Discuss the style and technique of “The Prussian Officer.”

In the story, D. H. Lawrence uses language and repeated symbols to create a tense atmosphere that matches Schoner’s increasingly dire situation. While the imbalance of power between the sadistic officer and the vulnerable orderly is stressed, the author also creates the impression of suppressed hostility on Schoner’s part. The overtones of sexual desire on the officer’s part that are similarly suppressed likewise contribute to the aura of foreboding: something or someone is going to explode.
The association of wine with blood, as the former is spilled, suggests that blood will be spilled later. Drinking seems to represent sexuality, as the officer’s inability to act on his desire is compared to thirst, while Schoner’s rejection of that desire parallels his attack on the officer’s throat. Throughout the story, each character’s action generates a reaction by the other, suggesting the codependency that is finally played out when both men die together.