WTB Initial Reaction

The setting of the novel Waiting for the Barbarians is ambiguous and never explicitly stated. This deliberate choice allows the story to be allegorical and applied to other similar situations. The main character, who goes unnamed other that being simply "the magistrate", has been working for the empire for a while. This frontier town has apparently been plagued by "barbarian" attacks. Rumors claim that traders and officials are attacked while traveling. He has not actually seen this barbarian army and has no reason to believe in the potential uprising that is presumed to occur. The magistrate is a very curious individual who seeks the truth and does not believe everything for its face value.

The narrator's initial thoughts point towards a more critical perspective on the empire. He feels a sense a frustration when Colonel Joll comes to town, because of his aggressive tactics. The Colonel believes that the use of torture on a captured barbarian is justified if it produces the truth. According to Joll, a person telling the truth inflects their speech slightly. Many lies precede truth only until a certain amount of pressure is applies, breaking the individual into submission. This concept is quite applicable in today's world in regards to the ethics of torture. The father of the boy was killed in the interrogation room leaving the boy alone in the small hut where he was held captive. The magistrate visits the boy at night to comfort him and gives the guard on duty orders to tie the rope back on his hands but looser and to leave his father's body in the yard. The magistrate shows a level of dignity toward the barbarians not evident in the Colonel's actions or on a larger scale, the Empire's.