Essay On Kipling's Danny Deever

Kipling’s “Danny Deever” explores the harsh reality of military life through a description of Deever’s execution which features the blind obedience soldiers must have to their superiors and the emphasis placed on military honor. The poem begins as the soldiers are “turned out” from their beds to witness the execution of Deever. These new and inexperienced soldiers, collectively referred to as “Files-on-Parade,” ask the superior Colour-Sergeant questions regarding the proceedings; however, they receive no definitive answers. Questions such as, “What makes the rear-rank breathe so hard,” and, “What makes the front-rank man fall down,” return the contradictory responses attributing the events to the “bitter cold” and the hot sun. This is an example
Furthermore, this quotation reveals that all members of the force are expected to heed to orders of those ranked above them, even if they object. They also must be prepared to defend their honor at all costs, even if that includes executing one of their own. Deever, who brought disgrace to the nine-hundred soldier unit, was close to many of the other soldiers who testify that, “’Is cot was right-’and cot to mine.” However, they had the duty to “look ‘im in the face” and rid themselves of this dishonor. This stresses the intense importance that the military places on its honor and the great lengths it will go preserving it. These lengths not only include execution, but also symbolic mannerisms such as the removal of the buttons and “cut[ting] off [of] the stripes” of the condemned. The military expects its members to be held to a very high standard of conduct and servility; all who do not conform are expelled or sent to sleep “out and far.” In summation, the military wants its members to remain faithful and obedient in the face of all adversity, to follow all commands even when the final goal is not immediately understood, and to preserve the sacred honor of the