Jeremiah Donovan's Short Story 'Guests Of The Nation'

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National Duty When is it OK to disobey orders? At what point does duty come second to personal feelings and opinion? Is it acceptable to set aside your national duties and lend a helping hand your fellow man? Comparing the short story "Guests of the Nation" to the play "The Rising of the Moon" we find that both authors view these questions differently. We as readers are given two different situations where the main characters are each faced with a difficult choice. The characters will have to choose to follow orders or make the unpopular choice and go against them. In “Guests of the Nation” the author illustrates how heavily national affiliation can weigh on a person and how hard it can be to follow through with orders that go against …show more content…

This is when the story takes a turn towards the climactic ending. Although both Bonaparte and Noble opted out of luring the Englishmen. They follow orders and accompany them to the bog, where Belcher and Hawkins are to be executed. After Belcher and Hawkins gained conformation that they are about to be put to death, Hawkins begins to ask questions about the state of their friendship. “Why did any of us want to plug him? What had he done to us? Weren't we all chums? Didn't we understand him and didn't he understand us?”(56) This proves that not only was the bond real but that it was equal on both sides. Hawkins continues on to ask if the roles were reversed did Bonaparte or Noble believe for an instant that he would shoot them, Hawkins says that he would never be able to shoot a friend. Bonaparte and Noble feel that they are in no position to argue on their behalf and remain silent. Forced to follow orders, both men watch as Belcher and Hawkins are executed by the hands of Donovan. O'Connor places a great deal of importance of having love for all humanity from the remorse shown by Bonaparte and Noble for the death their friends. We gain a sense of O'Connor's empathy towards the two characters. This shows that viewing the world in regions and territories can have painful

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