Inspiration for Full Metal Jacket? (spoilers)
I wonder if the scene where Obara kills himself in the bathroom served any inspiration for Full Metal Jacket, which had a similar character:
1. New recruit
2. Harassed by others for being weak, slow
3. At the end of basic training, decides to kill himself
4. Takes his rifle into the bathroom, aims upwards and shoots
I know that movie was based on the novel The Short-Timers, but in the novel, the incident does not take place in a bathroom, and in fact occurs in front of all the recruits. Also, the Short-Timers novel was written in 1979, well after The Human Condition. So this movie could have also inspired that novel.
Short-Timers online: http://www.gustavhasford.com/timers.htm