 Moreover, his trust in the necessity of universal brotherhood and his fear of ethnic conflict are enforced once he witnesses the Romanians' arrogance, their random murders of Transylvanian Hungarian prisoners, and their oppression of Tranylvanian Jews.Crohmălniceanu sees the book as notable for its introspective tone, which culminates in a self-irony that offsets the battle scenes.The latter are depicted "in a cold, record keeping-like manner".