# III explained — Disenchantment > Chapter companion for Disenchantment by C. E. Montague. ## What happens The chapter explores the psychological transformation of new recruits, who experience a childlike simplification of life through drill and obedience, finding joy and peace in the removal of adult responsibilities and complex decisions. ## Themes in this chapter ### Simplification vs. Complexity The chapter contrasts the simplified, childlike existence of recruits with the complex burdens of civilian life, suggesting both relief and potential loss. ### Loss of Innocence and Illusion The recruits' initial joy and innocence in military life foreshadows the disillusionment to come. ## Character check-ins ### Unknown Narrator The narrator reflects on the recruits' experience of simplification and childlike joy. ### Einstein Mentioned as a contrast to the simplified life of a Zulu, illustrating the complexity of modern existence. ## Key lines > Their lives had undergone an immense simplification. Of course, an immense simplification of life is not certain to be a wholly good thing. The recruits' lives became much simpler, but this simplification might not be entirely beneficial. _The narrator questions whether the simplification of military life is ultimately good._ > His vow of willing self-enslavement for a season had brought him the peace of the soldier, which passeth understanding as wholly as that of the saint, the blitheness of heart that comes to both with their clarifying, tranquillizing acquiescence in some mystic will outside their own. By willingly submitting to military discipline, the recruit found a profound peace similar to that of a saint, arising from surrendering to an external will. _The narrator compares the soldier's obedience to a spiritual experience._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/disenchantment_se/chapters/iii - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/disenchantment_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/disenchantment_se/chapters