hello there
...ries about his life, he was attempting to make himself appear to them as more than just a duty. I think he was trying to make them see that he is a human being with a life, a history, and a family just like them. Perhaps he felt that by doing this it would make the task much more difficult for them to follow through and they would not kill him. Maybe a long shot. It didn't work anyway, but it must have made it much more difficult for them. I'm posting this message for Tina and anyone else who might be interested in what I gained from class. Discussing "Guests of the Nation" in class truly cleared the story up for me. I hope my interpretation helps anyone else out a bit. The main theme of the story seemed to be that of conflicting moral duties. We all hold duties to ourselves and our moral beliefs. However, the main character and protagonist Bonaparte was also influenced in his judgments and actions by his duty as a soldier. Bonaparte viewed others as human beings, regardless of their position in war as a prisoner or enemy. Bonaparte befriended Belcher and Hawkins, the prisoners, somewhat naive to their roles as tools of war. When Donovan informs Bonaparte of their "duty" to kill off these prisoners of war as some of their own soldiers had been killed that morning, Bonaparte is shocked. He finds himself in the midst of a moral dilemma, battling to find his own comfort and forgiveness for placing into practice his duties as a soldier. In the end, after the foreign prisoners have been killed, Bonaparte stands apart from the rest. As Donovan feels justified in his actions as he has fulfilled his duty, the old woman and Noble turn to their religion and pray in hopes of comfort and forgiveness. They use their faith as a crutch for their actions. However, Bonaparte stands alone, truly realizing his solitude in this world. He feels that he has been introduced to this unfair, cruel...