The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel

by David Rabe

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Change and Transformation

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"I'm different than I was," Pavlo boldly declares to his half-brother, Mickey, during a homecoming visit after completing basic training. "I'm not the same anymore. I was an asshole. I'm not an asshole anymore." Yet, this fervent claim of transformation seems more rooted in aspiration than truth. Pavlo attempts to convince Mickey with tales of respect and camaraderie from his fellow trainees, but the facade quickly crumbles.

Despite his declarations, Pavlo struggles to forge genuine connections and appears unable to learn from his past errors. Change eludes him, and his self-awareness remains largely symbolic, emerging only in his exchanges with Ardell following the grenade's detonation.

Death

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In Rabe's play, the theme of an enduring and gruesome war looms like a shadow, with death weaving its way through every scene. Mrs. Hummel is haunted by the tale of a colleague who discovered her son's demise in Vietnam, her ominous words "I know what to expect" foretelling Pavlo's own fate. Yet, Pavlo remains oblivious, deaf to the forewarning and blind to his mother's reproach, "I know what you're trying to do." At this juncture, Pavlo has already dabbled with suicide, though his attempt is casual and detached, musing to Ardell about a wish "to be bone."

As the narrative unfolds, Pavlo's first tangible brush with mortality might come while caring for Sergeant Brisbey in the field hospital. Every wound Pavlo suffers dims his initial fervor for battle, yet recklessness continues to guide him, leaving him ill-prepared for his own end. The play's exploration of the struggle to understand the cycle of violence and death is a persistent thread throughout Rabe's Vietnam trilogy.

Duty and Responsibility

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The notion of duty courses through the veins of Pavlo Hummel. Driven by an earnest desire to excel in his military obligations, Pavlo finds himself unable to adhere to the regimented codes of the army. He believes it wiser, for instance, to hone his skills with his rifle in solitude, rather than heed the shrill call of the whistle demanding company formation. Sgt. Tower, bewildered by this defiance, retorts that Pavlo must be "awful stupid," for all the adept soldiers are precisely where they need to be, assembling promptly upon hearing the whistle.

Pavlo's comprehension of a soldier's primary duty stands askew; he fails to grasp that unwavering obedience forms the backbone of military camaraderie and reliance during the chaos of battle. While Rabe has consistently maintained that Pavlo Hummel does not fit neatly into the mold of an anti-war narrative, the play's conclusion boldly questions the sanctity of war as an expression of a soldier's patriotic duty, especially within the tumultuous context of Vietnam. As Pavlo's fate is sealed within his coffin, Ardell coaxes him to confront the stark truth: both the cause he served and the circumstances surrounding his demise amount to "all shit."

Human Condition

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The play paints a somber portrait of the human condition, casting a spotlight on the absurdities that pervade our existence. Sgt. Brisby becomes the mouthpiece for this contemplation when he recounts to Pavlo the harrowing tale of a soldier who, after losing his hand in battle, desperately crawled around searching for his missing fingers. "Couldn't go home without 'em," the soldier insisted, fearing the wrath that awaited him.

Sgt. Brisbey further illustrates this theme through the story of the famed explorer Magellan. He describes how Magellan sought to measure the ocean's depths by lowering a two hundred-foot rope from his ship. "He thinks because all the rope he's got can't touch bottom, he's over the deepest part of the ocean," Brisbey muses. Magellan's naivety underscores a pivotal question: how far does the bottom actually lie,...

(This entire section contains 224 words.)

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beyond the reach of all our rope? This metaphor captures the existential inquiry into the depths to which a human soul might descend.

Pavlo’s own memory adds another layer to this exploration. He recalls swimming in the Hudson River as a child, a moment when disorientation led him to fight his way downwards, mistakenly believing he was ascending. These images weave together a tapestry of existential bewilderment—illustrating not only the suffering inherent in human life but also the profound confusion that often obscures our grasp on reality.

