Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Watanabe
Watanabe mistreated the hostages worse than any of the other Japanese guards. He beat up all of the POW and constantly jumped on any opportunity to hurt Louie. All of the POW, were overjoyed when "the bird was ordered to leave Omori" (Hillenbrand 275). They would no longer endure such hurtful attacks and be as mistreated as they were under Watanabe's rule. Watanabe had once beaten up Bush extremely bad, but he later on apologized for his actions and had Bush keep him company. He always had feelings of sympathy and regret after his attacks on the POW. These moments, however, did not last long. It was also strange how Watanabe would order the POW to spend time with him. Watanabe's actions suggest that he takes his anger and frustration out on the POW. Underneath his hard exterior, I think Watanabe is just a lonely man struggling to deal with his own life. Why do you guys think Watanabe led so many violent attacks on the POW?
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During the time period of Louie's stay at Omori I think the guards and officers were beginning to recognize that their chance of winning the war was deteriorating. This probably led them to treat the prisoner's even worse than they would have originally. They were most likely frustrated and afraid of what was coming, and chose the prisoners as the target to take their anger out on. I think this is what Watanabe was experiencing and it was probably why he felt bad after each beating. I'm sure he lived a lonely life and was frustrated with his situation as you said. I wanted to know why he forced the men to spend time with him and what the real reason was behind choosing Louie as one of his consistent targets.
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