Julia Sevco

Catholic Social Teaching, pd 4

Ms. Cardone
6 December 2017

“Analyzing Catholic Social Themes in stories” assignment

Hacksaw Ridge and major events that relate to justice/injustice

 Horror of War
 Discrimination/Bullying
 Faith with Conviction
 Moral Courage
 Human Dignity
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Synopsis

The movie Hacksaw Ridge portrays the true story of Desmond Doss who enlists

as a conscientious objector during World War II. Des along with his brother Hal grow up

in Virginia and attend the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Des’s father Tom served in

World War I. However, the war left him with post-traumatic stress disorder. He drinks

heavily and beats his sons. When he beat his mother, Des steps in and takes his father’s

gun from him. Des holds the gun ready to kill his father until his mother stops him.

Another day Des and his brother Hal fight and Des hits Hal with a brick knocking him

unconscious. Des feels extreme remorse. He reads his Bible praying his brother will

recover. Both of these incidents have a tremendous impact on Des and his view of

violence. Des resolves to refrain from violence and never touch a gun again. Against their

father’s wishes, both Des and Hal enlist in Army during WWII. Des is patriotic and

wishes to serve his country. Wanting to serve as a medic, Des signs up as a conscientious

objector and is mistakenly assigned to an infantry rifle combat unit. Before leaving, Des

becomes engaged to Dorothy Schutte, a nurse he met at the town hospital.

At Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Sergeant Howell is shocked when Des informs him he

does not wish to carry a weapon. Also, he will not be training on Saturdays as that is his

Sabbath. The sergeant refers Des to Captain Glover who tells Des he must follow all

orders. His fellow soldiers abuse Des beating him and bullying him. His squad views him

as a liability who will not be able to protect them during battle. When the men beat Des,

he refuses to fight back. They try to intimidate him, give him extra duties, falsely declare

him mentally unfit and attempted to court martial him. Des stands by his belief refusing

to use a weapon. Therefore, he is imprisoned for subordination. Sergeant Howell tries to

convince Des to quit and go home. Dorothy questions Des as to whether he is following

God’s will or his own. When Des is put on trial, his father testifies on his behalf and

provides a letter signed by the general stating that Des has the Constitutional right to

follow his religious beliefs. Des is permitted to go back to his troop and serve as a medic.

Des and Dorothy marry before the troop leaves for combat. Dorothy gives Des a small

bible he treasures. The squadron fights at the Battle of Okinawa. They scale a 400-foot

high cliff called Hacksaw Ridge to fight the Japanese army. The battle is brutal and one

of the bloodiest of WWII. Des treats the wounded and works to get them down the cliff to

safety. Des saves 75 men during that battle with his only weapons, the Bible and his faith

in God. Two of the men he saves are Japanese. Throughout the ordeal, Des prays for God

to let him save just one more. Des is the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the

lines without a weapon. As an Army medic, Des evacuates the wounded near enemy line

braving enemy fire and putting his own life on the line. Desmond Doss is the first

conscientious objector to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

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 Character’s view of justice

Desmond Doss is the protagonist in Hacksaw Ridge who stands by his convictions

as a follower of Jesus Christ. I chose to examine Desmond Doss’s view of justice because

of his experiences with bullying and unjust imprisonment, his treatment of his fellow and

enemy soldiers, and his sacrifice for the common good. Hacksaw Ridge is the incredible

true story of Desmond Doss, a humble servant who shows the power of courage and

human dignity in the horrors of war.

In Hacksaw Ridge, Desmond Doss’ view of justice involves the constant and firm

will to give God his dues. Des’ view of justice is shown by the principles of solidarity,

human dignity, and virtue. Des grew up in rural Virginia where his family is Seventh-day

Adventist Christians. Two acts of violence strongly influence Des’s strong stance on non-

violence. He observes his abusive father beat his mother and Des almost kills his own

father intentionally. In addition, he almost accidently kills his brother during a teenage

fight. As a result, Des turns to God’s commandments in the Bible. Des begins living a life

serving and imitating Christ. Des practices solidarity following his commitment to God.

Solidarity involves unity where people work together instead of focusing on their self-

interests. Doss puts others’ lives before his own and risks his life to save his fellow

soldiers. He puts God and others before himself. He believes in loving everyone despite

differences and working together to make the world a better place. Des shows great

respect for human dignity throughout Hacksaw Ridge. Human dignity is the belief that

everyone deserves to be treated with dignity because every person is made in the image

of God. Des’s strong faith in God provides him the moral courage to love others, protect
and preserve life, and find non-violent ways to solve problems. Des believes that God

calls people to love one another. Every human person has value. Through his faith in God

and humanity, Des is able to navigate the paradox of war that pits violence against

Christ’s teaching on non-violence. Des believes strongly in the Ten Commandments. He

refuses to kill another person which is why he chooses not to carry a weapon. Wounded,

in pain, and losing blood, he still puts the safety of others ahead of his own. Des is a

brave young man who sees the face of Christ in everyone and loves his neighbor to the

point of laying down his life for him. He imitates Christ’s service and sacrifice. Finally,

Des exemplifies virtue not only in his beliefs but also in his actions. Virtue involves

behavior showing high moral standards. Des does what is right morally. He practices

forgiveness when he forgives his comrades for how they treat him. He forgives his

officers and his father for abusing him. He obeys Christ practicing non-violence.

Committed to God and his country, Doss exemplifies Christ in his actions working to

witness and save others. He saves others not only physically but spiritually as well.

Des’s view of justice relates to Christ’s view of justice because he follows

Christ’s commandments. He imitates Christ in both his words and his actions. He treats

people with dignity and respect. He saves others so they can know Christ as their Lord

and Saviour. Des shows mercy to the wounded even the Japanese soldiers who are trying

to kill him and his comrades. Des does not retaliate against the men in his squadron when

they beat him. Instead he practices forgiveness just like Christ. Des turns to God’s Word

and is constantly praying to God and finding answers in the Bible. Des models Christ’s

selflessness when he risks his life to save others and puts his comrades lives before his
own. Des is a great example of a person who models Christ for others to witness and

relies on God’s strength to help him.

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