The lords of discipline

by Pat Conroy

Paper Book, 2011

Publication

New York : Dial Press Trade Paperbacks, 2011.

Collection

Highlands

Call number

Fiction C

Physical description

574 p.; 21 cm

Status

Available

Call number

Fiction C

Description

Fiction. Literature. HTML: Pat Conroy's bestselling novel of a young cadet who must face down a racist secret society amid the social upheaval of the Vietnam War era As Will McLean begins his studies at the Carolina Military Institute, the American South is in turmoil over desegregation. An outsider to the harsh authoritarianism of the military, Will survives the school's notorious freshman hazing, and avoids attention from its fabled and menacing secret society, the Ten. But when he is asked to mentor the school's first black student, Will is drawn into the intense racial politics�??and the threat of violence�??simmering beneath the surface. Based on Conroy's own military school experience and featuring his lush prose and richly drawn characters, The Lords of Discipline is a powerful story of a young man's stand for justice and the friendship, love, and courage he finds along the way.… (more)

Subjects

Charleston (S.C.) Fiction

Military cadets Fiction

Military education Fiction

Genres

General Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

User reviews

LibraryThing member galacticus

When I attended the Citadel this book had been around for eight years. Many alum were sore about its publication and the portrayal of life at the institution. For my part I found the book - while fictitious - generally portrayed the attitudes and mores of the cadets accurately. Notice I did not say

institution. The school tried for years, and by and large has succeeded, to eliminate much of what is portrayed herein. How much credit Conroy should get for that I cannot say. The book itself is a very good read. Conroy is an excellent writer. I read this book once before attending and once after attending and will read it again now that my twenty year reunion is approaching.

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LibraryThing member jenreidreads

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. When I first looked it up and saw it was classified as "military fiction," I was instantly turned off. But I gave it a try, and I'm glad I did. Yes, it's set at a military school, but there's more to it than that. The characters were wonderfully

developed, and the drama of life in South Carolina around the time of the Vietnam War was very intriguing. There is A LOT of foul language in this book, which makes me hesitate to give a blanket recommendation; it's not for the faint-of-heart. But the language feels realistic instead of gratuitous. I was happy to read (and enjoy) something outside of my usual.

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LibraryThing member krazy4katz

This book began slowly as a character study. The narrator draws you into himself until you feel as though you become him, living his life with his disappointments, triumphs and pain. The prose is rich in drama and beauty. The characters are well-developed and it is difficult to put the book away

when you put it down. The theme of how to maintain your humanity along with discipline and strength is a universal one. How does one do it? Some people go over the edge. This is a story about living on that edge. Gripping, dramatic and seemingly very unreal until you realize that it is not. It is very, very real in so many places for so many people.

WARNING: there is language in this book that will be painful for people. There is use of the n-word -- seemingly to make a point about widespread racism in southern and military society -- but some readers might still find it objectionable even in that context.

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LibraryThing member JamieG23

If you can stomach the language and graphic descriptions, this books is simply amazing! Some of the best prose writing around; comparable to Fitzgerald, in my opinion.

LibraryThing member readingrat

I have very mixed feelings about this book. The parts I liked the best - the experiences of the boys enrolled in the Citadel - I really, really enjoyed. Other parts of the book - not so much. Perhaps if my own background more closely resembled that of the main character I would have been able to

drum up some interest for the more mundane portions of the book.

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LibraryThing member oldblack

This is a powerful book. I found myself profoundly affected by it, and that's why I gave it a high rating. On the other hand, I didn't "enjoy" it - I found it deeply depressing and utterly condemning of mid-20th century southern American masculinity. The depressing aspect arises from my thought

that the same situation could exist in my own community today. Can this story really be revealing an essential truth about what it means to be a man? How can anyone not be calling for the eradication of all such institutions from our global society? My audio book version included an intro by Conroy himself, in which he seemed to be accepting that the right to "wear the ring" (the sign of survival of the college experience) was something he was proud of. I felt like slashing my wrists.

