Welp, here it is, folks: my final blog. I've written many blogs during this year, some great and others terrible, but I'm afraid this winding road is finally coming to an end. It's almost funny, too. At the beginning of the year I was completely against writing blogs and wanted them to be over, but now that I've actually made it to the end it is almost upsetting (key word is, "almost"). Anywho, the topic for today is a relatively open one, evaluating two very impactful chapters in
The Things They Carried: "Speaking of Courage" and "Notes." Now without further ado, one last time, let's get into the blog.
Both of the afore-mentioned chapters are quite significant, yet less direct than others that are more straightforward. On the surface, O'Brien is telling us, the readers, about some of Norman Bowker's experiences both in the war and after the war. This, again, is just the surface. The first and most obvious symbol in these chapters is the lake in Bowker's hometown in Iowa. In, "Speaking of Courage," Bowker drives his father's Chevrolet continuously around the lake. While driving, Bowker thinks about his experiences in Vietnam, more specifically, his feeling of guilt and responsibility for his friend Kiowa's death. While moving around the lake,--which represents his own life, still and unmoving--he recalls these tragic events with no one to talk to about them, as no one at home can understand the burdens that Bowker carries with him. Much like the lake, Bowker is static; he is non-moving and all he can do is revolve around it, unable to move forward. Bowker is also able to watch as everyone else around him goes about their normal lives, moving around the lake and leaving the lake at their own will, while he is stuck in limbo with his friend's blood on his hands.
The final connection that O'Brien makes between the lake and Bowker is at the end when Bowker goes for a swim in the water. When Bowker does this, he is trying to relive the event of Kiowa's death. Bowker believes that his lack of bravery is the reason Kiowa died, and him opening his mouth to taste the water is a method of trying to relive the past, as he was also able to taste the waste when under the muck in the shit field that day. O'Brien used this detail to further prove to the reader the immense guilt that Bowker faces, by showing how desperate he is to change the past and save his friend.
The chapter, "Notes," goes hand and hand with "Speaking of Courage." The title itself refers Tim O'Brien's notes as an author, as well as a seventeen-page letter that Bowker had written to O'Brien. In the letter, Bowker says that he is unable to find a use in his life back in the states. This feeling of worthlessness that Bowker experiences is further supported by the previously mentioned symbolism between him and the lake. Bowker's note reveals what he is feeling, while O'Brien's notes as an author reveal that Bowker had later gone on to hang himself with a jump rope in a YMCA.
These two chapters are clearly an attempt by O'Brien to detail the life-ruining effects of those who have fought in the war. O'Brien gives veterans--a group that often goes unheard--a voice and tries his best to make the reader feel the pain and sadness that these men and women face. One point that O'Brien made indirectly is how citizens at home are unable to understand what soldiers have gone through. This is done when O'Brien details the other townspeople going throughout their lives peacefully in the same space as a man who drowns in the cruel memories of war. O'Brien gives a voice to the unheard demographic of disturbed veterans in a world where others are unable to connect with them. Further naivete of the citizens that O'Brien makes is through the character of Bowker's father, who values his son's medals as his only indication of courage. In other words, Bowker returned from the war to people who are unable to connect with him and only view his courage through his awards and not through his actions. This has a terrible impact on Bowker himself, who gets caught up in the fact that he had not received the "Silver Star" medal of courage and doubts his own bravery because of it.
These two chapters combine very nicely to show how the corruption of war had destroyed a once sound man. O'Brien uses both the startling details of his stories as well as the symbolism of the lake to make the reader experience and understand the emotions of a veteran. This was extremely effective for me as it aided me in realizing that we only see the surface of people, we can't see the mental hardships they carry with them. The naivete of the citizens made me realize how easy it is to let someone who is going through severe mental trauma slip under our noses into a worsening condition. And although it had not happened in Vietnam, the emotions this story made me feel make me confidently say that this is a true war story.
Farewell, good friend.
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