Guardsman Bowe Character Analysis in My Boy Jack

Bowe is a member of the Irish Guards who serves under Jack’s command. Originally from a farm in Ireland, he has trouble adjusting to the terror of life at war. On the night that Jack and the other Guards storm enemy lines, Bowe tries to avoid participating in the attack by claiming to be sick. However, his fellow soldiers, Doyle and McHugh, don’t let him return to the dugout, forcing him to stay and fight by their sides. Two years after Jack goes missing, Bowe comes to Rudyard’s house and tells the Kipling family what happened, explaining that he, Jack, and McHugh made it safely to the enemy trenches, at which point Jack insisted that they push on. As soon as they started running toward a large machine-gun post, though, a large blast threw Bowe into the trenches again, and he saw that Jack had been severely injured. He wanted to help, but McHugh convinced him to run away, and just in time—a shell exploded moments later, decimating Jack. Bowe’s failure to help Jack contrasts with Jack’s own fearlessness in the face of danger—an idea that at least allows Rudyard to feel that his son was brave.

Guardsman Bowe Quotes in My Boy Jack

The My Boy Jack quotes below are all either spoken by Guardsman Bowe or refer to Guardsman Bowe. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

RUDYARD. How did he seem?

BOWE. What do you mean?

RUDYARD. Well, was he calm or…excited or…nervous…?

BOWE. He was fine, you know, jus' fine.

RUDYARD. Did he seem…pleased to be there?

BOWE. Pleased? No-one's pleased to be there. He was fine. He told us we had to go on.

RUDYARD. Did he?

Related Characters: Rudyard Kipling (speaker), Guardsman Bowe (speaker), John “Jack” Kipling

Page Number and Citation: 72

Explanation and Analysis:

RUDYARD (quietly). Thank you…so…he was killed by a shell…during an attack on 'Puits Bis l4'. He led his men from the front, and was courageous in the face of considerable enemy fire.

BOWE. He was. Yes sir. Very courageous.

RUDYARD. Thank you.

Related Characters: Rudyard Kipling (speaker), Guardsman Bowe (speaker), John “Jack” Kipling

Page Number and Citation: 75

Explanation and Analysis:

Guardsman Bowe Character Timeline in My Boy Jack

The timeline below shows where the character Guardsman Bowe appears in My Boy Jack. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Patriotism and the British Empire Theme Icon

...he sees nothing, he climbs back down, at which point his fellow soldiers, Doyle and Bowe, come back from digging a latrine. McHugh eagerly asks if the latrine is ready, but... (full context)

...ordering the men to show him their feet so he can check for trench foot. Bowe and Doyle follow his orders, but McHugh ignores him. Jack keeps making his rounds through... (full context)

Jack goes to get Bowe a pair of dry socks, but before he leaves, he tells McHugh that his boots... (full context)

Hours later, it’s still raining. Bowe, Doyle, and McHugh wait for Jack to come around with their portions of rum. Bowe... (full context)

McHugh hits Bowe in the face. Just then, Jack appears, but it’s unclear if he saw this outburst.... (full context)

...together with their equipment, which includes a heavy backpack, a rifle, and—among other things—pigeon cages. Bowe can’t get his pack onto his shoulders, complaining that it’s too heavy. He begs McHugh... (full context)

...the pigeons fly back, alerting the higher-ups that they’ve made it to the other side. Bowe’s pigeon, however, is already dead, so Jack tells him he doesn’t have to carry it... (full context)

...goes eerily quiet. Jack tells his men to attach their bayonets to their rifles, but Bowe’s hands aren’t steady enough to do this, so he loses the bayonet in the mud.... (full context)

Frankland escorts Bowe into the room. Bowe is in a bad state, hyperventilating and speaking nonsense, insisting that... (full context)

Bowe slowly comes to his senses and explains that Jack was his lieutenant. Jack always used... (full context)

After a moment of silence, Bowe explains what it was like to run out onto the battlefield. Doyle was shot and... (full context)

Bowe says he wasn’t afraid while all of this happened. He was frightened before and after,... (full context)

...enemy trenches. The trees were on fire, but then the rain extinguished the flames and Bowe could see all the way through the woods—he and the other soldiers were looking straight... (full context)

Bowe explains that Jack blew a whistle and the remaining Irish Guards pulled themselves out of... (full context)

Jack was crying in pain, Bowe says. And though Bowe wanted to help, he didn’t want to “humiliate” his lieutenant by... (full context)

Bowe asks for Rudyard’s forgiveness. He adds that he was going to report that Jack had... (full context)

Rudyard never accepts Bowe’s apology, but he doesn’t treat him unkindly, either. Soon enough, Frankland takes Bowe away, leaving... (full context)

Guardsman Bowe Character Analysis

Guardsman Bowe Quotes in My Boy Jack

Act 2, Scene 3 Quotes

Guardsman Bowe Character Timeline in My Boy Jack