Guests of the Nation

Most of the stories this week dealt with war, but one grabbed my attention more than the others. Guests of the Nation by Frank O’Connor deals with partnership and betrayal. Hostages were held as collateral that end up getting killed. The men were given names, but I am not sure if they were assigned on purpose. Hawkins is about to die, but he decides that he is going to try and beg for his life. He informs Noble that he will cross over to their side so that he can live and they can remain friends. However, when it was Belcher’s turn to die he went down with pride. He covered his eyes and died without betraying his country. I find it interesting the way that Frank O’Connor shows both types of soldiers. He shows the emotions and tries to help us see what soldiers go through before they are killed. Our troops contain people of both feelings; those that die with dignity for their country and those that would betray their country to save their own life. It is hard to say which type of person you would be before you are actually placed in that situation. Once you are at war and faced with life or death everything takes on a whole new meaning. So to say that you would not betray your country to save your life is hard to commit to if you have never been faced with it like these men were.