Character Analysis of Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markinson in a Few Good Men

Lt. Col. Matthew Andrew Markison (Executive Officer (Ex-O) to Colonel Jessup) I don't want a deal and I don't want immunity. I want you to know that I am proud neither of what I have done nor what I am doing. - On being offered immunity to become a defence witness when he secretly tried to come out clean with Lt Kaffee, the defence lawyer This is one of those characters in stories that make a significant impact much out of proportion of the time or words allotted to them. This is a character who has potential for maximum learning from this movie, as he is in a role which comes closest to what most of us are likely to be in. Many a times we witness something being done by a higher authority that we know is wrong but we do not have the courage of conviction to act while we can and end up being mute spectators to injustice. Here we have a marine officer who evidently is of high integrity and has potential to live up to the highest of the benchmarks in terms of values, but in some ways is a victim of circumstances. He does disagree with his boss Col Jessup, but does not do enough to prevent the killing of Santiago. Jessup, who is a typical narcissist leader, acts as if he is taking his ExO in confidence but actually does not really care for his opinion, and in the normal course of action does not even listen to him. He is caught between two conflicting lines of action based on his sense of loyalty to his uniform (Corps/Unit) and the basic sense of right and wrong (Country/ God). Once the deal is done and our choices have been made most of us will choose not to do anything about it even if we have that guilty feeling inside. But Markinson did choose to take action. He first sneaks in to Lt Kaffee’s car and tells him the truth and then commits suicide. His actions and his potential to prevent his Commanding Officers wrong doing can be judged by contrasting him with the character of Lt Commander Ron Hunter played by Denzel Washington who plays Ex-O who takes over command of the submarine from his superior, to prevent him from taking decisions that he does not agree with in the movie “Crimson Tide”. A disclaimer is due here, that this may not strictly be an apples to apples comparison.

Before we pass judgement on his action, let us look at the circumstances under which he acted the way he did. He was a contemporary of Col Jessup but was not promoted as quickly, probably because he was not a star performer. But given the hierarchical nature of the service, this has a huge impact on the psyche of the person, almost making him feel like a failure at all times. This does affect his conviction to act against Jessup when the time comes. In that he did take some action however wrong, on a values scale he would probably come on top of a character like Galileo. His suicide note, which is a regretful letter written to Santiago’s parents, exemplifies the emotional state he is in. Dear Mr. and Mrs. Santiago, I was William's executive officer. I knew your son vaguely, which is to say I knew his name. In a matter of time, the trial of the two men charged with your son's death will be concluded, and seven men and two women whom you've never met will try to offer you an explanation as to why William is dead. For my part, I've done as much as I can to bring the truth to light. And the truth is this: Your son is dead for only one reason. I wasn't strong enough to stop it. Always, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Andrew Markinson, United States Marine Corps.