Analyze the effects of the war on Norman Bowker.
Examine his thoughts after he returns from the war: what might have been, what he wishes for, and what he finds.
Discuss the medals that Normal received, and analyze why he keeps referring to the medal he did not receive.
Why does Bowker write to O'Brien? What is the effect of this letter on O'Brien?
What happens to Bowker? Why?
The war alienated Norman Bowker. He couldn’t talk about what happened because while there were many people that would listen, none of them would understand. After returning from the war he thinks about what might have been. He thinks about his friend Max, and how if he hadn’t drowned before the war, that maybe they could have talked. He thinks about how Sally Kramer is married now and wishes he could stop over and impress her with how he tells time. He finds though, that there is no one he can talk to. He wishes he could talk to his father about his medals. He received the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart. However, Norman doesn’t believe any these medals are special. He says they were for common valor. He refers multiple times to the Silver Star and how he almost won it. I believe that Norman doesn’t wish that he’d won the medal, but that he wishes he’d done the thing that very well could have won him the medal. He wishes he had saved Kiowa.
ReplyDeleteNorman eventually writes to O’Brien because he still hasn’t been able to talk about what happened. He asks O’Brien if maybe he could write it instead. The letter had a big effect on O’Brien because he never realized how easy it was for him. He could put everything he felt into writing if he couldn’t talk about it, but others still had it all stored up inside of them.
Norman Bowker eventually committed suicide. He didn’t leave a note, and to me that seems to indicate that he still couldn’t talk about the war.
Tim O'Brien describes courage as something that comes and go. O'Brien talks about how a person can be courageous during one moment and then it's gone in another.
ReplyDeleteWhen Norman Bowker came back from the war, he felt isolated. Bowker felt that no one would care about his war stories. Bowker's life was changed, he missed a part of of his life at home while he fought in the war. When he got back his friends were gone and the girl he liked was married. Bowker did receive several medal but he describes them as common medals that he got for doing his daily routine. Bowker keeps on referring to the Silver Star medal he almost won because it was a medal that represented courage. All his other medals he received required little courage. The Silver Star was also a reminder to him of how he let go of Kiowa. The medal he almost won is a reminder to what he believes is a lack of courage on his part.
Eventually Bowker writes to O'Brien saying he read some of O'Brien's books. Bowker mentions to O'Brien that he should write a book about his life after the war.
The narrator describes courage as a matter of endurance. Someone can choose to endure the pain and come out of it a stronger person, or they can just give up altogether. It doesn't always take action to be a courageous person. I define courage as a reckless mindset. To be courageous is to forget one's own well being in order to practice restraint or defiance during a difficult situation.
ReplyDeleteNorman Bowker felt lonely. Although he didn't say so, he must've had survivors guilt. He felt that part of himself was still in Vietnam and that he had no true place in a world full of normalcy. He thinks a lot about his friend that drowned. How his friend, Max, had an open mind and liked to think and talk about philosophy. He also wishes he could talk to his ex girlfriend Sally. Sally is now married, but he would like to impress her with all of his war stories. he talks about war vets who complain about wanting a parade, but in a way he wishes for some form of recognition. Bowker wins many medals, but they are all medals for common valor: recieving an injury, participating in the war, and being a good soldier. He keeps mentioning the silver star, not because he wants it, but if he had gotten it then that meant he had saved Kiowa's life, and that reflects the survivor's guilt again.
Bowker writes to O'Brien because he wants people to know his story in a way that Bowker himself could not express. O'Brien was affected because it surprised him how easily he was able to go back to a normal life, while others still struggled with the horrors they had seen; they were completely unable to find stability in their lives.
Norman Bowker hangs himself at the YMCA, not ten years after he returned from Vietnam. He committed suicide because he was unable to find any meaning or purpose for his life after the war. He was unable to communicate his feelings and memories and he felt that there was no point to his existence.
The author's definition of courage is a very accurate one; one which cold be applied to a variety of situations. The author uses this definition to describe courage as a tenet that comes in and out of view depending on what a certain individual is facing at any given place and time. I find that courage is the ability to stand up for what benefits the most people, regardless of the cost.
ReplyDeleteNorman Bowker was just like many other Vietnam veterans of the time period, he served his patriotic duty and came back to the United States struggling to make the adjustment from a time of war to a time of peace.
Norman Bowker reflects on what his future would have been with Sally Kramer, if she hadn't married. Norman Bowker also wishes that other people would simply listen to his turmoils and understand his struggles that he endured while serving in Vietnam; as a result, he finds that those who hadn't served didn't care about learning the daily struggles of war veterans.
Norman Bowker received medals for common valor; receiving an injury, participating in the war, and being a good soldier. He also struggles with his loss at receiving the Silver Star because he would have received it for saving Kiowa's life.
