The Interrogation Of Prisoner Bung Analysis

In its defense, the institution of war is supported by the need to protect the freedoms of individuals, and uphold their safety. However, war is not something to be taken lightly; war is not merely just an institution that births valiant heroes and stories of bravery, it can also be oppressive and violent. Contrary to popular belief, war in itself is not a beautiful existence it is gruesome and bloody. When heroic war stories are told, there is little consideration for what actually happens during war. Often times these stories are exaggerated, or details are purposely excluded to paint a more acceptable picture. The truth is a hard pillow to swallow, and it varies from individual to individual. With this in mind, the truth is received through …show more content…
Adapting to a new environment means that one forsakes everything about themselves, and takes on an identity cultivated by war. Within Huddle’s, “The Interrogation of Prisoner Bung”, the reader is able to see into each character’s psyche, and this ability allows the reader to distinguish what their truth was, and the truth that now remains. Mister. Hawkins, or The American as he is commonly referred to, detests the interrogation process because he does not truly like violence. “He wishes things were less complicated, and he dreads what he knows must follow. He thinks regretfully of what could have happened if the prisoner had given the correct names.” However, even though Mister. Hawkins’ may not condone violence, he is forced to accept it simply because he is living within a hostile environment, and that is how justice is reached. In fact, Huddle states that Mister. Hawkins’ sense of justice is touched because in essence he participates in the abuse of an innocent man. It is clear that the environment that an individual lives in is able to distort their sense of perception, but at the same time one’s perception can also remain the same. Bung’s ability to adapt without losing his own identity is profound because he is able to survive within a hostile environment yet retain his own truth. War makes an individual realize that there …show more content…
Also, because violence is now normalized it is equated to other things in order to justify why it is treated with such normalcy. O’Brien, fantasizes violence in such a way that it becomes a work of art. “For all its horror, you can’t help but gape at the awful majesty of combat. You stare out at tracer rounds unwinding through the dark like red ribbons. You crouch in ambush as a cool, impassive moon rises over the nighttime paddies” (O’Brien 77). Depicting violence in this way almost makes it seem like a masterpiece instead of continuous gore and bloodshed. After O’Brien mentions a spectacular view of nature from a foxhole, he states that the soldiers will have to go into the very same mountains that they are admiring to do horrible things, and possibly even lose their lives in the process. Similarly, in Huddle’s, “Interrogation of the Prisoner Bung”, violence is equated to sex, and through this perspective violence becomes normalized. “Hawkins has seen this before in other negotiations. He listens closely, trying to hear everything:...the chucking sound the rubber bat makes. The American recognizes a kind of rightness to this, like the final slapping together of the bellies of a man and woman” (Huddle 30). Due to the fact that violence is being compared to sex it is also regarded as a natural occurrence because that is what sexual intercourse is. Human lives are not valued nearly as much as the