Question: Read "Defender of the Faith," pages 116-139, and study the questions following the story.
The theme of this story deals with the difficulty of maintaining a proper balance between justice and mercy. Because of his position, Sergeant Marx has to be three things at once: (1) human being-he wants to keep his capacity for human feeling and compassion; (2) sergeant-he wants primarily to be just, to treat all of his men equally, not to grant special favors to some; (3) Jew-he wishes to be faithful to his religious beliefs and feelings, and to keep in touch with his community. An short essay demonstrating how Grossbart complicates the sergeant's efforts to keep a proper balance between these three desires, and then discuss the sergeant's motivations for changing Grossbart's orders to the Pacific at the end of the story. Be sure to back up your assertions with illustrative proof from the story.