Bowker wrote to O'Brien to release his innermost feelings because he could not talk about his struggles with anyone around him. O'Brien finds this letter deeply poignant and uses it as a source of inspiration for his works. In the end, Norman Bowker was unable to successfully make the transition from solider to civilian becase he was unable to find any meaning, use or purpose for his life and he committed suicide in the locker room of a central Iowa YMCA by hanging himself off of a water pipe using a jump rope.
The narrator describes courage in a way that portrays it as almost an obligation or something that you are pressured into. Many times when he relays stories it is mentioned that people do things because they are afraid of not doing it (when the narrator went off to war, or when Jimmy Cross signed up for Officer training). Personally, I would define courage as doing something even when it’s not the popular choice, almost the exact opposite of how O’Brien describes it. Norman came back from the war to find his life back home pointless. After seeing all of the death and destruction the small lake town seems very uninspiring. Throughout this chapter, Bowker never really gets emotional, neither happy nor sad, he is just there circling the lake, to me, it seemed like all of his emotion was used up during the war. Norman Bowker often dwells in the past and what might have been. He spends a lot of his time thinking out theoretical scenarios, like what Max would say in a conversation or how Sally would think his stories too vulgar. Along with the theoretical situations, he also dedicates a lot of his time thinking about the lives of others, Sally Gustafson’s pretty blue house, the boys walking around the lake, and the mindless activities of the whole town. He believes that no one will understand his stories from the war. That no one can sympathize with him, but I don’t think that is true. Never does Norman actually tell his stories, he just runs them through his head, he considers tell his father, Sally, and even the guy from the A&W, but he doesn’t give them a chance. Norman won a considerable amount of medals in the war, for reasons that he considers common valor, whether or not they were won for honorable feats or not, we know one thing for certain, compared to the Silver Star, they are pointless. Often, Bowker refers to this medal not because he desires it, but because he desires the act of courage that would have earned it, the only act that really counted, saving Kiowa’s life. Bowker writes to O’Brien because he feels quite alone back in his hometown, unable to connect with civilian life because he cannot find a job to spend his time usefully. Compared to active duty, the jobs he acquires are all trivial and there are no real consequences, no one dies if you don’t follow through. He writes to O’Brien because he needs to know that someone understands. This affects O’Brien because he had no trouble shifting back into his old life, and perhaps feels a little bit guilty for it and his ability to talk –write- about the war without problem. In of the chapter “Notes” we learn that Bowker is dead because he commits suicide. The reason is because he never found another way to live his life with meaning.
ReplyDeleteCourage is having the ability to say what no one else wants to hear or say. Norman Bowker lacked it at this moment, for he could not bring himself to talk about what he saw and felt in Vietnam. During the war however, he risked his life, which takes a ton of courage. ‘Courage’ has a constantly changing definition and varies from person to person. A mathematician would have no worries taking a huge math exam, but may not have the guts to go play a game of professional football in front of thousands of people. However, a football player may have the exact opposite feelings as the mathematician, preferring to play than taking the exam.
ReplyDeleteNorman Bowker was deeply affected by the war. He won many medals, including the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. However, he is at a loss with himself. He has no wife or sweetheart to come back to, no job, and no hopes. Every day he thinks about his experiences and the needs to tell someone boils inside of him. Yet he keeps his mouth shut. He focuses on his failures, rather than his successes and it keeps eating away inside of him. Bowker wrote to O’Brien for relief, he wanted someone to tell his story for him so that the feeling would go away. Still, this doesn’t help and finally, Bowker kills himself.
O’Brien realizes that he was lucky to have an outlet through writing out his war stresses, whereas people like Bowker did not. He decided to tell the full story in the novel, hoping that it would let Bowker rest in peace.
In the novel “The Things They Carried”, the author defines courage as the ability to withstand all of the little things, like loneliness. I define courage as having the strength to follow one’s heart and morals despite the views of society. The war was hard on Norman Bowker and he blames himself for the death of his dear friend Kiowa. When he returns from the war he struggles with the fact that he has so many stories to share and no one to share them with. He wishes he could go back and save his friend even though he knows deep in his heart he knows there was not much he could have done. Though he received seven medals for his war efforts, he still does not think he is a worthy soldier. He dwells on the medals he could have received, the chances he could have taken. He writes to O’Brien asking him to tell his story and O’Brien follows his request. Later, Bowker commits suicide because the memories of the war and the burden of feeling responsible for Kiowa’s death were too much for him.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator in "Speaking of Courage" defines courage as what different people can handle at a given time. I agree with that statement completely. The war made Norman Bowker feel alone. He had a hard time dealing with the fact that he blames himself for his friend Kiowa's death. When he returns from the war he imagines telling his father about how he didn't act with as much courage as he would have liked to during Kiowa's death. Bowker ends up writing a letter to O'Brien telling him the story he could never tell anyone else. He feels that even though he has eleven medals from the war, he still doesn't feel as though he was a worthy solider because of what happened with Kiowa. Eventually, Norman Bowker commits suicide because the pain was too much for him.
