Male Identity and Martial Codes of Honor: A Comparison of the War Memoirs of Robert Graves, Ernst Junger, and Kande Kamara

This article compares and contrasts the memoirs of three combatants from the First World War: Robert Graves, Ernst Jünger, and the West African Tirailleur Kande Kamara. Though the soldiers' distinctive cultural heritage and service in the British, German, and French colonial armies, respectively, informed each interpretation, they shared similar, though particular, concepts of male identity and military duty that were socially specific, which they strove to honor. Their interpretations addressed particular audiences—categorized as "the victorious," "the defeated," and "the exploited"—that contributed to and reflected the political liturgies informing mass movements—especially in Germany and the Third World—throughout the twentieth century.