William Faulkner’s short story “Two Soldiers” details the saga of two brothers and what they do after hearing about the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Even though the two Grier brothers are twelve years apart in age – Pete is 20; the unnamed narrator is 8 – they are very close. The story is about how these brothers negotiate the call of duty and the love of family.
Pete and his brother overhear a news report about Pearl Harbor through their neighbor’s window. Pete must explain to his brother that Pearl Harbor is across the ocean, not on the other side of Oxford, and the sense of Pete’s desire to help in some way is brooding. The younger brother sleeps beside Pete, and he feels he can sense what Pete is feeling and thinking. After many sleepless nights, Pete confides to his brother that he must join the war effort. His brother does not understand this completely but feels a sense of pride in his older brother’s nobility. Imitating his brother’s intentions, the narrator is determined to do his part too.
Pete’s parents are not as easy to convince. His father, himself a veteran, cannot see what good it will do. This is just one of the many contrasts between father and son. Repeatedly the narrator shows us that Pete carefully tends the ten acres his father has given him to farm, however, Mr. Grier is consistently behind schedule. Mr. Grier was drafted, but Pete wants to enlist. Mr. Grier is bitter about the few months he spent in the service; Pete is caught up in the dream of defending his nation.
Although Mrs. Grier pleads with Pete to stay, saying she does not understand why he wants to go, she honors his wishes and helps him pack. That evening, Pete’s brother leaves the family farm and begins walking to Memphis to be with his Pete. After walking all night he is still 80 miles away and fears he will not make it to Memphis before Pete is deployed. Questioned by Mr. Foote, the sheriff of Jefferson, he is finally put on a bus for Memphis through the insistence of the bus driver and the help of one of the town’s ladies; the bus driver delivers Pete’s brother to the Army recruiting station.
Unable to find Pete, the narrator gets into a fight with the soldiers at the recruiting office. He pulls his knife and cuts a soldier across the hand before they are able to subdue him. Finally, they realize that Pete is at the train station waiting to be sent with other new recruits to Little Rock. A car is sent to retrieve Pete, and he is brought back to talk to his brother.
Pete tells his brother that he can’t come with him. He tells him he must go back to Frenchman’s Bend and look after their mother. Pete tells him he will also have to look after Pete’s ten acres until he gets back. Pete leaves for the station, patting his brother on the head and kissing him on the cheek.
Although Pete has given his brother enough money to ride home, the brother is taken to see some high-ranking officials who are interested in his story. Finally, a soldier is commissioned to drive Pete’s brother home. When the car gets out of Memphis, traveling fast on the open road back to Jefferson, the boy begins to cry.
“Two Soldiers” clearly has a biographical connection to Faulkner’s personal life. Like Pete Grier, Faulkner felt a passion to defend his country in battle, but like Pete’s brother he was too little to enlist. Additionally, Faulkner watched his nephew Jimmy leave for World War II just like Pete’s brother. In the story, Faulkner connects service to the land. Pete is a good steward of the land, caring for his fields properly and on time. His father, as stated multiple times, is always behind. Pete seeks to defend his land, but Mr. Grier was drafted unwillingly into service.
Through the narrator, Faulkner reveals a stubborn determination to do what is right regardless of the absurdity or impossibility of the task. The brother’s love for Pete pushes him outside of the comfort of his world, and Pete’s final actions in the recruiting station show a somber tenderness not expressed in early passages. Pete realizes what he is leaving behind – the unconditional love of his brother – but he must follow his own heart as well. The tearful ending of the story shows the narrator’s acceptance of the situation and the suffering he must endure so that Pete can fulfill his desires.