Revenge

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The crescendo of turmoil in Pavlo Hummel unfolds in a searing act of retaliation, where Sgt. Wall hurls a grenade, sealing Pavlo's fate in a fiery burst of revenge. This act of vengeance stems from a simmering enmity, ignited when Pavlo had previously beaten and debased him in a brothel amidst the chaos of Vietnam. A mirrored scene emerges at the curtain's fall on the first act, when Kress, fueled by perceived mockery, lashes out at Pavlo. As Pavlo's barrage of profanities bombards Kress, Pierce steps in, admonishing, "You gotta learn to think, Hummel.... You beat him; you had ole Kress beat and then you fixed it so you hadda lose. You went after him so he hadda be able to put you down."

Therefore, while Sgt. Wall's savage backlash in the brothel stands without reason, Pavlo's character unfolds as one who incessantly provokes, inviting the very violence that befalls him. This intricate psychological tapestry weaves through the fabric of Rabe's narrative, ensuring the audience never views Pavlo simply as an innocent prey to brutality. Instead, he is etched as a complex figure, whose actions often tilt the scales toward self-destructive outcomes, challenging any simplistic interpretation of victimhood.

Rites of Passage

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As a young outsider estranged from his kin, Pavlo's quest for companionship and purpose gnaws at him, driving him into the embrace of the U.S. Army. His yearning for acceptance becomes the glue binding him to this institution. Pavlo aspires to embody the archetypal hero, the soldier par excellence, yet he flounders during his training, awkward and unsure. He envisions himself as a formidable warrior, yet remains the outsider, pilfering from his comrades and resorting to attempted suicide, longing for some semblance of recognition.

Despite the army's promise of transformation, its training becomes a hollow journey, failing to nurture Pavlo's sense of self or maturity. It offers no surrogate family to replace the one he's lost. The narrative warns that those who seek an external institution as a rite of passage may ultimately find themselves abandoned by the very entity they hoped would provide fulfillment.

War and Masculinity

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The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, while coming out of David Rabe’s experiences in the Vietnam War, is not only a war play; it is also about growing up male in contemporary America. Pavlo Hummel offers the admiration of the outsider for those soldiers who can be considered “regular army,” the infantry, and for their civilian counterparts as well. As Rabe explains in an author’s note, “He has romanticized the street-kid tough guy and hopes to find himself in that image.” With matinee-idol soldier images in place of a father, he seeks and finds in the army a similar pattern to fulfill.

The play is set in the United States Army of the Vietnam War period. Basic training provides the language which defines reality for Hummel, and the world he encounters must be perceived to fit that language. He must also behave in accordance with the male image it defines. Therefore, he is ashamed of the intelligence and compassion which cause him to be assigned as a medic rather than as an infantry soldier; he suppresses the part of himself that would criticize the sexism, the racism, and the dehumanization of the image offered by the army.

The Vietnam War Experience

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The Vietnam War experience, however, resists being defined by language. When Hummel confronts human suffering and death on such a scale, when he himself suffers three physical wounds, the voice he has suppressed begins to be heard. As he fulfills the image his mother gave him of the film hero little Jimmy (“what a tough little mite he was, and how he leaped upon that grenade, did you see”), his awareness of his own impending death releases Ardell from within him to lead Hummel through his own past training. Repeatedly, Ardell pushes Hummel to see himself as separate from the image he has been trained to fulfill. “In there where you live, you that awful hurtin’ black so you can’t see yourself no way,” Ardell tells him after he reveals his father’s desertion. Furthermore, Ardell points out, the training given is not even appropriate for a modern world. As Pavlo is trained to put on his gas mask, for example, Ardell reminds him that in this war he will probably be hit with radiation, not gas, and that the mask will not protect him.

Identity and Individuality

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As long as he is alive Hummel clings to his faith in the male image he has been given, but with his death he tries to rid himself of his training. “You gotta get that stuff outa you, man,” Ardell encourages him. “But . . . I . . . I’m dead!” Hummel realizes, and his coffin is carried away to a military march, revealing the pessimistic conclusion of Rabe’s vision. Once again, Pavlovian training has suppressed the individuality and the innocence implied by Hummel’s last name. Only a lonely outsider such as Pavlo Hummel could reveal so completely the masculine image embodied in contemporary American realities; as Emily Dickinson wrote, “Success is counted sweetest/ By those who ne’er succeed.”

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