ReplyDeleteAll my life, I had defined courage as doing what you know is right, despite your fear of disapproval. In "Speaking of Courage", Tim O'Brien defines it as being able to withstand all the tough times, despite how much you truly want to give in to your exhaustion. Now, I see that courage is being strong when all you honestly want to be is weak, holding on even when you know that it would be so much easier to just let go. In Norman Bowker's mind, though he won seven different awards, he was never really courageous. He didn't hold on when he should have; he gave in, he let go. And, because of that, Kiowa is dead. Because he wasn't courageous enough, not strong enough. His friend needed him and he wasn't strong enough.
ReplyDeleteAfter the war, Bowker felt isolated. Sure, there were plenty of people to talk to, but how many of them would understand how he felt? Max Arnold would understand, but he was gone, long dead. He'd drowned in the very lake that Norman Bowker was circling in his truck. He could talk to his old girlfriend, Sally Kramer, but she was a married woman now. Sally Gustafson. She wouldn't care for Bowker's tales anyhow. They were too gruesome, and much too sad. So what could he tell them about? His other seven awards? The one he didn't have? How he almost had enough courage to save a man's life? How he hadn't?
The Silver Star keeps playing itself in Bowker's mind, plaguing him with terrible reminders of what he could have done. If the memory pains him so badly, why would he want to inflict it on another person, especially one kind enough to want to hear it. So he keeps his story to himself. Besides, when people hear a war story, they want it to end with: "And that night we celebrated a great victory!" Not with: "I could have, but I didn't."
In "Speaking of Courage," the narrator defines courage as the ability to withstand the hard times, even if you want to give up. I feel the exact same way. The war had a lasting affect on Norman Bowker. When Bowker came home, he could not stop thinking about one particular event that happened to him. He kept thinking about how he wanted to tell someone about, but he never built up the courage to do so. He also didn't have the courage to hold on to Kiowa when Kiowa needed him the most. He gave in, and let go of Kiowa's boot, and Kiowa died because of that. He keeps referring to the Silver Star, that he could have won for valor. For saving Kiowa's life. it was the one that slipped away because he was not courageous enough to hold on to Kiowa's boot and save him. Bowker decide to write to O'Brien because he has not yet been able to tell anybody about what had happened, and he wanted O'Brien to write about it. Bowker ends up commiting suicide eight months later. He did so because he couldn't find a place in life after the war. He had many jobs, none of which lasted for more that ten weeks. He didn't write a suicide note because he didn't want to bother anyone.
ReplyDeleteTim O’Brien defines courage as facing your fears something you are truly afraid of and being successful. Courage to me is also facing your fears even though it doesn't always work out.When Norman Bowker got back home from Vietnam he realized the world didn't stop just for him people moved on with their lives and didn't even realized he left because they basically forgot about the war. On the Fourth of July he borrowed his dad chevy and is driving around and around the town wallowing in his own mind. He make different scenarios in his head of what it would be like if he told his war stories to his dad, best friend that drowned, and his high school ex-girlfriend that got married. He imagined what they would say, how they would react and such. He goes over how he would tell his father how he almost won the Silver Star, tell him about Kiowa's Death and the sewage field. The medals he received are what people call common medals. The Silver Star he keeps talking about and how he almost received it because it stands for courage and is the third highest rank medals in the United States Armed Forces. Bowker writes to O’Brien because he know he already wrote a book about the war and he thought he should write about what Vietnam took from him. He wrote 17 page letter to him about what his life was like after the war, how he struggles to be a civilian again and how he was lost for words on how to describe it. Norman Bowker committed suicide three years later in the YMCA locker rooms with a jumping rope after sending O’Brien the letter because he had a hard time adjusting from being a soldier to a civilian.
ReplyDeleteI believe there are many different types of courage. It's different for every situation. For example it takes courage to do the opposite of what everyone expects of you and do what you want to do and you accept the consequences. I don't believe O'Brien had this courage. He was more afraid of what everyone thought of him if he skipped off to Canada. He knows he truly wanted to leave, he was not a man for war.
