Difference between Morals and Themes Paragraph

The short story of Guests of a Nation by Frank O’Connor refutes the synonymity between themes and morals by showing that sometimes there is not a moral to a story. The story of Guest of a Nation is set during the Irish Revolution and the plot mainly focuses on two Irish prison guards and their two English prisoners. The major conflict in this story is the moral grappling between the Irish following their orders to kill the prisoners they had bonded with or to let them free. This theme of the complicated ideals of duty vs. doing the morally correct thing is especially showcased when Hawkins, one of the British prisoners, volunteers to betray his people and fight with the Irish. Unfortunately for him, the Irish are too engrossed in their mental debate and would not answer as they knew “that was no way out” (O’Connor 23). Even by the end of the story, there is no clear cut point on which decision would be the right one. Donovan shoots Hawkins and makes the decision for the prison guards, making them leave this dilemma behind. However, there is no obvious moral to this story. This short story falls flat when a moral is imprinted on to it. Either decision that they could have made would have some benefits and drawbacks to it. This short story showcases that that stories always have themes, but sometimes do not have morals.