A Soldier's Play

In the US military, saluting is a sign of mutual respect, and it is a customary gesture that is mandatory rather than optional. A person of inferior rank is expected to salute first, and the superior is expected to salute back. However, a superior can salute first without implying any sense of inferiority. There are multiple theories about the origins of saluting, but one suggests that it was a way to show that one’s hand is empty and not carrying a weapon to assassinate the other person. This notion is significant in the play, since the central conflict revolves around the presence of a hidden murderer in their midst.

Saluting symbolizes the hierarchical divisions of both professional standing and race that cause tensions in the unit. Waters, as a noncommissioned officer, does not have to be saluted by his men, which he resents. Taylor easily undermines Waters and his orders without a thought, and Waters must salute him for it. Later, according to Byrd’s testimony, when Waters is drunk on the evening he dies, the main reason that Byrd starts to antagonize Waters is that Waters refuses to salute Byrd as a superior officer. Wilcox has no trouble being respectful and saluting Davenport, but Byrd only does so after a show of reluctance, invoking