The play 'The Long, The Short and the Tall', is set in the Malayan Jungle in 1942, it is a War - Drama. The play is about an inexperienced patrol of British soldiers
LST GCSE Coursework English Literature
Does war bring out the best and the worst in men? The play 'The Long, The Short and the Tall', is set in the Malayan Jungle in 1942, it is a War - Drama. The play is about an inexperienced patrol of British soldiers who are cut off from their base camp in the Malayan jungle by a Japanese military force. Whilst in the jungle they find a hut where they decide to rest, but a Japanese soldier stumbles upon the hut and is captured and made a POW (Prisoner of War) by the group of British soldiers. The British need to get back to base camp with the soldier but with the advancing Japanese Sergeant Mitchem has a dilemma.
As I mentioned before Sergeant Mitchem has a dilemma, he has to decide whether or not to kill the Japanese soldier they have captured. If he kills the POW the he has gone against the Geneva Convention which states that an unarmed captured soldier must not be harmed, if he decides to do this he will commit a war - crime. On the other hand if he decides to take the soldier with him, then with the Japanese surrounding them, he could escape or call out to his platoon and endanger the lives of the patrol, something that Sergeant Mitchem will not do.
In the play, there are six members of the patrol, one of which is Private Bamforth. He has a very bad attitude to authority and bullies the other members of the patrol. An example of his attitude to authority are when he and Corporal Johnstone have an argument about Bamforth giving cigarettes to the prisoner in which Johnstone says,
'And who gave you permission',
Then Bamforth replies,
'What's mine's my own. I decide what I do with it'.
This quote shows that Bamforth doesn't have any respect for authority because his superior, Corporal Johnstone, hasn't given him permission to do something and Bamforth gets told off for it so Bamforth snaps back, this shows that he has a bad attitude to authority. An example of Bamforth being a bully to other soldiers is when he says to Private Evans,
'Nobody loves you, you horrible taff!'
This shows that he is a ...
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'And who gave you permission',
Then Bamforth replies,
'What's mine's my own. I decide what I do with it'.
This quote shows that Bamforth doesn't have any respect for authority because his superior, Corporal Johnstone, hasn't given him permission to do something and Bamforth gets told off for it so Bamforth snaps back, this shows that he has a bad attitude to authority. An example of Bamforth being a bully to other soldiers is when he says to Private Evans,
'Nobody loves you, you horrible taff!'
This shows that he is a bully because he verbally abuses Evans. Bamforth indicates that he is a racist character as he only abuses the other soldiers about where they are from, an example of this is when he calls Corporal Johnstone a,
'Scotch Get',
Also when they capture the Japanese soldier, he is ordered to kill him, he is ready to kill him saying,
'It's only the same as carving up a pig'
This again shows that he is racist because he compares a man to a pig saying that they are both the same and that they should be killed. This shows that being in a war brings out the worst in men because Bamforth is abusing other members of his patrol, has a bad attitude and is very disrespectful.
On the other hand, when Bamforth is ordered to look after and watch the Japanese soldier he gets to like him; proof of this is when he says,
'He's almost human this one'
Indicating that the Japanese man is growing on Bamforth which shows that he has a good side of his character. Also, when Mitchem decides to kill the POW, Bamforth stands up for him and protects him, saying,
'He's a man'
When Johnstone calls him,
'A Bloody Nip'
This shows Bamforth going back on what he said earlier referring to the captured soldier as a pig that should be carved up. This willingness to stand up for someone who is supposedly trying to kill you brings out the best in Bamforth. Furthermore, it brings out the best and the worst in Mitchem because he is willing to commit a war - crime to protect his patrol but the worst because he is killing defenceless prisoner. But, it brings out the worst in Johnstone because he just wants to kill the prisoner due to his ruthlessness and for the fun of it.
Corporal Johnstone has a sinister, evil character. He is ready to kill the prisoner of war without thought; a quote to back this up is when he says,
'Stick it in'
He says this when he has hold of the defenceless captured soldier, this shows that he has no conscience because he doesn't care that the man is unarmed he just want him to be killed. This shows that war has brought the worst out in Johnstone because he has no thought when he wants someone dead.
Also when Mitchem decides that the soldier is going to be 'left behind', Johnstone acts as though he is almost volunteering to do it, I know this when he says,
'I don't mind... It's a professional job'
This again shows that Johnstone is an evil character because he actually wants to kill a man who is not going to hurt him. This again shows that war has brought out the worst in Johnstone. Also, when he gets hold of the prisoners prized possessions, the photos if his wife and children, he takes pleasure out of ripping them up in his face, this shows another bad side of his character, its shows that he is sick because he gets a good feeling out of other peoples misfortune.
At the end of the play, when all other soldiers are dead, Corporal Johnstone surrenders, he is going to become the prisoner who will be mocked and abused just like he did the Japanese soldier, he is going to get a taste of his own medicine, this shows irony. Overall, war has brought out the worst in Johnstone, it is ok to be a ruthless soldier but when that ruthlessness was used negatively it changed him into a psychopath, taking pleasure out of other soldier's bad luck, wanting to kill a man in cold blood and bullying other members of the patrol. I do not think that war brought anything good in Johnstone.
Taken as a whole I think that the play - writer's aims were a success, to entertain us and to make us think. It was entertaining as there were twists and turns at most parts of the play which kept you guessing on what was going to happen. Also I think the conflicting characters of all the soldiers was an accomplishment for the reason that they were always arguing and skirmishing, this is very entertaining for me as I think it adds to the drama of the play. The other aim was a triumph as it certainly made me think. It made me wonder what war is actually like, what kind of character I would be if I were in the British patrols shoes, would I be a bully but stand up for what's right like Bamforth or would I be psychopathic and cold-blooded like Johnstone or would I be like Mitchem, a man who would do anything to save the lives of his force. It also made me think what I would do if I was in that situation, would I have killed the Japanese man or would I have stood back and let it run its course. I also feel that the play was tense due to the different characters of the patrol, this caused conflict between everyone which again was very entertaining.
If I had the same dilemma as Mitchem, I would not have killed the POW and I would not have taken him with me, I would have tied him up and knocked him out, therefore protecting the lives of my squad and not committing a war - crime, I think this is what Mitchem should have done instead of being brutal. I think that he play could have been improved by bringing the other characters into the play more too.
