The Middle ages is often thought of as a great time of intrepid knights, benevolent kings, and massive castles. Although, this isn’t entirely true. Beginning with the collapse and downfall of the vast Western Roman Empire in the 400s, this era was not an excellent time for Europe. Different tenacious and vicious barbarian tribes savagely swept through Europe and took hold and desecrated most of the continent. The stunned civilians had to flee in terror. Unfortunately, the barbarians were far from pleasant and had no interest in the high culture of Rome. Because of the lack of learning and culture, this time is called the Dark Ages. Knights and kings didn’t appear until later in the period around the 900s. Even then, most people were lowly and fetid peasants who lived in dilapidated houses and worked all day for the rich noblemen. Life in the Middle Ages was unpleasant, and Roman culture was almost forgotten.
Although some historical inaccuracies and controversies have arisen from the book over the years, “Bridge Over the River Kwai” is an entertaining read with fast-paced action, as well as some suspense. The book does a stellar job describing the environment and highlighting the human struggle between the officers and the suffering of the POWs. Even if it has more fictional elements than the author meant it to have, it’s still a compelling book,
Written by French author Pierre Boulle, “Bridge Over the River Kwai” was published and translated into English in 1954, two years after the original publication in 1952. It focuses on British POWs in Siam (modern-day Thailand) who are forced to build a bridge over the Kwai River for Japanese supply trains.
In 1957, a film adaptation was made, bearing the same name as the novel. It even won the Academy Award for Best Picture that year. Directed by David Lean, the movie was shot along the Kelani River in Sri Lanka. The movie has a few differences from Boulle’s book, but overall is relatively similar.
Boulle was born on February 20, 1912 in Avignon, France. Raised as a Catholic, he later became an agnostic, the belief that the existence of God is a mystery and is completely unknowable. Boulle studied and later graduated from Ecole Superieure d’Electricité in 1933, receiving a degree in engineering. In 1936, he traveled to Malaysia where he worked as a technician and engineer on British rubber plantations. In 1939, still living in Malaysia, Boulle enlisted in the French army in Indochina. When mainland France was conquered by the German army in 1940, he joined the Free French in Singapore. After helping with Allied resistance movements in China, Burma, and Indochina, Boulle was captured and arrested by Vichy France loyalists in 1943, being subjected to two years of forced labor.
Besides his two most famous novels, “The Bridge Over the River Kwai” and “Planet of the Apes”, the author wrote another book, “My Own River Kwai”, in which he describes his actual wartime experiences, while “The Bridge Over the River Kwai” is roughly based on his experiences while a POW.
The bridge described in the book was part of Burma Death Railway. Constructed from 1940 to 1943, the Japanese used the forced labor of Southeast Asian civilians as well as Allied POWs. It’s estimated that 180,000-250,000 civilians and 60,000 POWs were subjected to forced labor on the railway, around 102,000 of whom died. Much of the railway still stands today and runs from Ban Pong, Thailand, to Thanbyuzayat, Myanmar. The bridge that’s the subject of Boulle’s book is said to be Bridge 277, which was built over the Khwae Noi River, at the time called the Mae Klong River. Khwae Noi in Thai simply means “small river,” however, Khwae was commonly mispronounced by Allied POWs and called the “Kwai River”, meaning Buffalo River. Bridge 277 was damaged multiple times by American bombers near the end of the war, before being successfully destroyed in June 1945.
In October 1942, captured British soldiers arrived at the Tamarkan POW camp to build the bridge. These men were commanded by British Colonel Philip Toosey, said to be Boulle’s inspiration for Colonel Nicholson, one of the main characters. Unfortunately, controversy arose when Toosey was found to have never collaborated with the Japanese, as Nicholson did in the novel. Boulle then revealed that Nicholson was not meant to represent Toosey, but French officers who collaborated with the Japanese and Vichy regimes. Nonetheless, some have dismissed the book as complete fiction for this and several other historical inaccuracies.
Some of Boulle’s mistakes are due in part to the fact that he was not held captive by the Japanese, rather the Vichy French. For example, forced labor conditions under the Japanese were much worse than what’s described in the book. Daily, prisoners were deprived of food and medical supplies, beaten, tortured, humiliated, and forced to work sunrise to sunset without ceasing. Whatever a Japanese soldier could construe as disrespect or disobedience by a prisoner would most likely result in their murder. Unlike Nicholson’s nemesis, Colonel Saito, Japanese officers would not allow a man like Nicholson and his insubordination. Even if Nicholson had not been killed by the Japanese, the other prisoners would not tolerate his willing collaboration with the enemy. Because of these problems with the historical accuracy of the book, prisoners who were at the Tamarkan POW camp have also criticized the book.
Although some of its errors can be misleading, the book is still based on real events and might introduce the reader to history they weren’t previously aware of. If readers approach “Bridge Over the River Kwai” as a historical fiction as opposed to non-fiction, it’s a rewarding World War II novel.
We can learn a lot from the Israelites. In Ancient Egypt, the Israelites were slaves. They were treated poorly and were not allowed to have any sons for fear that the Israelites would be the majority in Egypt. God saw their distress and rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt in an event called the Passover. God chose a man named Moses to lead his people out. God sent the angel of death to kill every first born son in every Egyptian household, but the Israelites painted blood on their doorpost and lintel. This meant that they were Jews and the angel of death passed over. As the Israelites were fleeing, Pharaoh and his army drowned in the Red Sea.
After escaping from Egypt, God gave Moses ten laws he and his people were to follow. They were called the Ten Commandments. Just after being freed from the land where they had been enslaved, the Israelites disobeyed their creator. While Moses was on Mount Sinai retrieving the commandments, the people grew impatient. Although God had revealed himself on Mount Sinai with fire and smoke, they demanded an idol, so Aaron built a golden calf for them to worship. As the commandments were being handed down to Moses, the people of Israel were already breaking the first and second laws: Thou shalt not worship any god before me and thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images. In one instance, 3,000 men were killed by the angel of the LORD because of their disobedience and rebellion.
God then made a covenant with his people. It stated that when the people obeyed, they would be protected, but when they disobeyed, He would let their enemies triumph over them. After this, there is an obvious cycle repeated throughout the Old Testament. The people of God disobey god and are captured by their enemies. Then they repent, their enemies are overthrown, but then like a mischievous child, they return to their former sin.
After the age of Judges, the people of Israel demanded that the current Judge, a man named Samuel, give them a king. Wisely, Samuel warned that a king will force them to work hard and be a tyrannical ruler, but the people didn’t seem to care. Consequently, Samuel gives them a man named Saul to be the first king of Israel. At the beginning of Saul’s reign, he obeyed God and won many battles for Israel. God commanded Saul and his army to kill and destroy everything in one Canaanite nation, but Saul kept some of the spoils and donated it to the temple. Because of his sin, Saul’s son Jonathan would not inherit the throne, so when Saul died, the throne was given to a man named David.
During his childhood, David had killed a giant Philistine with a sling-shot. David was a good king, but committed one horrible sin. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of a man in his army, and then had her husband sent to the frontlines to get him killed. David then married her. He realized what he had done and was sorry for his misdeeds. Unlike Saul, David learned to obey God. We are all like the Israelites in our sin, but if we repent, God forgives and rescues us.
