The Lords of Discipline

Hailing from a wealthy and well-established Charleston family, Tradd presents a strong contrast to his roommates, Will, Mark, and Pig. While they are physically capable, whether as athletes or as brawlers, Tradd is delicate and prim; while they have unglamorous Irish- and Italian-American roots, Tradd is a member of the South’s unofficial aristocracy and a legacy student at the Institute. But Tradd is also intensely, instinctively devoted to these three other students. With the help of his parents—his gruff, reclusive father, Commerce, and his sophisticated mother, Abigail—Tradd makes the refined St. Croix house a second home for his roommates.

Tradd is also notable for a few reasons in terms of Conroy’s themes and messages: his quiet, mannered ways have earned him the unflattering nickname “The Honey Prince” and his masculinity is called into question by a variety of characters. In fact, the possibility that Tradd is homosexual becomes a cruel running joke during Tradd’s plebe year. Tradd’s lapses of judgement or morality—and, despite his virtues, there are quite a few in the course of the novel—may be explained by some of the insecurities that surround his perceptions of masculinity and his status among the other Institute men.

As a cadet, Mark is known for his gruff and no-nonsense personality, and for his physical prowess. His raw strength and Italian-American roots make him a natural companion for Pig, another powerfully-built student from the northern U.S., and Mark’s first-year roommate. Mark’s bond with the skeptical Will and the aristocratic Tradd is somewhat more surprising, but can be explained by their shared experience of a difficult plebe year and by a shared set of virtues. Though Mark and Will differ in approach and temperament, they are both men of integrity and perseverance—qualities that make them well-suited to combatting the Ten together.

Best known by his nickname “Pig,” Dante Pignetti is an Institute student of exceptional strength and stamina; he worships his body, builds his powers by taking vitamin pills, and hones his reflexes by practicing karate. He also has deeply ingrained loyalties—to his girlfriend, Theresa, to his Italian-American home neighborhood in New York, and to his roommates, Mark, Will, and Tradd. Despite his virtues, Pig can be childish, sentimental, impulsive, and needlessly violent. He nonetheless sees himself as a man of honor, and follows his personal code even when it leads him to conflict with the Ten or even to his death.

A lively and somewhat eccentric young woman who makes Will’s acquaintance early in the novel, Annie Kate hails from a Southern family that has fallen on hard times. She and her sharp-tongued, often-intoxicated mother do not move in the same lofty social spheres as Tradd and his relatives. Social life is difficult for Annie Kate for another reason: she has gotten pregnant and, in the eyes of Charleston society, disgraced herself. Still, she finds a source of solace and affection in the company of Will McLean, who bonds with Annie Kate even as she deals with her pregnancy by adopting a lifestyle of secrecy and exile.