ReplyDeleteThe effects of the war on Norman Bowker were not uncommon among war vets. He definitely struggled from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He had no idea what to do after the war. He couldn't find meaning for his life after. Bowker felt like he had nothing to live for after the fact. Most likely because he was finished with the war and in some sense was just purely bored. It was a hard transition from all of the action to a peaceful lake and a small town with little to no action at all. His regular life was incomparable to the excitement and movement of his service in Vietnam. When he was driving around aimlessly in his father's chevy he was thinking to himself about all of the things that could've happened. If he could've saved Kiowa from sinking in the muck. He probably would've gotten the Silver Star for his triumph, but he doesn't even realize if he had pulled Kiowa out from his boot, he still would've been dead. He felt it deep inside that there was nothing he could've done but he still feels the guilt. The Silver Star is so important to him because it isn't just a medal, it's a medal that has meaning behind it. Unlike the rest which are common medals that anyone can receive. The other seven didn't matter to him. Bowker tries to make it look like he wrote a letter to O'Brien because he wants him to write a story about Bowker's experiences and put his thoughts on paper the right way so people would understand. But the real reason is so that he had someone to talk to about it. When he was writing the letter he was actually figuring out his own thoughts and trying to convey them and put his thoughts and ideas out there for someone to understand. He knew that O'Brien would understand. Shortly after he wrote the letter, he committed suicide at the YMCA. No note, and in a place where he wouldn't bother anybody because that's just how he is. It's hard to transition from his experiences in the Vietnam War to his simple life in Iowa. He had no idea what to do with his life or put any more meaning into hit. So he decided to give up.
O’Brien defines courage as doing all the things deep down you resent doing. For example, when he said, “Sometimes the bravest thing on earth was to sit through the night and feel the cold in your bones. Courage was not always a matter of yes or no." sitting through the cold is something no one would ever gladly do, we hate it. It takes courage to bear the bone chilling nights. I feel that humanity often loses touch with the difference between common courage and true courage. Common courage is enduring the things that everyone would see as tough. Mr. Norman Bowker had this kind of courage; He went to war, fought off the bad guys, dealt with the terrain, the weather and the wildlife, the whole nine yards. True courage is personalized; true courage is something Norman Bowker lacked. True courage is doing something that only your soul hates. For instance Norman resented their position in that poop field on the river so much that he lacked the courage it would have taken him to pull his best friend up from the horrible stench and filth. He just couldn’t bring himself to do it even though Kiowa was the best friend he’d ever had. Norman’s lack of true courage is what made him regret going to war and losing all the things he could have had when he came home; his best friend, the Silver Star and true courage. Norman’s medals he did win were for common courage and that’s why they meant nothing to him. After the war he dwelled on the death of his friend, and the absence of his real medal, Kiowa. He dwelled on it so much that he even lacked the courage to forgive himself for what happened in the past, which eventually led Norman Bowker to take his own life.
ReplyDeleteCourage is not always doing the bravest thing. It’s not always saving someone else’s hide. Courage is not black and white, sometimes there’s a gray area where people question their actions. Sometimes taking no action at all is the most courageous thing to do. Sometimes sitting through a night in the cold was brave. It’s a gray area. I think that’s how the narrarator defines it and that’s how I define it. While risking your neck for someone or something is brave, sometimes it’s smaller things that are what can define it.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator defines courage by being very fickle. As he said, it can’t be described as yes and no. He says sometimes some people are courageous, and sometimes they’re not. I believe courage is bravery. When a person does something that maybe he/she is afraid to do, but they still do it for the common good of somebody or something else, that person is courageous. The war made changed Norman’s life forever. When he came back from the war, he knew he had people that he could talk to about it. He made a list in his head. But he didn’t talk to any of them. He didn’t think they would understand. When he comes back, he finds that Sally Kramer is married. He wishes he could go to her house and talk to her. Maybe tell her some things he learned at war and about some of the awards he won. But he doesn’t. Norman received the Combat Infrantryman’s Badge, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Metal, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart. He keeps referring to the metal he did not receive, the Silver Star, because he wishes he had won it. He was very close to receiving the Silver Star when he was close to rescuing his friend, Kiowa. He keeps thinking about the Silver Star because he feels guilty. He feels guilty that he did not save his friend. Bowker writes to O’Brien to tell him that his life just doesn’t feel meaningful. He feels like he has nothing to do with his life after the war. He is living with his parents and tried to go to college, but dropped out. Bowker’s letter made O’Brien remember tons of terrible memories about the war. It haunted him. Bowker hanged himself. He did not feel that he had any purpose here on Earth. I guess he just didn’t feel important enough to live life anymore, so he took his own life.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator defines courage as the ability to act or not act when a situation is difficult. I agree with what the narrator says about courage. When Norman Bowker returned from the war he didn’t know what to do with his life. He thinks about his friend Max and how he would have been a good friend to talk to if he hadn’t drowned in the lake. He wishes he could stop and talk to Sally and tell her a few things he learned during the war. He finds that it’s hard to find someone that will listen to his war stories because he didn’t want to bother anybody. Norman received the medals that were for common valor. He describes these medals as something you get for routine daily stuff. Norman did not receive the Silver Star medal. He imagines what it would be like talking to his father about almost winning the medal. He would say that he could have saved Kiowa but he couldn’t stand the stink any longer. He would say that if the smell wasn’t there he could have saved Kiowa and won the Silver Star. Bowker writes to O’Brien because he can’t find the right words to say himself. In his letter Bowker tells O’Brien that he can use what he wrote to tell a story. The letter made O’Brien realize how easily he went from war to peace. Later Norman Bowker hanged himself in a locker room at the YMCA because he couldn’t talk to anyone about the war and had a problem finding something to do after the war.
