Three Soldiers and Homosocial Relationships

John Dos Passos calls attention to homosocial relationships between soldiers in World War I, in his telling of Three Soldiers. This novel is mainly focused upon the three main characters within the novel, Fuselli, Chrisfield, and Andrews. All three men have homosocial relationships, which to clarify is not romantic in nature but simply a friendship between people of the same gender. Within Three Soldiers I will assess how Fuselli, Chrisfield, and Andrews conducted themselves within these homosocial relationships. This novel starts with Dan Fuselli anxious to be promoted one day to corporal. Fuselli even dreams about the day that Mabe, his girl back home, will send him a letter addressed to Corporal Fuselli which is when he is barely starting in the army. “The corporal didn’t look …show more content…
He wouldn’t last long overseas. And he pictured Mabe writing Corporal Dan Fuselli, O.A.R.D.5.”(pg. 20) However, it was not long before Fuselli began to hate everything about the U.S. Army, knowing he had to be more calm and smart than other men if he were to be promoted one day. Fuselli respected the brass at all times so that one day he his dream may become more of an actualization. “‘You see it’s this way, Sarge,’ he said confidentially, ‘I wrote my all my folks at home I’d been made corporal, an’it’ld be a hell of a note to be let down now.’” (pg. 69) This talk shows how Fuselli carefully constructed a homosocial relationship not only with his peers but also with his commanding officers, which seems to benefit him for a time. “‘Sure; you needn’t worry, kid. I’ve got you fixed up all right,’ he said; then he added jovially, ‘Well, let’s go see that girl of yours.’” (pg. 69) However it was a very short lived victory for Fuselli, as his Sarge took a liking to his girl, which put him in a predicament to; either disrespect his superior and throw away all