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LibraryThing member plm1250

While I skipped the middle part of the story of a young man four years at a private military academy in the South, the first and last part were vintage Conroy. Tense, dramatic as once again race comes into play as the first black cadet is admitted and is subjugated to a web of terror by his

classmates all the while the protagonist is charged with making sure that nothing untoward happens to him due to the volatile time of ?Southern integration. A great book about discipline, honor, love and self respect.

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LibraryThing member bohemiangirl35

I'm not sure what I think about this novel. I can't decide if I liked it or not. The language didn't bother me like it did some people. What else would you expect from bunch of 18-21-year-old boys/men in a military setting? I wasn't surprised at the amount of violence, but I was surprised at the

level of violence and the apparent enjoyment the tormentors took from it.

So many of the characters were extremely selfish, especially Annie Kate and Tradd, and others seemed more like stereotypes or caricatures. Will McLean, the main character and narrator of the story, was a little too good to be real. I would have liked him better if he'd been more flawed or at least did not recognize all his flaws and feel guilty for them. Real people don't see themselves so completely.

I liked the plots that centered around the school much better than the side plots outside the campus. The ending was not a surprise. I was ready for Conroy to get to it already by the time the truth was revealed.

Dan John Miller did an awesome job with the narration. Overall Lords of Discipline held my attention, but it's not a book I would reread or add to my personal collection.

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LibraryThing member firebird013

Stunning book; provides a gripping account that explains much of the excesses that have spoiled the reputation of the American military in the last decade. An evocation of the training at the time of the Vietnam war it also explains how people can be depersonalized in a way that works in a military

setting. Conray deploys his usual humour to lighten an important and startling tale.

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LibraryThing member DCArchitect

Pat Conroy constructs a novel about personal honor, brotherhood, family, and the ability of institutions to crush the individual around the story of senior at a southern military academy.

A coming of age story worth reading.

LibraryThing member Becky221

I read Prince of Tides years ago and loved it. This book, while displaying Conroy's eloquent writing style, was not as good. Perhaps the subject matter (morals and hazing at a South Carolina military college) was a bit dated and disturbing.

LibraryThing member oel_3

One of my best-loved books

LibraryThing member SqueakyChu

This is a novel relating the harsh conditions a cadet must endure if he is to graduate from a military academy. The story is of one cadet who endures four grueling years at a military academy and develops a decidedly anti-military stance. It is a wonderful novel of camaraderie and friendship.

However, it is also a testimony to man's inhumanity to man. I guess that is what the military stands for if one is to learn to kill in defense of one's country. A very unsettling novel, it left me glad that I personally never had to endure an environment such as the one Conroy describes.

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LibraryThing member msf59

“In Charleston, more than elsewhere, you get the feeling that the twentieth century is a vast, unconscionable mistake.”

“Evil would always come to me disguised in systems and dignified by law.”

This is a story about four cadets, in their final year at a military institute called The

Citadel. It is 1966, Charleston, S.C. Will McLean is our wise-cracking narrator. He is also a poor boy from Georgia, with an authority problem. This novel is about friendships and loyalty, but there is also debauchery and betrayal, with a bit of misguided romance thrown in. There is also a wicked society, inside The Citadel, that Will begins to investigate.
This is southern melodrama at it's best. The dialogue is broad and turgid, but once you get into the flow of it, it fits the narrative. Conroy based this on his own experiences at the academy and much of the writing is solid, although it could have used some editing.
The use of the “N” word, is wince-inducing but I am sure it lends itself to it's time and place.

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LibraryThing member nkmunn

this is a great audio book edition and a good read .

