Guests of the Nation Essay

Natural Empathy: Duty and Responsibility in "Guests of the Nation" Frank O'Connor uses character surnames in his story "Guests of the Nation" to help develop the characters of the English and Irish soldiers. The characters engage in a struggle between hidden powers of empathy and duty, and O'Connor displays their first-person point of view about the irony of war similar to Thomas Hardy's poem, "The Man He Killed": Yes; quaint and curious war is! You shoot a fellow down You'd treat if met

“Guests of the Nation,” by Frank O’Connor, is a story about two Irish soldiers guarding two English prisoners of war. The soldiers, Noble and Bonaparte, grew close to the prisoners, Hawking and Belcher, over the card games and theological debates they had over the months of incarceration. One day Bonaparte is told that the prisoners are to be shot out of retribution. The story ends with Bonaparte reeling from seeing two men he considered friends killed. O’Connor highlights the seemingly absurd nature

Guests of the Nation From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Guests of the Nation" is a short story written by Frank O'Connor, first published in 1931, portraying the execution of two Englishmen held captive by the Irish Republican Army during the War for Independence. The story is split into four sections, each section taking a different tone. The first reveals a real sense of camaraderie between the English prisoners, with the two Englishmen being killed, and the final lines of the story describe

“Guests of the Nation” by Frank O’Connor “Guests of the Nation” is a story that takes place in Ireland during The War of Independence. It’s about a friendship between three Irish men and two English men. The three Irish men, Bonaparte, Noble and Jeremiah are holding the two Englishmen Belcher and Hawkins as hostages. During that time a bond of friendship begins to grow which is very unusual giving the situation they are in. They play cards together, joke with each other and they even discuss

people Vs. Ireland, which consists of small farmers but prideful. This takes place during the Irish war of independence, a blood bath between Irish freedom fighters against the almighty British military. In the beginning of the story, “The Guests of a Nation.” Two British soldiers, Hawkins and Belchor have been abducted by the Irish Republic Army(IRA). They are being guarded by Noble and Bonaparte on a rural farm being kept by a old stubborn women. Days and weeks pass and strangely, a friendship

Frank O’Connor’s “Guest of the Nation” is a story about the pull between a man’s duty to his nation and his loyalty to his friends. The Irish guards are forced to choose between their duty of shooting their English “hostages” (O’Connor 89), or maintain their loyalty to their friends. Bonaparte, Noble, and Donovan are put in charge of guarding Hawkins and Belcher, as the story progresses the men leave behind the traditional soldier and hostage relationship and, a bond of friendship and loyalty forms

Kathleen Meserve Mr. Dalvet AP Literature and Composition 10 / 25 / 2017 CREATIVE TITLE Frank O’Connor’s “Guests of the Nation” is an ironic and tragic short story of two Englishmen who are held captive as collateral during the Irish War of Independence. Belcher and Hawkins are friendly hostages - they frequently argue, play cards, and discuss politics and religion with their Irish captors, Bonaparte and Noble. They behave as if they are unaware of the armed conflict that surrounds them. The shooting

that seems to vary among these men is their sense of duty. In Frank O’Connor’s “Guests of the Nation,” three Irish soldiers form an unlikely friendship with their British prisoners of war. However, things take a turn when they are given orders to execute their new-found friends. When the order reaches the men, the three of them interpret their new duty in various ways. Through the orders of execution, “Guests of the Nation” emphasizes how people react to a sense of duty in varied ways from embracing

In Frank O’Connor’s “Guests of the Nation,” the narrator, called Bonaparte by his fellow rebels, recounts his reluctant role in the execution of two English soldiers in retaliation for the slaughter of four Irish rebels. O'Connor develops this conflict between revolutionary attitudes in the strained relationship between the narrator and Jeremiah Donovan, the experienced rebel, who has the responsibility for fulfilling the Second Battalion’s order to shoot the prisoners. The young revolutionary Bonaparte

Student’s name Professor Course Date “Guest of Nation” –The imprisoned Guest The short story portrays how two Englishmen who were held by the Irish Republic Army as captives. This story is divided into four sections; every section addresses a different tone. In the first paragraph of the story ‘Guest of Nation’ captors become friends and the lines of duty, humanitarianism and sympathy are blurred. However, even though these lines become blurred in the end hostages remain hostages