Chapter 29

The Prisoners are making their way from Lunghua Camp to Nantao laden with many recreational posessions. The soldiers and NCO's are 'curiously unhurried' and Jim had been unnerved by the 'act of walking without challenge through the gates'. Jim considers ripping up the photo of the unknown couple because he thinks he is about to see his real mother an father. This shows Jim's immaturity because it is still quite unlikely that he is going to ever see his parents again. However Jim still believes he will! As they struggle towards the camp in the humid conditions it is evident that Jim is concirned about Mr Maxteds exhaustion. Therefore Jim decided to drop back in the queue with him. However, in the end Jim is forced to leave him and try to get back to the head of the queue. Jim is worried at the thought of whether the water is safe to drink from the river. He thinks about the many times he boiled the water at Lunghua for Basie. As they wrest, Jim is worried that Mrs phillips has died and goes over to her. He speaks to her and she offers him a fermented potato. Mrs phillips suggests that they are heading up country, this worries Jim because he knows the rations are at Nantao. After wresting on the river banks they are made to get up again by the Japanese and carry on walking. Mrs Phillips is so exhausted and because Jim now thinks they are heading up country, he wonders whether to stay where they are with Mrs phillips. Then just before they set of Mr Maxted goes over to Jim. ' Good boy , Jim We're moving on to Nantao'. Confused Jim knows that it is unlikely that anyone will help the Mrs Phillips leter to get to Nantao. So Jim shuts Mrs phillips out of his mind and decides to head off with everyone to Nantao. Looking back he notices that the other prisoners are so exhausted that they can no longer carry their recreatinal belongings! However for Jim 'after so many years without any belongings he did not intend to discard them now'. Looking back at Mrs Phillips, 'Death, with her mother-of-pear white skin, had almost seduced him with a sweet potato'.