"I will take you down my own avenue of remembrance, which winds among the hazards and shadows of my single year as a plebe. I cannot come to this story in full voice. I want to speak for the boys who were violated by this school, the ones who left ashamed and broken and dishonored, who departed from the Institute with wounds and bitter grievances. I want also to speak for the triumphant boys who took everything the system could throw at them, endured every torment and excess, and survived the ordeal of the freshman year with a feeling of transformation and achievement that they had never felt before and would never know again with such clarity and elation."
-Will McLean, from the novel
Like all of Conroy's writing this novel is largely autobiographical and like all of his work I've read so far, it captured me! This is somewhat surprising since the setting is Carolina Military Institute (the fictional name for The Citadel, Military College of South Carolina) Though my husband was in the navy for a short time and his brother graduated from USMA at West Point, I had little idea what the "plebe system" was like. One still reads about the appalling hazing in college fraternities and other exclusive groups, but it is hard to believe the level of cruelty of upperclassmen to freshmen "plebes" in this military institute. Conroy attended The Citadel and I can't help but wonder how much of what he relates is what he actually experienced or witnessed. Protagonist Will McLean (who to some degree must be Conrad) at one point uses the words harassment and brutality to describe the treatment. I might go further by saying torture and savagery. We are talking violence that would earn extreme punishment if it happened in the civilian world. These passages involving Hell Night, sweat parties, the Taming and the humiliating Walk of Shame were not fun to read but absolutely engrossing.
The novel begins in 1967 with Will and roommates Pig, Mark and Tradd returning to the Institute for senior year. Flashbacks take us back to their plebe year, where the reader learns so much of what I already mentioned along with the process of bonding among the four. By June of graduation year, Will tells us there are 21 left of the 60 who were in his plebe class of 1963. Guess what happened to the other 39?
The story takes place in the 60's right around the time I was finishing high school and beginning college myself so some of the history was quite familiar. The Viet Nam War is mentioned a number of times since graduates of the Institute were too frequently dying there. Also, 1967 finds Will being assigned to look out for the first black man to be admitted to the Institute and just when you think this is a minor event, it plunges you right into the climax!
Some readers might complain Conroy's writing is verbose; the novel is some 500 pages. I would beg to differ---I call his style eloquent. He is a poet as well as an accomplished storyteller which is evidenced by his descriptions of Charleston as a beautiful city even as he recounts the ugly memories he has of his time there. Perhaps the quote I began with illustrates his lyrical prose. And on that note, you may know I start each post with a quote, usually from the book I'm reviewing. The difficulty this time was choosing one from so many lovely and profound passages.
The Lords of Discipline elicited so much emotion---I laughed aloud, I seethed, and I cried. It rates 5, for sure! I am working my way through Conroy's whole body of work---only 3 more to go.
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