Based on the short story by William Faulkner, "Two
Soldiers" is the poignant story of two otherwise inseparable brothers
pulled apart by War. Set in rural Mississippi at the tail end of
the depression, the story is told through the eyes of younger brother
Willie (9) whose every effort is spent in total devotion to older
brother Pete (19). Two authentic subjects living in a classic American
portrait, Willie and Pete spend their days sharecropping their father's
land while spending nights huddled below a neighbour's parlour window,
eavesdropping on the adventures of their favourite radio heroes.
On the evening of December 7, 1941, the broadcast
and their lives are abruptly interrupted by an NBC broadcast announcing
that the United States of America has been suddenly and deliberately
attacked by the Japanese Empire. Lying beside Pete in bed that night,
Willie begins to sense a growing distance from his brother, who
eventually succumbs to "the call to arms."
By sunrise the next morning, Willie finds himself
at a country crossroad, struggling with the loss of his brother
who steps aboard a bus to Memphis to enlist. Later that night, lying
alone in bed for the first time in his life, Willie is suddenly
struck with his own sudden and intense "call to duty" - that to
his brother.
Gathering his rabbit's foot, pocket knife, and
favourite bird egg, Willie walks out to the highway in the pitch
black of night, and begins an 80-mile march to Memphis, where he
intends on rejoining Pete and enlisting alongside him.
What follows is an emotional and mythical journey
that masks a young boy's irreconcilable grief for the loss of his
brother. Originally published in 1942 in the Saturday Evening Post,
"Two Soldiers" and it's heroic protagonist are Faulkner's loving
homage to the Americans who would sacrifice their very lives and
family ties for the freedoms that America enjoys today.
(This plot summary is from the Official
Website for "Two Soldiers.")
