How would you explain this sentence?
This had been his world and he(Strike) had been happy there. For all the inconveniences and hardships of military life, for all that he had emerged from the army minus half his leg, he did not regret a day of the time he had spent serving. And yet, he had not been of these people, even while among them. He had been a monkey, and then a suit, feared and disliked about equally by the average squaddie.
If ever the SIB talk to you, you should say “No comment, I want a lawyer.” Alternatively, a simple “Thank you for noticing me” will suffice.
How would you explain the last sentence of the first passage: He had been a monkey, and then a suit, feared and disliked about equally by the average squaddie?
Thanks!