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Flashbacks
Chapter 20: Corporal Whitcomb
Explanation and Analysis—Him Hanging Around:
Chaplain Tappman is, through most of the novel, the only consistently morally good character. In Chapter 20, the narrator describes why Colonel Korn intentionally had the chaplain live outside the Group Headquarters. One reason was that Korn, a fundamentally cruel man, knew that if the chaplain lived with his parishioners, it would "bring him in closer communication with them." But in addition, Tappman shows clearly how immoral the officers are:
Another good reason [for keeping Tappman out] was the fact that having the chaplain around Headquarters all the time made the other officers feel uncomfortable. It was one thing to maintain liaison with the Lord, and they were all in favor of that; it was something else, though, to have Him hanging around twenty-four hours a day.
Related Themes:
