Protagonist- "In the interests of truth, however, I want to make it clear that Norman Bowker was in no way responsible for what happened to Kiowa. Norman did not experience a failure of nerve that night. He did not freeze up or lose the Silver Star for valor. That part of the story is my own" (page 154).
At the beginning of the novel, it seemed that Lieutenant Jimmy Cross was going to be the protagonist, but as the novel went on, it became clear that it was Tim O'Brien. He tells stories from his vantage point, but also that of other men he fought with. It seems that his flaw is just being human. He makes mistakes like when he couldn't save Kiowa in the stink field, but he blames himself for these accidents.
If you ask me, I don't believe O'Brien was at fault for Kiowa's death. While he may have been with Kiowa at the time, he couldn't have done anything to save him. Naturally, he blamed himself for this and I believe this is a flaw all humans have. We blame ourselves for things that couldn't have been stopped and the guilt often stays with us. This could be any one's downfall.
Showing posts with label Norman Bowker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Norman Bowker. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Entry #17
'"The thing is,' he wrote 'there's no place to go. Not just in this lousy little town. In general. My life, I mean. It's almost like I got killed over in Nam... Hard to describe. That night when Kiowa got wasted, I sort of sank down into the sewage with him... Feels like I'm still in deep shit'" (page 150)
War is selfish! It takes and steals from everyone who is involved: the men and woman fighting and the countries. And what does it give back? Nothing, except maybe the assurance that your country won, but don't forget about the thousands of men who died for this victory and the thousands more who were killed.
It seems odd to me how war affects everyone differently. For O'Brien, he came back and it was almost like nothing had happened. He went on to grad school at Harvard like he had originally planned and seldom told stories about the war, except through his writing. For Norman Bowker, the war was the end of him. It took parts of him that he never got back. I think that Norman's story seems more realistic than O'Brien's because I couldn't see many people just getting over such a traumatic experience.
War is selfish! It takes and steals from everyone who is involved: the men and woman fighting and the countries. And what does it give back? Nothing, except maybe the assurance that your country won, but don't forget about the thousands of men who died for this victory and the thousands more who were killed.
It seems odd to me how war affects everyone differently. For O'Brien, he came back and it was almost like nothing had happened. He went on to grad school at Harvard like he had originally planned and seldom told stories about the war, except through his writing. For Norman Bowker, the war was the end of him. It took parts of him that he never got back. I think that Norman's story seems more realistic than O'Brien's because I couldn't see many people just getting over such a traumatic experience.
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