ReplyDeleteTim O’Brien describes courage as something that grows over a period of time. It is constantly growing throughout someone’s life. If I had to describe courage, I would say it is something that someone needs in a situation that may frighten them, whether it be the possible outcome or how it will affect others. The war was not kind to Bowker, he may have won seven medals in an attempt to please his father, but he let Kiowa die when Bowker tried to save him from the muck. Bowker won seven medals that included the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, and the Air Medal. He would have won the Silver Star if he had saved Kiowa but he didn’t have the courage to hold on, so he saved himself instead. Now he feels guilty because Kiowa is dead and he was trying to save him but let him die. Bowker writes a seventeen page letter to O’Brien talking about how Vietnam took away his will to live. Bowker wanted O’Brien to write down the story about the death of Kiowa because he couldn’t write it himself. It was called “Speaking of Courage”, but Bowker was upset at the absence of Kiowa’s death and eight months later Norman Bowker hung himself at the YMCA. He had simply lost the will to live anymore, so he took his life.
ReplyDeleteCourage to me has always been when a person overlooks the dangers of a situation and does what is in the best interest of another person. Courage does not always have to be a physical act but it could be just saying something that others do not want to hear but need to. The narrator portrays courage as an act of endurance and just living with the pain that comes and goes through out one’s life.
ReplyDeleteLike many other war veterans Norman Bowker enters the war and serves his country. After the war he returns home and has a hard time adjusting back to normal life. He is no longer able to obtain a peace of mind which leads him to his death.
When Norman Bowker returns home he wishes he could go back to the days before the war. He drives around the pond multiple times reflecting on his life before the war and what he wishes he could have now that he has returned home. He play situation through his head of him being married to the lovely Sally Kramer, and begin able to tell the tales of war to the people of the community.
From the war Norman Bowker received medals for common valor because he had received an injury, participated in the war, and for always being a good solider when times were tough. Although he had received the common valor medal he often thinks about not getting the Silver Star that he would have received for saving Kiowa’s life.
Norman eventually writes to O’Brien about what had happened while he was in war, because he is still unable to open up to the people around him. The note has a great effect on O’Brien because he did not realize how easy it was form him to go back to a normal life and how much he took that for granted.
Not begin able to find steady ground and return back to a normal peaceful life Norman Bowker commits suicide in a YMCA locker room by hanging himself from a water pipe with a jump rope.
When I hear the word courage, I think of the way a person reacts in a certain type of situation. Norman Bowker was a normal guy who just wanted to serve his country. But, when he returns home from the war, he has a rough time getting used to living a normal life again. He constantly wishes he could go back to the days before he enlisted in the war. He wished that he could have married the woman he loved and could have spent his life with her. Norman Bowker received many medals but the medals meant nothing to him because he did not care. Not being able to adjust back to normal life back in the United States caused him to be so depressed that he wanted to end his life. He did it by hanging himself in the YMCA locker room by a jump rope.
ReplyDeleteCourage to me is doing something that is hard to do. It doesn’t have to be superhero courage; it could be persevering through a tough situation, like in “Speaking of Courage”. Norman Bowker was a normal guy before the war, hanging out with friends and his girlfriend. Once he came back, Norman wasn’t sure how to act or what to do. No one would understand what he’s trying to say. Norman can’t even find the words to say, and he feels like he died that night with Kiowa. He might’ve talked to Max Arnold, his friend, but he drowned when they were in high school. He wants to talk to his old girlfriend, Sally Kramer—now Gustafson—but she was married and he didn’t have anything to say. He wants to talk to his father, but his father loves baseball so he doesn’t. Norman says he would have told his father all the medals he did win: the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart. Although Norman is proud of the medals, he thinks they are all for common valor. He would’ve talked about almost winning the Silver Star, and why he didn’t. Norman keeps mentioning it because that was the medal that really meant something, that he had courage and saved Kiowa. He writes to O’Brien because he needs O’Brien to find the words he can’t, he needs to talk about that night. O’Brien was haunted by Norman’s words, how he felt so despairing and desperate about writing the story. Norman Bowker hanged him in the YMCA locker room with a jump rope because he didn’t want to bother anyone. He was just alive, breathing and moving around everyday but he didn't feel like he was really living his life. To Norman, his life ended back in that field with Kiowa, but he didn't know how to say it.
