Discuss the role of the character Bamforth and how he changes in the play 'the Long and the Short and the Tall' by Willis Hall

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Discuss the role of the character Bamforth and how he changes in the play ‘the Long and the Short and the Tall’ by Willis Hall

Private Bamforth is an arrogant soldier from London who pays no respect to authority. He is racist, well educated, aggressive, and seeks argument wherever possible. Bamforth stands out in the patrol as he always hopes to be the center of attention and nearly participates in every single conversation.

In the first part of the play, the author uses Bamforth to induce humour into the drama. Bamforth stands out with his arrogance, thoughtfulness and argumentativeness. Even before he speaks, Bamforth informs the reader that he has problems with authority. The first thing he does when the patrol gets into the hut is to “shrug off his pack, place it as a pillow and make himself comfortable”. This is done deliberately, seeking confrontation with Johnstone. He is not intimidated by Johnstone’s authority and continues to fake ignorance of Johnstone’s fury. Johnstone demands that he “get on his feet” and ordered Bamforth to put his pack on his back, he “heaves (suggesting slow, sluggish movement contrasted by Johnstone’s fiery impatience) his pack on to one shoulder (emphasis of disobedience as pack not put on properly)”. In the same conversation, Mitchem suggested that he obey orders, Bamforth intentionally describes the superiors as “nits” and speaks “under his breathe” while making sure he has the whole patrol’s awareness of his words to suggest utter disrespect. He justifies this tone by saying he “was only coughing”. When Macleish was in charge later in the play, Bamforth elegantly displays his intelligence, humour and quick wit by creating a full tale of how the general ordered him to “relieve the situation”.

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Bamforth’s presence in the play stands out against the rest of the patrol. He is the one who always undermines the patrols’ morale, he is not a popular figure and yet half of the reader’s attention is devoted to him as he appears in almost every scene. The patrol is nauseated by his existence and behavior and asks Bamforth to “jack it in”. Bamforth’s character is made known to us when Mitchem talks to him. Mitchem is an experienced soldier and has better measure of Bamforth, and to Mitchem, Bamforth is more predictable: “I’ve met your kind before.”

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