Guests of the Nation | Duty and Personal Responsibility
In
the following essay, the author discusses the theme of duty
and personal responsibility in ‘‘Guests of the
Nation.’’
In ‘‘Guests of the Nation,’’ O’Connor looks at the consequences when people in stressful situations choose duty over personal morality. J. R. Crider calls that ‘‘the tragic dilemma in which [the] characters are caught, between military duty and . . . ancient . . . moral law.’’ The Irish rebels are caught in this dilemma—they are forced to choose whether or not to carry out the execution of their English prisoners.
Donovan ‘‘deliberately closes himself off from the human ties’’ which might weaken his resolve to follow orders from his superiors....
[The entire page is 1632 words long]
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