'Small Island': reading the beginning of Act 1 Scene 3

Gilbert is motivated by a desire to fight against Hitler and his Nazi racial theories. Gilbert is portrayed as gullible, whereas his cousin Elwood is more cynical about their 'mother country'. Gilbert breaks the fourth wall, addressing the audience to show them the reality of his posting with the RAF. The sarcasm and demeaning tone of the Sergeant in Lincolnshire is deliberately contrasted with the recruiting officer. Gilbert joins the RAF to fight for the British Empire, yet he finds that in Britain there's no sense of shared identity.