The Useless Servants by Rolando Hinojosa
"The Useless Servants" by Rolando Hinojosa explores the haunting experiences of Rafe Buenrostro during the Korean War, revealing the harsh realities of military service and racial segregation. The narrative is largely conveyed through fragmented journal entries, allowing readers to witness Rafe's struggles as part of a racially segregated unit, where he and his fellow soldiers are often viewed as expendable. The novel critiques the brutalities of war, including the senseless slaughter of civilians and the neglect of soldiers' safety due to inadequate resources. Hinojosa’s choice of title alludes to a biblical reference, highlighting the irony of minority soldiers who serve under circumstances of racial and social inequity. The story delves into the motivations behind why many from marginalized communities enlist in the military, such as a desire to escape discrimination and the pursuit of better opportunities. Ultimately, the book serves as a poignant commentary on the intersection of race, war, and the often overlooked struggles of those deemed "useless" in the eyes of a dominant social hierarchy.
The Useless Servants by Rolando Hinojosa
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1993
Type of work: Novel
The Work
The Useless Servants draws on Rolando Hinojosa’s experiences during his military service in the Korean War, which also provided much of the substance for Korean Love Songs from Klail City Death Trip, one of his most celebrated works to date. His protagonist, Rafe Buenrostro, whom readers will know from Dear Rafe and other earlier works, reveals the brutality and inhumanity of war through the fragmented journal entries that constitute much of this novel.
Rafe not only faces the normal dangers associated with serving in the military in combat zones but also is forced daily to cope with being part of a racially segregated unit and with the reality that, to many of those who are making decisions that will have a drastic impact on the lives of those serving under them, these segregated soldiers are mere “cannon fodder,” troops whose lives are not as valuable as the lives of those in units comprising largely white Americans. As the war continues, however, Rafe and his segregated buddies eventually are fighting beside their white counterparts.
Rafe witnesses the senseless slaying of thousands of Korean civilians, in violation of the Geneva Conventions, which on the battlefield appear to be ignored at will. He writes of Marines who die needlessly because they are issued outdated survey maps and, following them, walk into ambushes. His comments on the use of napalm and fragmentation bombs give stark forebodings of what lies ahead in the war with Vietnam.
Hinojosa drew the title of this novel from Luke 17:10 in the Bible: “Well, will we then be like the useless servants who did nothing more than that which was commanded of us?” The irony of this choice is inescapable. Hinojosa considers the reasons that larger percentages of members of minority groups volunteer for the military than their white counterparts and the reasons that they do what is commanded of them: a desire to escape from racial discrimination where they live, lack of opportunity, inadequate education, unemployment, a sense if hopelessness about the future. These young African Americans and Hispanics become the useless servants to which Hinojosa refers because their voices are drowned out by the voices of the reigning social hierarchy.
Bibliography
Calderón, Héctor. “On the Uses of Chronicle, Biography, and Sketches in Rolando Hinojosa’s Generaciones y semblanzas.” In The Rolando Hinojosa Reader: Essays Historical and Critical, edited by José David Saldívar. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1985.
Hinojosa, Rolando. “Our Southwest: An Interview with Rolando Hinojosa.” Interview by José David Saldívar. In The Rolando Hinojosa Reader: Essays Critical and Historical, edited by Saldívar. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1985.
Lee, Joyce Glover. Rolando Hinojosa and the American Dream. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 1999.
Saldívar, José David. “Rolando Hinojosa’s Klail City Death Trip: A Critical Introduction.” In The Rolando Hinojosa Reader: Essays Historical and Critical, edited by Saldívar. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1985.
Saldívar, Ramón. “Korean Love Songs: A Border Ballad and Its Heroes.” In The Rolando Hinojosa Reader: Essays Historical and Critical, edited by José David Saldívar. Houston: Arte Público Press, 1985.
Zilles, Klaus. Rolando Hinojosa: Reader’s Guide. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2001.