What Qualities Are Needed for a Good Soldier?

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When battling the terrors of a war there are certain attributes that a soldier must entail. These characteristics are honesty, obedience and courage; without these characteristics, one is bound to be unsuccessful. This can be seen through the inevitable fate of Sheldon Grossbart in Philip Roth’s story, “Defender of Faith”. In the story Sergeant Marx, has to deal with the senseless and foolish behaviour of nineteen year-old Sheldon Grossbart, a soldier in training. The story takes place at a Missouri training camp in 1945, just shortly after the war in Europe. Sergeant Marx had initially treated all the men fairly, until he was manipulated by young Sheldon Grossbart, a fellow Jewish soldier. Sheldon, who at first appeared to be a devout and faithful Jew, had used his religion to manipulate and control Marx. Finally, at the end of the story, Marx learns of Grossbart’s trickery and enlists him in the war; he does this as a means to punish Grossbart for his deceitfulness. However, the end result of Grossbart’s fate is left unanswered by the end of the story. Nevertheless, there are some key components that help come to a conclusion. Grossbart is incapable of surviving war because of his disobedience, dishonesty and lack of courage; he does not have the suitable qualities for a well rounded soldier, and therefore is destined to fail. Grossbart’s disobedience to higher authorities will due him problems during war; making it a struggle for him to survive. His disobedient behaviour was first demonstrated when he rebelled against Sergeant Marx for advising him. Marx rejected Grossbart’s request of getting a pass to leave for the weekend. With rage, Grossbart claimed he would leave despite the possible consequences. Marx warned him, but Grossbart had been blinded by his stubbornness. “St. Louis. I don’t care…So I’ll get caught without a pass.” (Roth 148) Grossbart
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