Dignity under Pressure

The Bridge on the River Kwai focuses on a man's ability to have dignity even when under the greatest pressure. Colonel Nicholson spends his time keeping his troops together and the officers in charge even before they arrive in the camp. He believes that to sacrifice their dignity by being ordered about by the enemy would be to admit defeat.

Col. Nicholson and his officers refuse to work alongside their men, according to the rules of the Geneva Convention. Saito has made all the other officers work, and he sees no reason why these men shouldn't work as well. Because they refuse to give in, he puts them in the "ovens." When they are finally released, they retain their dignity by willingly helping Saito build his bridge. They use the best wood, the best methods and the best system to show that even under this horrible...