Guests Of The Nation Duty Analysis

The Role of Duty in “The Things They Carried” and “Guests of the Nation” Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines duty as “obligatory tasks, conduct, service, or functions that arise from one's position” (Webster). If this meaning is interpreted to be the correct meaning for the given situation, one’s personal beliefs and morals must not be considered when performing one’s duty, but this is not always the case. The duty of a soldier is traditionally to follow orders. A soldier must not only follow orders but he must also follow his own set of predefined morals that guide him in everyday life. Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” and Frank O’Connor’s “Guests of the Nation” both constitute an examination of the particular circumstances that arise when one’s duty conflicts with one’s morals during a time of war. …show more content…
Along with the given stress of being on a battlefield, a soldier constantly struggles with a clash of ideals in regards to following orders and remaining true to their moral code. Soldiers are often given orders that they strongly disagree with, yet they must do them anyway. With any career, there exists moments in which one must put aside their beliefs in order to accomplish a task because one is expected to do so. In other words, people complete many morally questionable tasks because “they are embarrassed not to” (O’Brien 443). In “Guests of the Nation” Noble watches over the Englishmen because of “a sense of responsibility” for them, but they are also forced to execute them because it is “only their duty” (O’Connor 52,