ReplyDeleteIn “Speaking of Courage” the narrator defines courage as facing your fears. Yes, sitting through the night alone, feeling the cold in your bones during a war is frightening, but you face your fears and do it anyway. I have the same definition of courage as the narrator. I believe it can be defined as pushing yourself to the limit and doing what you are afraid to do. In my opinion, every individual can express being courageous in their own unique way, it is not plain black and white but sort of grey.
ReplyDeleteThe war had many negative effects on Norman Bowker. When Norman returned home, he felt detached from society. He had no place in particular to go so he circles around the lake in his Chevy, thinking about what might have been. He thought about Sally Kramer and how her name was now Sally Gustafson. He wanted to show Sally how he learned to tell time in the war without a watch, but he decided against the idea. Norman figured he would have nothing else to say to her and she wouldn’t be interested in hearing about his war stories. While at war, Norman received seven medals, all of which were described as common medals awarded for daily routine things. None of the earned medals were for uncommon valor. Norman keeps referring to the Silver Star because he almost earned the prestigious medal, but could not quite save his friend Kiowa. He was angry at himself for not being able to withstand the smell of the field.
Bowker writes to O’Brien because he was having a problem of finding a meaningful use for his life after war. He feels like he got killed over in Nam. Norman feels like he sank down into the sewage with Kiowa. Norman put these feelings in a letter and sent it to O’Brien. The letter hit O’Brien hard. It had this effect on him because O’Brien easily made the shift from war, to peace. He also talked about the war through his writing which Norman couldn’t do. Because of Norman’s secluded nature after the war, he hung himself in the locker room of a YMCA. He didn’t know what else to do. He wanted to talk about the war but couldn’t. It felt impossible for Norman to transform from a war soldier in Vietnam to a common civilian living in Iowa, so he took the pain away from himself with a jump rope and a water pipe.
The narrator defines courage as being able to cope with difficult tasks day in and day out. I define courage as doing what needs to be done in the face of adversity. Even though Norman Bowker received lots of war medals, he couldn't forgive himself for the medal he didn't receive, the Silver Star. Norman would've won the Silver Star if he saved his friend Kiowa from the waste field, but he let go of his boot. After the war Norman blamed the death of Kiowa on himself, he felt alone, and wanted someone to understand him. Norman writes to O'Brien because he feels like he died in Vietnam. This makes O'Brien feel lucky that he was able to switch from soldier to civilian easily. Norman Bowker ends up committing suicide because he couldn't find anything meaningful in life.
ReplyDeleteMy definition of courage is having the strength to do something that may result in pain, difficulty or the unknown. When Norman Bowker returns from the war he alienates himself from everyone and spends his time thinking about what might have been, if he would’ve had more courage. He feels like he has no duty or purpose when he returns home, everything seemed too distant and like it had nothing at stake like the war. He says he feels like the war killed him. He wishes his friend Max was still alive who love to philosophize ideas and would’ve loved listening to his stories. Norman wants to talk to his ex-girlfriend Sally, but she is married and he can’t think of anything he would like to say if he got the chance. Sharing the story of the medal he did not receive is something that really troubles him. He wants to tell it but he knows that no one would understand unless they were there, in the war, fighting alongside him. He keeps referring to this and not the other seven medals he earned because for those ones, he used common bravery that could be found in any soldier. But the Silver Star medal he almost earned he had to have an uncommon amount of bravery and courage, in which he had the chance and messed it up.
ReplyDeleteTim O'Brien defines courage as doing withstanding through fear or danger. I personally define courage going through with something that you do not necessarily want to do. The war weighed heavily on Norman mentally. He felt different and like he was trapped inside himself because he couldn't tell anybody about what had happened. When Norman returned from the war he found that he didn't care for the things he did do, but he found himself deeply regretting the things he did not do. Norman received many medals that were not given for uncommon valor, such as the Purple Heart or Vietnam Campaign Medal. He keeps referring to the medal that he did not receive because they would have given it to him for saving Kiowa, which had a great impact on him. Norman writes to O'Brien because he feels the need to tell his thoughts to someone. Norman's letter hit O'Brien hard, he realized that his writing had been his form of therapy and that Norman had no such therapy. Later Norman hung himself in the YMCA because he felt like "there's no place to go(150)."
ReplyDeleteThe narrator defines courage as doing something unpleasant, but for the right reasons. I would define it the same way. No one wants to freeze during the night and just sit there, but they were in the war defending their country and it had to be done.
ReplyDeleteThe war changed Norman Bowker. He could no longer connect with others. He would think about talking to someone, but would then dismiss it because they would not understand. He wondered how different it would be if he could talk to his friend Max, or if he had saved Kiowa and gotten that Silver Star for valor. He wishes he could go over and impress Sally with his time-telling and medals, and maybe tell her the story even though he knew she would squirm at the details. He finds that he has a lot to say but no one to say it to. His father, “who had his own war” (141) preferred the silence, his friend Max was dead, and Sally was with another man and would not understand the war.
