“Guests of the Nation” by Frank O'Connor is a gripping short story that depicts the execution of two Englishmen held prisoner by two Irish guards. The story is set during the War of Independence. It is divided into four sections, each section with a different tone. The first reveals a strong sense of friendship between the English prisoners and the guards. The prisoners, Belcher and Hawkins, and the guards, Bonaparte and Noble, act as if they have known each other for years. However, in the second sections, the reader discovers that this is not the case. Donovan, the IRA leader, comes to the men with interesting news. The guards realize that Belcher and Hawkins are being held hostage and will be executed. The third section outlines Bonaparte and Noble's feelings towards the execution. In the final section of the story, Belcher and Hawkins are executed and the reader sees the reaction of Bonaparte and Noble. By using opposite diction and tone, O'Connor shows a contrast between Donovan's feelings towards the Irish prisoners and the guards' feelings towards them. Duty means something different to Donovan than it does to the guards. For Donovan, his duty is to his country, and for Bonaparte and Noble, their duty is to their newfound friendship with the prisoners. Through Bonaparte and Noble's reaction to the execution of their friends, combined with Donavan's nonchalance about his duties, O'Connor explores the difficulty of managing friendship and duty in times of war. O'Connor establishes a friendship between the guards and prisoners early in the film. history. He writes, "since they were such good boys" (52), which shows that Bonaparte and Noble know that Belcher and Hawkins are truly great men. The word "friend" is starting to become a word of endearment... middle of paper... urial, this wouldn't have been a problem, but since Belcher and Hawkins were friends with the guards, it was difficult. Reflecting on the execution, Bonaparte says: “Somehow I was very small, very lost and alone, like a child lost in the snow. And whatever happened to me afterward, I never felt the same again” (59). If Bonaparte and Noble had wanted to fulfill exclusively their duty to their country, they would have been satisfied with the outcome of the execution. They would have been happy to have done their job and honored their country. Instead they were devastated. All they felt was the numbness of not only losing their friends, but also their execution. In some cases, the duty of friendship may come before the duty to one's country. Bonaparte wanted it to be that way, but in war you cannot be faithful to both your country and your friendships.