign up as “Food for cannons”. But in the end he is too weak to stand up to his wife. Her cruel emotional blackmail wears Alec down and Frederick loses his son to war.

Caring

As Alec gets older his father suggests that “Perhaps the time has come for us to get to know each other a little.” This shows that their relationship was distant when Alec was a small child.

Such situations were not uncommon – especially among upper class fathers and their children – in the early 20th century. Because of Frederick’s suggestion – a sign that his father at least cares about his son – Alec grows closer to him.

Frederick teaches Alec how to manage the estate, buys him a beautiful horse and speaks frankly to him about how much he loves the land.

He is also shown to care about Alec’s welfare when he argues the case for sending him to school and not wanting him to go to war, even though he loses both these arguments.

He pleads with Alicia that he has given her “everything that you have ever wanted” so that she must “ponder deeply before you take away my son.” His desperation shows that he cannot bear to lose Alec to war.

He can’t express what he calls “sentimentality”, but his gesture in giving money and his watch to Alec before he leaves expresses how much he cares.

Major Glendinning

Characteristic	Evidence and analysis
Heartless	Major Glendinning – Alec and Jerry’s commander – is a ruthless, heartless character. He bears a striking similarity to Alicia Moore. Through Major Glendinning’s derogatory language as he voices disgust at his men – “Illiterate peasants, rascals and schoolboys” – Johnston shows the Major's strong feeling that they are inferior to him. His authoritative attitude – declaring that there be “no flaw in the machinery” and that he “never asked for a bunch of damn bog Irish” – shows that he has no care for his men as people but only as cogs in a war “machine”. This dehumanising attitude means that, when Alec approaches Glendinning about securing compassionate leave for Jerry, he has no sympathy. He generalises Jerry’s experience, asking Alec: “Have you considered how many men in the British Expeditionary Forces have fathers, brothers, sons, cousins missing, wounded, dead?” Glendinning is incapable of with men who he sees as no better than animals. When Alec is reluctant to command Jerry’s firing squad, he insensitively accuses him of “making a mountain out of molehill”. This too shows a shockingly heartless lack of compassion.
Spiteful	As well as being ruthless and heartless in his lack of , Major Glendinning is spiteful and deliberately cruel in his treatment of the men. Here again we see parallels with Alec’s mother. Right from his first interactions with Alec he criticises the men as being “the biggest bunch of incompetents I have come across in my life”. He refuses to allow Jerry to transfer to look after the horses – even though it would make him happy, be better for the horses and would be of no harm to anyone. At times he seems to relish being spiteful for the sake of it. His most deliberate act of cruelty comes however when he orders Alec to command the firing squad that will execute his friend for desertion. His delivery is matter of fact, with no softening warning – “Private Crowe has been sentenced to death. You will command the firing squad at eight o’clock tomorrow morning.” This conveys a lack of sensitivity, and his choice of Alec to command the firing squad seems deliberately spiteful and cruel. Even at this dreadful time Alec says, “His face was indifferent to me”, thereby showing Glendinning’s dismissive cruelty.

Characteristic

Evidence and analysis

Heartless

Major Glendinning – Alec and Jerry’s commander – is a ruthless, heartless character. He bears a striking similarity to Alicia Moore.

Through Major Glendinning’s derogatory language as he voices disgust at his men – “Illiterate peasants, rascals and schoolboys” – Johnston shows the Major's strong feeling that they are inferior to him.

His authoritative attitude – declaring that there be “no flaw in the machinery” and that he “never asked for a bunch of damn bog Irish” – shows that he has no care for his men as people but only as cogs in a war “machine”.

This dehumanising attitude means that, when Alec approaches Glendinning about securing compassionate leave for Jerry, he has no sympathy.

He generalises Jerry’s experience, asking Alec: “Have you considered how many men in the British Expeditionary Forces have fathers, brothers, sons, cousins missing, wounded, dead?”

Glendinning is incapable of with men who he sees as no better than animals.

When Alec is reluctant to command Jerry’s firing squad, he insensitively accuses him of “making a mountain out of molehill”. This too shows a shockingly heartless lack of compassion.

Spiteful

As well as being ruthless and heartless in his lack of , Major Glendinning is spiteful and deliberately cruel in his treatment of the men. Here again we see parallels with Alec’s mother.

Right from his first interactions with Alec he criticises the men as being “the biggest bunch of incompetents I have come across in my life”.

He refuses to allow Jerry to transfer to look after the horses – even though it would make him happy, be better for the horses and would be of no harm to anyone.

At times he seems to relish being spiteful for the sake of it.

His most deliberate act of cruelty comes however when he orders Alec to command the firing squad that will execute his friend for desertion.

His delivery is matter of fact, with no softening warning – “Private Crowe has been sentenced to death. You will command the firing squad at eight o’clock tomorrow morning.”

This conveys a lack of sensitivity, and his choice of Alec to command the firing squad seems deliberately spiteful and cruel.

Even at this dreadful time Alec says, “His face was indifferent to me”, thereby showing Glendinning’s dismissive cruelty.

Other characters

Officer Bennett

Officer Bennett is a young man from England. He shares an attic room with Alec when they arrive in Flanders.

Despite being from a privileged background, Bennett has ideas. It is he who refers to those running the war as “the fat men at home” and suggests that “The war will end when they want it to end”.

His of the upper-class men with power, and his friendliness towards Jerry regardless their different class, show him to be a likeable character. As soon as he meets Jerry he holds his hand out to shake it. Alec says: “I liked him from that moment.”

Bennett shows no regard for the rules of his superiors when he gets three horses so that he, Alec and Jerry can go horse riding. He becomes a good friend to Alec and remains so until he has to leave because of sickness.

The scenes of affectionate fighting between Bennett and Alec remind us at times of the friendship between Jerry and Alec.

We never find out what happens to Bennett after he leaves, but his growing disillusionment with the war reminds us how the experiences of war did not live up to the promises of glory.

Sergeant Barry

Sergeant Barry is described by Alec as “having no liking for junior officers”. He is quick to report every misdemeanour to Major Glendinning and has no loyalty to any of the other men.

He seems particularly suspicious of the friendship between Alec and Jerry. When Jerry returns from being absent without leave and goes to Alec’s room, it is Sergeant Barry who brings the situation to Major Glendinning’s attention.

His harsh reference to Jerry as one of the “Bloody Fenian bastards” shows his attitude to men such as Jerry. It also reveals parallels with Glendinning.

Sergeant O’Keefe

Sergeant O’Keefe is the officers’ orderly. He is a more sympathetic character than Barry and is good natured and professional in his relationships with the other men.

It is he who discovers that Jerry has taken refuge in Alec’s room after he returns from being absent without leave. When he opens the door, Alec hears “O’Keefe’s respectful voice”, which contrasts immediately with the way that Sergeant Barry speaks to the men.

He enquires about Jerry’s wellbeing, and is prepared to help Alec avoid getting into serious trouble before Sergeant Barry comes along and their plan falls apart.

How Many Miles to Babylon? - Characters - CCEA