My second reading of The Lords of Discipline is even better than the first. Pat Conroy is one of my favorite novelists. Lords is about the Citadel, its traditions, and the lives and deaths of cadets at the South Carolina military college. Conway attended in the 1960s because he was the son of a U.S. Marine Corps pilot, a/k/a The Great Santini. His less-than-happy childhood was matched by his painful experiences at the Citadel.
The protagonist, Will McLean (first-person narrator), attended the Citadel during the Vietnam War era, enduring the brutal hazing conducted by upperclassmen on the plebes.
He was not interested in a military career as a freshman and even less interested at graduation. In his senior year, McLean is asked by the Commandant of Cadets, Colonel “The Bear” Berrineau, to assist the first black cadet admitted to the institute. As the storyline and character development progress, McLean is betrayed by the black cadet, one of his roommates (The Honey Prince), his girlfriend, and General Durrell, the institute’s president. It turns out there is a secret society at CMI, known as The Ten, that has existed underground for years, wielding power, punishment, and even death for generations while under the protection of the General. McLean exposes The Ten and faces expulsion in the final weeks before graduation and the awarding of the coveted ring that McLean’s father wore and made his son swear he would earn as CMI. I will end this review here without spoiling the conclusion of a compelling story that was turned into a movie.