Chapter/Story #14: Speaking of Courage

There is definitely some repetition present in this story. Norman Bowker repeatedly drives around the lake and O' Brien repeatedly summarizes the scenery: "the man in the stalled motorboat still fiddled with his engine",  and "the two little boys were still trudging along on their seven-mile hike". I didn't get tired of hearing the same thing and I think it helped emphasize meaning. The repetition makes me think of how Bowker's life has been boring and somewhat stalled which is why he rides around the lake 8 times. It sounded so boring while I was reading it. I know the transition from war to normal life is probably a hard one and one that all soldiers have to get used to. In class today, we talked about how some soldiers can't make that transition and are forced to go back to war, well in their minds. I think it's crazy how you can go into war regretting the decision but when you come back home, you have this strong connection and feel the need to go back. I don't know whether to believe that the platoon was actually in a "shit field". I know I can't imagine actually being in that predicament. The death of Kiowa sounded horrifying and I wonder if Bowker felt any guilt for letting go of his boot. I found it interesting that O' Brien kept on referring to Bowker's words as "he would've said" but I guess that is because he was found dead. Bowker seemed to live a lonely post-war life and I felt bad for him because nobody wanted to listen to his war story that he wanted to tell so bad. I think he jumped in the lake at the end to bring back memories of the "shit field". He probably misses the times of the war but I'm sure he doesn't want to reflect on Kiowa's death. This book presents a whole new outlook on stories for me. I appreciate them more and realize how powerful some of them can be.