In Gene's conversation with Mr. Hadley on pages 198-200, Mr. Hadley implies that in order to be men, the boys must enlist in the war in an armed force that is physically exerting. This means that he wants Gene and Brinker to voluntarily fight to prove their masculinity. He says to Gene, "'What are you enlisting in, son... the Marines, the Paratroops?'" (Knowles 198) In addition to suggesting that they enlist in something "manly," he implies that he would not be pleased if they were to enlist in an armed force that did not take hard work and dedication. He criticizes the G.I.'s as they march into Devon, laughing at the fact that they have brought sewing machines with them. Mr. Hadley makes it known that he does not feel sewing is something a "real man" should be doing.
Though Mr. Hadley is quite open about how he feels that men should want to fight and represent their country, there are also subtle actions he does that give away his "manly" qualities. This includes when Gene is describing how he chose the Navy. After he says "foxhole," he thinks to himself, "'Foxhole' was still a fairly new term and I wasn't sure Mr. Hadley knew what I meant. But I saw that he didn't care for the sound of what I said." (Knowles 199) This shows how Mr. Hadley is not focused on the details that Gene is mentioning, but rather the parts he was talking about that have to do with enlisting. As a manly man, Mr. Hadley wants to hear about war, and only war. In addition, it shows how both Gene and Brinker feel that they have to prove themselves to him. After Gene talks about foxholes and realizes that Mr. Hadley might not know what these are, he has a moment of panic but is then relieved once he realizes that Mr. Hadley doesn't care. Mr. Hadley makes the boys feel that they must prove themselves by going to war, even if it is not necessarily what they want to do; in order to be real men in his point of view, they must give up their true passions and go fight.
I agree that Mr. Hadley thinks that Gene and Brinker should enlist in something manly that gets real action in the war. We can see this because he clearly thinks the G.I.'s are not manly because they have sewing machines with them. Mr. Hadley says, "better I would say than those doughboys—G.I.'s–I saw marching in" (Knowles 198). Mr. Hadley thinks that to be a real impact, you must go fight on the front lines and risk your life for your country.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ben that Mr. Hadley thinks that Gene and Brinker should enlist in something, something that earns them respect and dignity. When Mr Hadley is saying how because the G.I.'s have sewing machines (a women's machine), those men are considered lesser than him (a man's man). "'Better I would say than those doughboys-G.I.'s- I saw marching in'" (Knowles, 198). By literally calling calling military men "doughboys" it shows how much "being a man" matters in the world Gene is living in in 1942, during war time.
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