If you've been around war novels long enough, you know that "duty" is bound to come up sooner or later. Duty is the bread and butter of books about warfare because wars bring up a lot of questions about who or what people should feel a sense of obligation to. In Shooting the Moon, TJ feels a duty to sign up for the army. Why? For one thing, his buddies are enlisting and dying over there, and he wants to do his part to fight the enemy. The Colonel feels an obligation to the army to abide by their rules and orders—yet at the same time, he also has a duty as a father to protect his son. Sometimes, the duties the characters feel conflict with one another. Ugh.
Questions About Duty
- Why does TJ enlist in the army? Why is his dad against it? What or whom does TJ have a sense of duty toward?
- How do the Colonel's duties as a military man and father conflict? Which wins out in the end? Do his competing duties impact his role in the army? Be specific, please, and give evidence from the text.
- Is duty a good thing or a bad thing in Shooting the Moon? How does it compel characters to act in a certain way? What determines duty?
Chew on This
TJ enlists in the army out of obligation, not because he wants to fight.
TJ enlists in the army because he wants to get revenge for his lost friends, not out of a sense of duty.