Norman received 7 medals for what he calls “common valor.” Throughout the story he gives reasons why they do not matter. He simply got them for being a soldier, nothing more. He refers to the Silver Star medal because it was the one that meant most to him. That is the medal that means he saved his friend. Since he does not have it he feels like he isn't important. Norman wants the bravery that he did not have.
Bowker wrote to O’Brien to get the story off his chest somehow. Not being able to talk to someone was hurting him so he thought writing it out would be better. After reading the letter, O’Brien realizes that he was truly lucky. He did not have the night terrors or dangerous thoughts that others did because he always had an outlet. Norman ended up hanging himself in a locker room at the YMCA. He left no note and his mother said that he probably didn't want to trouble anyone but I believe he did not leave a message because he still thought no one would understand.
The narrator defines courage as continuing to endure things that push you past your limits. It doesn't always have to be a big, heroic situation where courage can be shown. Sometimes being courageous is putting yourself through every day tasks of the war. He says "The difference between courage and cowardice was something small and stupid" (141). I would define courage similarly, because I think it takes courage to face things that put you out of your comfort zone, or problems that you face in every day life.
ReplyDeleteNorman Bowker was severely changed by the war. He trapped himself inside of his mind and couldn't find a way out. He knew what he wanted to say to people, but didn't know what he wanted to convey. There was no longer a point to living, talking, succeeding. He felt worthless and figured no one cared or understood how he felt. He had left the war in Vietnam but was constantly fighting a war within himself. When Norman Bowker returns, he wishes things were different. What might have happened if his friend Max hadn't of died, what Max would have said if he were alive and listening to his stories. Norman wishes his dad would ask him questions about the war and show compassion for his son. He dreams that maybe Sally Kramer would be with him, instead of married.
Norman received 7 medals during his time in the war. The Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart. However, Norman feels that all of these awards are nothing special. He didn't do anything uncommon to receive them. He keeps referring to the medal he almost received, the Silver Star, because it would have made him feel accomplished. Like he had done something out of the ordinary that made him special. He wanted his family to be proud of him for having such a rare achievement.
Norman Bowker writes to O'Brien because he wants Tim to write a story about him. In a way, he uses this suggestion as a way to relieve some of his feelings. He vents to O'Brien but doesn't exactly know how to put it into meaningful words, good enough for a story, so he asks O'Brien to do his story justice and write it for him. O'Brien was hit hard by the letter. He felt guilty for being able to shift back from war to peace so easily. The war did not consume his every day function. The letter haunted O'Brien until he had to write a story about it.
Norman Bowker ended up hanging himself in 1978 in a YMCA locker room. He had been playing basketball with his friends and was found hanging by a jump rope from a water pipe. He left no note or message because he didn't want to bother anyone.
The narrator describes courage as more of a mind over matter thing. Even though in reality, some situations were not a bad as others it was possible to believe they were worse. This would cause anyone's courage to diminish. After the war Norman seemed to feel isolated. He would make up many conversations in his head that he intended to have but he would always convince himself that he couldn't talk about it. He thought nobody would care enough. Norman thinks about Sally Kramer and his friend Max a lot he often wishes that Max was still alive and that Sally wasn't married. I think he finds that the town, in general is the same as before but the things that mattered to him aren't the same. He realizes there isn't much left for him here anymore. The medals that Norman does receive are for the common work that soldiers do. He also has a Purple Heart medal but he doesn't value it very much. He keeps bringing up the Silver Star not just because it is special and something he wanted to have but him not getting it means he let Kiowa go. His guilt makes him continue to think about it. Norman writes to O'Brien because he is hoping that O'Brien can express what he is unable to and somehow it could help him. Normans letter makes O'Brien realize that he has really had it easy transitioning back to normal life and it makes him feel a little guilty. Several months later Norman hangs himself at the YMCA. He does this because he can't find a purpose to give to his life no matter how hard he tries, he feels like he was killed in the war with Kiowa.