LibraryThing member CarrieWuj

Pat Conroy is not easy to read because he delves into the baser parts of human nature and it's in the people we know and love (or like, or should love) friend, father, spouse. While the plot typically sails along, it's the interior examination of character and self that bogs me down. This one

dragged a bit too in description of Charleston (where I've never been) but it is a partially a love letter to this city and its impact on Will McLean, the main character. Will is starting his senior year at the Carolina Military Institute (a loose cover for Conroy's own experience at the Citadel.) Will is still a private in rank because he has fully bought into the military intellectually, but he is respected enough to be an elected member of the Honor court. He is also a star basketball player which also affords him some respect. It is 1966. Vietnam is in progress and a likely part of Will's future upon graduation. Also he is approached by Colonel Berrineau (the Bear) to keep an eye on an incoming plebe -- the first black student to be admitted to the Institute (Pearce). And he has a meeting with the General who runs the school which isn't quite so friendly. Will's best friend and roommate for the year is an effeminate young man (Tradd St. Croix) whose family is the elite of Charleston. And Will has befriended an unwed 19-year-old pregnant society girl, Annie Kate. Battle lines are drawn. The year starts normally enough with the typical cruelty and hazing of the plebes according to the "system" though Will and his roommates (Tradd, Dante Pignetti (Pig) and Mark Santoro) don't really engage. "To them [the participating upperclassmen], the excesses of the plebe system were salutary and character-building. Torture was simply an effective test of their bloom and vitality. It was the system and we had all agreed to abide by its laws.... I saw that the plebe system was destroying the ability or the desire of the freshmen to use the 'I'....The person who could survive the plebe year and still use the word 'I' was the most seasoned and indefatigable breed of survivor.....I wanted to be that man in my class."(158) That sums up Will's attitude toward his own experience and also his compassion toward the incoming freshmen. When a plebe (Poteete) commits suicide early in the semester, Will starts to suspect something darker is at work -- he himself had survived a Taming as a freshman - a student-led show of authority and dominance that was psychologically degrading and physically brutal after he had written a derogatory, satirical newspaper article about upperclassmen -- but Poteete's experience seems to go beyond even that extreme. Will starts to wonder about the existence of The 10 - a super secret society of Institute lore that runs out undesirables. The book becomes part detective work and part morality play as Will literally endangers his own life and those of his roommates as he tries to uncover the truth and save Pearce who is next on the 10's list. Meanwhile, Will has fallen in love with Annie Kate and spends much of his free time with her at her beach home hideaway. She cannot be seen in society because her mother is trying to hide the shame. Secrets abound. Think of Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men: ("You can't handle the truth!") The last 3rd of the book is really where all the action is as all these events coalesce and threaten Will (and friends) with physical danger and the threat of not graduating. The way they stick together is touching and comes to some good in the end, though there is a monumental loss. Will's soul-searching and coming-of-age realizations are really at the heart of this book. He is remarkably strong (morally) and acts with true honor for the greater good when his digging around reveals a sinister reality and far-reaching betrayal that shakes the foundation of all he thought he knew. And yet he survives intact, if scarred to proclaim "I wear the ring."

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LibraryThing member santhony

I’ve apparently gone about reading Pat Conroy all backward, having started with The Death of Santini and now filling in with his earlier work.

In Death of Santini, Conroy provides an autobiographical recap to his earlier work through the prism of dealing with his father’s (The Great Santini)

death. Having read this recap, I can now read his earlier “fiction” stories in a different light, recognizing them for their autobiographical underpinnings.

I must confess to a strong dislike for the dialog of the author’s character, Will McClean. In fact, it has the same, relentless, never ending, over the top, smarmy sarcasm as displayed by the author himself in The Death of Santini. A little goes a very long way, and 500 pages of it goes way too far. If this is in fact the way the author actually converses, I can come to two conclusions; he doesn’t have any friends, and he must be pretty tough, otherwise he would have taken innumerable butt whippings over the years (apparently he did, at the hands of his father. Now I know why). It is distracting and counterproductive to enjoyment of what would otherwise be an enjoyable and beautifully written expose of 1960s The Citadel.

The underlying story is fascinating, especially given its quasi-autobiographical nature. The plot twists are well conceived and executed. This would be a five star reading experience were it not for the irritating dialog.

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LibraryThing member Chris.Wolak

I first read this book in the '80s when I was in high school and really enjoyed it, as painful as the racism it depicts is. Conroy has a way of sucking me right into a story. There is a good (as I recall) movie adaptation starring David Keith.

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