RHODES

Character Sketch of Rhodes

Rhodes is one of the protagonists in the play script “Brother in the Land” by Robert Swindells. As a villain he plays an important role in the story. Initially he was a P.E teacher at Danny’s school, later he became a member of MASADA. However, in the end he betrayed his companions and showed his true colors.

Rhodes is cold and harsh seeing as he killed Ben heartlessly even though he was just an innocent child. He was also responsible for the death of Alec Booth and Richard (Danny’s father). After Richard’s demise he did not even bother to apologize to Danny or Ben but instead defended himself saying that it was not his fault, this also shows us that he is selfish. Another evidence of his self conceited personality is when he stored a large amount of food for himself and did not share it with the others this along with his betrayal tells us that he is disloyal.

Another one of Rhodes highlighted traits in his negative thinking which is shown during the assembly presentation and during his time with the MASADA. Through the conferences held before ambushes we find out that he is impatient and rude as he either ignored or curtly answered most of Danny’s questions. Rhodes is shown to be sarcastic on several occasions. The quote below shows his usual mannerism:

“Lucky we arrived when we did or this

“hero” of yours would’ve been rat food”

                            ~ Rhodes (Act 4 Scene 1)

Despite being a flawed character we see that Rhodes was trusted by most of the members of MASADA. As he led most of their ambushes, we can conclude that he has good leadership qualities and is authoritative. We can also say that he is a capable strategist and has certain analytical skills. Rhodes is logical and realistic as he reminded Branwell of their decreasing supplies.

Because of being a reserved person, Rhodes did not have any strong relationships with the other characters. As a teacher he was hated by most of the students including Danny. Most of the MASADA members agreed that he was violent but they did not expect him to be as greedy and ruthless as he was towards the end of the story.

“This is Rhodes. He likes killing people”

~ Danny (Act 4 Scene 1)

A sadistic and much disliked personality, Rhodes allows the reader a deeper insight into the cruelty of wartime. He is an exceptional symbol of how war brings out the worse in people. I think that Rhodes plays a very vital role in the play script and adds more suspense to the story.