The Long & The Short & The Tall

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30/10/06

THE LONG, THE SHORT AND THE TALL ESSAY

“The Long, the Short and the Tall” is a play written by Willis Hall in 1958. They play tells the story of a patrol of volunteer soldiers in the British army, fighting in the Malayan jungle. The soldiers are of very different backgrounds but somehow come together in the patrol and unite. They are willing and ready to fight for their country at first, until they experience true wartime life when they come across a lone Japanese soldier wandering in the woods. The Japanese soldier is captured and, through no fault of his own as he can do nothing, is the patrol’s eventual downfall.

The author, Willis Hall, tries to show the effects of war on the average person whilst also arguing a case for the use of war, as a last resort. He also shows how inexperience in wars, by drafting in volunteers who are deemed expendable, can and often does lead to disaster. Throughout the play Hall develops the characters of the soldiers strongly in unexpected and sometimes surprising ways. The development is thorough however and it strengthens the argue that anyone personality can change drastically in time of war.

Sergeant Mitchem is the patrol leader and in the opening scenes seems to have a strong and resilient character. He is open-minded to ideas from others and fair and equal to his whole patrol, keeping the morale up whilst maintaining focus amongst the troops. He tries to keep trouble at bay by solving problems diplomatically. It seems the men look up to him, in particular Private Whitaker, who takes to Mitchem as a fatherly figure. This overview of his character seems to change as the play goes on, with each major incident revealing more about him. Although he seems to be a strong and professional leader during the opening scenes, his leadership qualities whither as major incidents pass by. A weakness that is clearly shown is his lack of judgement. This point is stoutly backed up when he gives Whitaker, the least able and most weak-minded member of the patrol, orders to hold a gun to the Japanese soldier whilst under immense strain and pressure which eventually leads to the troops’ downfall and peril. This shows that, whilst Mitchem is an excellent leader during calm and periods of little stress, he is liable to crack under pressure.

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Private Bamforth feels he is suited to being in the army. He is the patrol’s “hard man” and is not afraid to let his feelings be known by the rest of the men, often making sure they all do. He is loud and energetic and willing to fight for what he believes in. He holds strong discriminatory and even racist views and is quite happy to be racist in front of the others. He is up for trouble with anyone and is often the source of problems. It is as though he is trying to be a hero ...

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