The first scene opens with Colonel Robert Shaw, who appears regretful in delivering some news about wage deduction to his battalion. He is evidently discontent with the news, discreetly asking if anything can be done and sympathising with his unit. Different from him, however, his battalion acquiesces, with only one person, Private Trip, protesting. Trip's words eventually reach his team-mates, and they all rip their cheques in unified protest. Expectedly, Colonel Shaw sides with the men and rips his cheque as well, saying he won’t get paid if his men won’t. What can be seen here is two approaches to the same problem- restriction of freedom. Private Trip acted in the spur of the moment, protesting the instance of the news. Colonel Shaw’s approach, which we never actually get to see due to Trip acting first, involved protesting to the War Department later on. Colonel Shaw has intended for his battalion to keep their cheques and protest, while Trip’s approach involved ripping their cheques while protesting, threatening the well-being of the battalion, and, as such, the result of the war itself. Trip’s approach unequivocally leaves a larger emotional mark and leaves the War Department with no choice but to concede. The second scene centres around patriotism and loyalty. With the threat of execution lingering, the battalion and the Colonel’s loyalty are challenged. The Colonel appears to have already made his decision of staying, but his faith in his battalion seems to be shaking, expecting them to withdraw the next morning. Much to his dismay, the most of his battalion remains the next morning. There is not much to be contrasted in this scene. The colonel and his men all acted similarly- fighting for their country (or ideology, in this case) and refusing to dismiss their reasons for going to war. The third scene centres around the war itself. In this scene, Private Trip questions the purpose of the war. A lot of his remarks during this scene suggest he has lost hope in his own reasons for fighting. This can be noted in his saying ‘…ain’t nobody gonna win, sir.’, which means the current conditions won’t much change with the victory of either of the Union or the Confederates. His victory of the war will at best give the Union more influence, but it won’t change the Confederates’ ideologies or the treatment of coloured people. Furthermore, he tells his commander he’s not fighting this war for him, meaning he’s not fighting the war to “carry the flag” or to lead. We don’t know whether Trip and the commander’s opinions are in agreement or not, as the commander never explicitly or implicitly shows his opinion, so we cannot compare them together. What we can compare, however, is Trip’s development from the first scene to the third scene. In the first scene, Trip is shown as an energetic and determined character emitting an aura of motivation. In the third scene, however, his character is that of hesitance, exhaustion, and hopelessness. With this change of character, his stance on the war has also changed.
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