The WWI allegory theory is a bit overcooked. It doesn\'t really stand up to the evidence in the text. If one accepts it, that interpretation renders references such as "the radio still screams" and "faded movie star" completely anachronistic. The product references "Tuinal" and "Valium" are similarly unknown before the 1960\'s, more than 40 years after the end of WWI, and even further than the alleged references, since the Xmas football match between opposing the trenches only occurred in 1914, after which officers on both sides curbed any attempts to repeat it.
The WWI allegory theory is a bit overcooked. It doesn\'t really stand up to the evidence in the text. If one accepts it, that interpretation renders references such as "the radio still screams" and "faded movie star" completely anachronistic. The product references "Tuinal" and "Valium" are similarly unknown before the 1960\'s, more than 40 years after the end of WWI, and even further than the alleged references, since the Xmas football match between opposing the trenches only occurred in 1914, after which officers on both sides curbed any attempts to repeat it.