Lords of Discipline Essay

A novel based on his own military experience at â€Å"The Citadel†, Pat Conroy’s The Lords of Discipline takes place at the South Carolina Military Institute (a fictitious military school). Like most military schools throughout the United States, â€Å"The Institute† prides itself on its ability to transform â€Å"douche bags† to â€Å"whole men†. The authoritative figures responsible for this transformation are the cadre (upper classman), carriers of the ring (alumni), and General Durrell (the president of the institute). Similar to the supremacist nature of the city of Charleston, â€Å"The Institute† also has an illustrious history of rejecting many. The honor of wearing the ring, the ring being a symbol of graduation, does not come easy and for some does not come at all. Whether it is the dark skinned Pearce, the pants pissing Bobby Bentley, or even Dante Pignetti some cadets are simply not allowed to graduate from the school. No matter how intelligent, strong, or determined some students are forced to leave the institute in order to keep the reputation of the institute strong. Will McLean, an Irish Roman Catholic and the novel’s protagonist, did not belong at the institute. However, because of his status on the basketball team, like most other athletes, he was overlooked by the system allowing him to experience the institute with no real danger of expulsion. Will noticed, through his experience in the plebe system and curiosity for â€Å"Then Ten†, that this school was wrong. Will realized that the rules inside the Gates of Legrand were different from the rest of the United Sates. Will McLean along with his roommates, Mark and Pig, rebelled against the institute, disagreeing with its illegality and abuse of selected students. As in most military schools, a system is put in place, to insure desired results. For â€Å"The Institute† there is three stages to achieving the desired result of becoming a whole man: Plebe Year (freshman year), the cadre (upperclassman), and wearing the ring (graduating from the University). During a cadet’s plebe year at the institute their mind, body, and personality are all completely destroyed. The cadet is stripped of his ndividualism and is turned into clay ball for molding. The cadre, for the most part, is responsible for the initiation to the institute. They, being the upperclassman, are assigned by the General to pick out the weak and unworthy and run them out of the institute. Whether, they give the unworthy individual extra thrashings, sweat parties, or emotional abuse the cadre almost always succeeds in the removal of such selected subjects. However, as long as a cadet does not have any disgraceful qualities, such as crying, food allergies, dark skin tone, or limited bladder control, â€Å"The Institute† will allow him to graduation. As long as one isolates the institute from the rest of the world, submit to all of its requests and necessities, and fight to protect its honor (even if that means going against one’s own morals) he will graduate form the South Carolina Military Institute. Will McLean, tolerated submission to the institute, the physical effort, and everything else the institute asked. However, Will would not abandon his moral compass, by physically abusing and emotionally destroying 18-year-old boys and he says this at the end of his plebe year â€Å"I Will not be like them. I will not be like them. I shall bear witness against them† (Conroy 232) Although, the brutality of the cadre was more than formidable, the institute often faced a strong willed individual that they could not break. For example Bobby Bentley, the pants pissing extraordinaire, refused to leave the institute and when Pig asked him why said â€Å"I had made up my mind that no one in the world was going to run me out of that school. I had made a vow to myself just like you guys must have done during the year sometime. † (Conroy 407). Although Bobby Bentley was receiving the very worst that the cadre had to offer, he was never going to leave the school. With the pride of the Institute at stake and the reputation of the cadre on the line, the institute needed a guaranteed dismissal from the unbreakable boy. â€Å"The Ten† designed by the institute in generations past, was designed to remove any problem student from the school no matter what. After Bentley’s mysterious departure Willy says, according to legend, â€Å"No one could survive the attention of The Ten† (Conroy 192). This is where the institute crosses the line. As if the viciousness of the plebe system is not enough, â€Å"The Ten† breaks the law. The Ten† is un-American and against the very foundations on which America was established. This is what makes Will rebel; this is what made him betray â€Å"The Institute†. Will assembled a group of friends to neutralize his shortcomings. Will, lacking physical strength and Charleston status, selected two meatheads (Mark Santoro and Dante Pignetti) and a legacy at the school and the city of Charleston (Tradd St. Croix). Although this seems like an irresponsible perverted way of selecting friends, this group of â€Å"paisans† had an inseparable bond. Subsequently, after Will was assigned to protect Pearce (the schools first African American student) his roommates became heavily involved. Although seemingly Will had everything under control, the involvement of â€Å"The Ten†, coerced his roommates to intercede. Throughout the final 200 pages of The Lords of Discipline, Will, Mark, and Pig step further and further outside of the boundaries of respectable cadet behavior. They kidnapping of Molligen, they witnessing â€Å"The Ten† torturing a student, and they were planning to confront the General. These men were in way over their head. Although the system of this military institute is brutal, inappropriate, and even illegal it does, in fact, produce â€Å"whole men†. Honesty, honor, discipline, strength, loyalty, and brotherhood are all facets at the heart of â€Å"The Institutes† curriculum. These characteristics were instilled into the hearts and minds of the â€Å"paisans†. These characteristics are what inspire Mark, Pig, and Will to fight â€Å"The Institute†. They knew that they were extremely outnumbered and even outwitted, but believed that their bond, their brotherhood could withstand anything. As Pig says after physically dismantling Cain Gilbreth â€Å"The Ten† â€Å"We stick together like brothers and go on secret mission for her majesty. We have adventures and great times. That was the most fun I’ve ever had out there on the beach with you boys† (Conroy 442). Ultimately, neither the â€Å"paisans† nor the South Carolina Military Institute won. Pearce, Will and Mark all graduated, much to the chagrin of â€Å"The Institute† and Pig died. Pig’s death is a example of a consequence to rebellion. Although Pig, committed suicide, it was â€Å"The Institute† that killed him. By expelling him from the school, â€Å"The Institute† destroyed Pig’s goals, passion, marriage, and life. By having the characteristics of a â€Å"whole man†, Pig would have rather killed himself than submit himself to dishonor. Although, Will had information, credible information, along with first hand sources, to ruin â€Å"The institute† he didn’t. While speaking to Tradd, in regards to why he can no longer say Pig’s name Will says â€Å"I can’t say it, I can’t say it because the Institute is that strong within me. It is in me so deep I’ll never get it out, Tradd. It is strong† (Conroy 550). The South Carolina Military Institute was responsible for the death of Will’s best friend, the humiliation of himself, and the terrorization of many plebes before him, but Will still wanted to wear the ring. Will still wanted to graduate. Without a doubt, The South Carolina Military Institute was wrong. Their treatment of students were not only morally unacceptable, but illegal. Had the United States Government received information about Pearce’s torture or even the way plebes were treated General Durrell would have been imprisoned and â€Å"The Institute† dismantled.