How do you react to the male characters in the novel, particularly to those that stay at home during the war years?

How do you react to the male characters in the novel, particularly to those that stay at home during the war years?

I really didn't have a reaction.

Well obviously Nolan Oglesby was a character to be despised. We do discover that some men were excused from service as they had paid for others to do their service. This was something that would be considered unfair today but was not uncommon for people of privilege at that time. In some cases as with Floyd Parris they were able to assist their community and neighbors when there were no men left to do those jobs.

it bothered me that many men of wealth and privilege, like Nolan Oglesby, paid to have someone take their place in the military. I am much more sympathetic to those who stayed home to run their farms and businesses.

it bothered me that many men of wealth and privilege, like Nolan Oglesby, paid to have someone take their place in the military. I am much more sympathetic to those who stayed home to run their farms and businesses.

It was a common fact during the Civil War that the wealthy did not fight in that war.

There were two kinds, it seems: some men of privilege, like Nolan, could buy their way out of service, and did; I believe this happened in the North also. And some men could apparently lie and cheat their way out of it, and prey on the unprotected. I've not heard of this being so widespread in the North as it seems it was in the South, based on this novel at least. Either way, I despise them as much as I despise their modern day counterparts.

I think this refers to the men that paid to have someone else go off and fight for them. Seems to point out the arrogance of the whole South... that they could win a war and not have to put out any effort. The whole thing was folly at best.

I actually didn't think about it at all as it didn't seem all that germane to the story. I can understand Nolan buying his way out of the war, but what's the reason for Floyd Parris not serving? Or, for that matter, the obnoxious postmaster guy whose name I can't remember?

Many of the men that stayed home paid someone to take their place. That was acceptable then. It was also acceptable in some of the later wars. So given the time period I just accepted it.