Word: hickmans
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...Hickman has been singled out for us by the director as well; whenever he comes on screen thereafter, there's an initial shock of recognition and an initial laughter. But we remeet him as he talks to a different sergeant, one who is kind, and placating who is, in fact, helping Hickman lace his boots. Hickman has let Basic, his awkward training errors, and the razzing of his bunkmates get to him. He has tried to commit suicide...
...Chaplain and First Sergeant seem, in their own ways, understanding enough. The sergeant private's anguish family" and "motivation" problems. The Chaplain, a Negro, offers to talk with him at any time. Both higher-ups are split between their sympathy for Hickman and the programmed reactions of their military routine. At one point, the chaplain slips into: "All of life is really a lot of ups and downs..." Which somewhat dazes the would-be suicide...
...demonstrator is Hickman, and when his fellow soldiers applaud, the poor fool looks happy...
...Hickman scenes strike the viewer particularly because, for once, the antagonists are clearly defined, and their personal conflicts complex. The incidents are restricted, so that their meat is revealed without harsh imposition on attention-span. And, finally, they say something definite: they not only describe how the army deals with an unbalanced individual, but why, by design, it is incapable of doing so. Hickman is urged to pick himself up, and keep on struggling with the group: that's the only way to be a man. It is, of course, the only way the army can conceive...
...Hickman's case borders on the pathological, but it has general implications. Forced social structure for no immediate cause doesn't necessarily result in mental collapse; but it does entail, where there are no fixed culture and system of morality, a questioning of individual heritage and worth. The vulnerable individual is crushed...