A Few Good Men

“I will have been in the Marine Corps ten months as of August.” 

Downey has been in the Marine Corps for only 10 months, but his entire worldview is now oriented around the military. As a lost, disengaged young man, he had nothing to give his life purpose. After less than a year of the Marines’ training, he has discipline and direction. This renewed purpose in his life is so important that he’s willing to kill a man to carry out his orders. That Downey is so invested in the Marines after such a brief time demonstrates his commitment to its code of honor and explains why he refuses to question any order he’s given. 

“And you’re a woman.”

Galloway is relentlessly professional. She tries harder than anyone else in the play to ensure that the investigation and court proceedings follow the exact requirements of the law and enforce the legal system in the fairest, most judicial way possible. Despite her professionalism, however, the organization never allows her to forget that she’s a woman. As the only character in the play who receives constant reminders of her gender, Galloway feels that she must overcompensate for being a woman in a male-dominated world.