Essay On The Movie Col Shaw

866 Words4 Pages

1. Col Shaw displayed a certain toughness at the start of the movie. His experiences from a previous battle, where he was one of the only one to survive with nothing more than a scratch, shaped is training strategies. I believe his teaching methods to a group of untrained men wanting to be soldiers were taken as controversial rather than helpful. There was an authoritative tone taken during every evolution which was not met with much enthusiasm. He was dismissive of his childhood friend, possibly not knowing how to separate his feelings. He refused to allow fraternization between the officer and enlisted ranks. The Sergeant Major used demeaning and degrading verbiage while teaching the men to march properly. Maj Forbes approached Col Shaw and …show more content…

These men were not trained for battle. Throughout the movie, Col Shaw realized his tactics may have been uncharacteristic of a leader. He approached Corporal Rawlins to create a relationship between the officer and enlisted ranks. This was the first step in gaining his company’s trust. With direction from Corporal Rawlins, Col Shaw went to the supply station to retrieve shoes and socks for his men. He terrorized the officer in charge when he refused to provide the necessary items for his company. In the end, his dedication to providing adequate supplies for his men won out and all were equipped with new shoes. When the men discovered they would not be paid the full amount of $13, there was a huge uproar. Col Shaw realized his men were being treated unfairly and stood with them. If they were not getting paid correctly, no one would receive pay. He showed loyalty to his men. Through the various changes in his training strategy, he was able to show compassion and understanding to a group of men that had never experienced that before. He was able to create a cohesive unit that was willing to fight and die …show more content…

Respect was earned by the mean of the 54th through dedication, commitment and loyalty. Dedication to each other was established because each member was going through the same situation. Commitment happened when no one quit and each member found where they fit in the unit. Loyalty was shown when Col Shaw changed his tactics and provided the necessary items for his men and continued to treat them as humans and nothing less. The final moment of loyalty was Col Shaw charging into battle, taking a bullet to the stomach, standing back up and charging once again only to die. His men realized he was willing to die moving forward. They all charged even though winning the battle seemed