The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (Characters)

Characters

Ardell

An African American soldier in a “strangely unreal” uniform who functions as Pavlo’s alter-ego throughout the play. Only Pavlo can see or hear Ardell, and Rabe uses the device of this character to depict Pavlo’s extremely confused state of mind. Ardell moves in and out of the fragmented action, creating a mood of expressionism throughout the play. Ardell allows the audience a glimpse into Pavlo’s interior character at crucial moments in the play; he also provides a point of transition between scenes. At the close of the first act, Ardell tells Pavlo, “Ain’t doin’ you no good you wish you dead, ‘cause you ain’t, man.” Ardell transforms Pavlo by putting the latter in his dress uniform and sunglasses, preparing him for his trip home. Similarly, the play ends with Ardell and Pavlo having their final interaction. As Pavlo is sealed in his coffin, Ardell prompts him to admit that in the end, the cause for and the circumstances under which he died are “all shit.” Ardell slams Pavlo’s coffin shut to conclude the play.

Sergeant Brisbey

A soldier at the field hospital in Vietnam who has been crippled by a land mine. He is extremely depressed about his condition and hints strongly that he wants to kill himself, asking Pavlo for a gun.

Burns

A trainee who plays craps with Pierce. He claims to have seen Pavlo steal from one of the other men. He and Kress are the two trainees who fail basic training.

The Corporal

Second in command of Pavlo’s platoon, he leads the trainees in drills occasionally. Pavlo is envious of him because he has already seen combat in Vietnam.

Grennel

A soldier who serves in the field hospital with Pavlo.

Hendrix

A combat-seasoned soldier and therefore a person with some authority over the trainees. He is close to the Corporal and keeps lookout while the Corporal hustles Pavlo at pool.

Hinkle

A trainee; he speaks with a deep Southern drawl. It is his wallet that Pavlo is accused by the other men of stealing.

Mrs. Hummel

Pavlo and Mickey’s mother; she suffers from mental illness. Mrs. Hummel’s story about a coworker learning of her son’s death in Vietnam is a foreshadowing of Pavlo’s own death; “I know what to expect,” she says to Pavlo. Pavlo tries, unsuccessfully, to get his mother to reveal to him the identity of his father; Mrs. Hummel cannot understand why Pavlo doesn’t remember her whispering his father’s name to him when he was a child of three.

Michael Hummel

See Pavlo Hummel

Mickey Hummel

Pavlo’s half-brother, considered weird, even by Pavlo’s standards; Pavlo says of him that he “don’t give a rat’s ass for nothin’ or nobody.” The relationship between Pavlo and Mickey is somewhat strained; Mickey provokes Pavlo by refusing to believe he is in the army, and stating, “Vietnam don’t even exist.”

Pavlo Hummel

A teenager estranged from his family who seeks companionship and meaning in his life. Pavlo’s desperate desire to belong cements his ties to the U.S. Army; he remains, however, a misfit who steals from his fellow soldiers and attempts suicide to get attention. Pavlo’s confused state of mind is reflected in the play’s expressionistic structure and in the characterization of Ardell, whom only Pavlo sees or hears. Pavlo wants to become a model soldier, but he is inept at his training. He sees himself as an effective fighting machine, but as Rabe points out in a note to the play, the only talent Pavlo reveals is “a talent for jumping into the fire.” Seasoned by his experience in Vietnam, Pavlo becomes the kind of soldier who can brag, “I’m diggin’ it man. Blowin’ people away. Cuttin’ em down.” This comment exemplifies a kind of character degeneration, a substitution for Pavlo’s lack of meaningful human contact.

Jones

An American soldier Pavlo meets in Mamasan’s brothel in Vietnam. More experienced not only at war but at sex, he facilitates Pavlo’s first sexual encounters with the prostitute Yen. He provides Pavlo with an extremely frank introduction to Vietnam: “You gonna be here and you gonna sweat. And you gonna be here and you gonna get V.D.!”

Kress

A trainee, large and muscular, “with a constant manner of small confusion as if he feels always that something is going on that he nearly, but not quite, understands.” He is from New Jersey and is unpleasantly surprised to be so cold all the time at the Georgia base. Kress is one of two trainees who fails basic training the first time, for which he holds a grudge against Pavlo. When Pavlo tells him “I feel sorry for you, Kress,” he thinks Pavlo is taunting him, and he responds with a physical attack.

Mamasan

An older Vietnamese woman and keeper of the brothel where Pavlo meets his fate.

Captain Miller

Pavlo’s commanding officer at the field hospital, who first attempts to talk Pavlo out of his request for a transfer, then grants the request. Pavlo shows him a lack of respect because he is an R.O.T.C. officer rather than “regular army.” (There is also a Captain who addresses Pavlo’s platoon at the end of basic training; the same actor plays all the officers.)

Jay Charles Johnson Parham

A young African American Private First Class who is wounded and cries for a medic; instead he is discovered by two Viet Cong who torture him for information, then kill him.

Parker

A trainee, small, wears glasses. At first, he is somewhat more sympathetic to Pavlo than the other trainees; he tells Kress not to “knock that ole boy” because “Hummel’s gonna keep us laughin’.” Like the other men, however, Parker does not believe Pavlo when he denies having stolen from them.

Pierce

A trainee who acts as a squad leader. He is older than the other men in the squad and has a bit more life experience. While many of the trainees resent Pierce, Pavlo tries hard to please him. Pierce, meanwhile, likes Pavlo enough to try to keep him out of trouble with the other men.

Ryan

Pavlo’s partner on patrol in the Vietnamese jungle.

Mrs. Sorrentino

The mother of Pavlo’s former girlfriend, Joanna; she appears only as a voice when Pavlo speaks to her on the phone. She hangs up on Pavlo because he is acting strangely and grows violent when he learns Joanna is unavailable.

Sergeant Tower

Pavlo’s African American drill sergeant in boot camp, a tough officer who states ‘I am bigger than my name.” Tower’s name and military authority are also reflected in the drill sergeant’s tower which dominates the play’s set, giving him a literally central position in the play. Pavlo is fascinated by Tower, a near archetypal figure of masculine power who personifies the perfect solider in Pavlo’s mind. Although Pavlo passes his basic training, however, he can never really live up to Tower’s own standards and is constantly being reprimanded by the Sergeant.

Sergeant Henry Wall

A friend and visitor of Brisbey’s at the Vietnamese hospital, “middle-aged, gray-haired, chunky.” His name somewhat describes his personality, as he is unmoved by Brisbey’s shows of emotion. Later, Wall is drunk and behaving lewdly in the brothel; he and Pavlo fight. Humiliated, Wall leaves the brothel and returns moments later, throwing the grenade that kills Pavlo.

Yen

(Pronounced “Ing.”) A Vietnamese girl who is a prostitute in Mamasan’s brothel. Pavlo fights with Sergeant Wall over her and is killed as a result.

Media Adaptations

• There are no media adaptations of The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel available. Rabe’s two other well-known Vietnam plays, however, have been adapted. Sticks and Bones was produced for CBS in 1972, although the network withdrew support for the play and left the choice of whether to air it or not to their affiliates. Streamers was made into a film in 1983, directed by Robert Altman.