The “Redskin” Officer Character Analysis

An unnamed officer who leads a group of “redskins,” or soldiers of the Papua New Guinea Defense Force who occupy the island and fight the Bougainville Revolutionary Army and other native rebel forces resisting Papua New Guinea’s rule. Having been alerted to the shrine to Pip that Matilda made on the beach, this officer thinks that the town is hiding a rebel soldier by the same name. When nobody steps forward to hand over Pip, this soldier proves himself ruthless and unsympathetic by actually following up on his threats to burn the town’s belongings and, later, the residents’ homes. He eventually falls ill and exhibits an even more apathetic mentality. Matilda notes, “He was tired of being who he was: tired of his job, tired of this island, of us, and of the responsibility he carried.” It is with this mentality that he orders his men to kill Mr. Watts and Dolores, though not before allowing them to rape the latter and threatening to do the same to Matilda.