Citation

McKay D. Arcadia 2014; 49(2): 368-391.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014)

DOI

10.1515/arcadia-2014-0029

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Studies of Anglophone comedic fiction writing on the Second World War invariably concentrate on literary depictions of the war in Europe. In this article, I recover a neglected New Zealand novel that instead takes the war in the Pacific as its setting. Though it was not marketed as a comedic work, Errol Brathwaite's An Affair of Men (1961) intentionally crosses boundaries of style and genre in ways that render its principal character, a Japanese Captain in the Imperial Marines, increasingly buffoonish. I argue that Brathwaite's language, scenarios, and depictions were intended to confirm a perspective on enemy psychology that remained common throughout the Anglophone world well after the cessation of hostilities.

Language: en

Keywords

suicide; cannibalism; Errol Brathwaite; humour; Pacific War