ReplyDeleteTim O'Brien measures courage on someones ability to handle certain situations, sort of like their breaking point. How much can someone handle before they can't take it any longer? How far can you push someone? How far are they willing to go? My version of courage is a lot simpler. I think trying new things is courageous, even if it's something easy. Courage means many things but i especially think it means overcoming self-fear and discovering how far you can motivate yourself. The most important aspect on courage is that you have to believe in yourself or no one else will either. When Norman Bowker returned home from war, the only word that could describe him is confused. War changed him, not for the good but for the worst. He lost the courage to stop living. He felt like he was unimportant, useless, and basically nothing. He especially shows no courage when he was trying to rescue Kiowa from the sewage pit, he put himself before his dying friend and that's a contributing factor towards his suicide. Norman lived a life lacking courage and the only way he could think of to make it up to his friend Kiowa, was to join him. When Norman returns home he wishes that he had someplace to go, someone to talk to, and someone to love. He wants to talk to his old girlfriend, Sally Kramer, but she's married. He want's to talk to his old friend, Max Arnold, but he drowned in a lake. But most importantly Norman wanted to bring home the Silver Star to make his father proud of him for his accomplishments in The United States Army. Norman received the Combat Infrantryman’s Badge, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Metal, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart. Even though he managed to achieve all of those medals, he still feels guilty about not saving Kiowa. O'Brien eventually has to share his feeling with the only person who will understand them, O'Brien. When O'Brien reads the letter he immediately feels sad and guilty.He didn't realize Normal was having such a hard time adjusting back to civilized life in America and he wished he could help. Some time later, Norman commits suicide at the local YMCA because he finally decided it was time to see his old friend Kiowa because there was no point in being on Earth any longer.
ReplyDeleteIn “Speaking of Courage,” the narrator defines courage as enduring even when a situation seems impossible. My opinion of courage is this and doing what is good or right even when a good outcome seems entirely impossible. When Norman Bowker let Kiowa sink away into the mud, he did not withstand even when it seemed that he could not pull him out took a big toll on him. He lives constantly with guilt that he wishes will one day disappear. Because the past does not go away, neither do these feelings and Norman finds that living with the guilt never gets better and he cannot stand it. I believe that’s why he keeps bringing up the Silver Star. He can’t stand the people who show too much sympathy towards him and do not understand in the least bit what he went through going to war. This is why he writes to O’Brien. Bowker didn’t know how to feel about everything and he needed a reassurance he could not receive and hope for a change of emotions that never happen. O’Brien comes to grips with the fact that he shifted from war to peace so easily and he never had flashbacks or nightmares. Telling stories helped him face the facts of war without the pain that his friend felt. Bowker could not do a thing about his feelings. His silence kept his emotions all bottled up inside and he tried to take himself to a place of peace which is why he hanged himself.
ReplyDeleteBowker felt alone when he came back from the war. He felt like he couldn't really talk to anybody about it. He feels alone also because his ex girlfriend, Sally, is now married. Bowker received medals for being injured, being in the war, and being a good soldier. Eventually, Bowker commits suicide. He couldn't talk about his feelings to anyone. He felt his life had no purpose and he was useless in general.
ReplyDeleteThe narrator describes courage as something that fluctuates from time to time because he used temperature as an example and we all know that temperature never remains the same it is always changing. I would agree with the way the narrator defines courage because sometimes a person may be more inclined to do something and other times be nervous or a coward about doing something else. You never know what you will get. As I read this chapter about Norman Bowker I couldn't help, but feel sorry for the guy. His case was so sad and felt quite typical for a man with survivor’s guilt. He constantly thought about how he should have not worried about the smell and just saved Kiowa. Norman was being consumed by these thoughts and couldn't think of anything else and move on. To make matters worse when he returns from Vietnam he finds that his high school girlfriend is married and doing well along with his father who doesn't seem to want to talk at all and he has come to the realization that his best friend Max won’t be there to talk to ever again. Norman received 6 medals that anyone would be proud to have but, the Silver Star was the one that he did not receive that haunts him until the day of his death. He refers to this medal quite often because he knows he could have done more to get that medal and getting that medal would mean that he saved his buddy, but instead he feels like he let him down and can’t let it go.
ReplyDeleteBowker writes to O'Brien because he wants people to know his story even if he can’t tell it because he believes it is important to show people how messed up someone get when they are in the combat zone. After O'Brien reads this his eyes are opened a little bit and he realizes that he got the out of Vietnam a bit easier than other men that went over there and he feels lucky and sad for those men. O'Brien initially writes the story and it doesn't seem to fit so he just puts what Norman wrote and it seemed to fit better. Three years after “Speaking of Courage” was written Norman Bowker hung himself at the YMCA that he went and played basketball every day. Norman couldn't handle the pressure of being a survivor and he had no way to escape his own mind because he couldn't/ wouldn't talk to anyone and eventually that all caught up with him.
In "Speaking of Courage," the narrator of the story defined courage as being strong enough to do something, even while not knowing what it might mean or bring. When Kiowa was sinking into the sewage pit fighting for his life, Norman Bowker was the one who tried to save him. But sadly, Bowkers selfish thoughts had put himself first and he lets Kiowa die. After the war, that inescapable memory haunts him with guilt and remorse for what he had let himself do. When Norman comes home he had been deeply changed by the war in the worst of ways. When he first got back he had tried to reconnect with people in his life and find someone to understand him and love him. He tried talking to his ex-girlfriend, Sally Kramer, but she was already a married woman. Then he wanted to talk to his old friend, Max Arnold, but he was already dead from drowning in a lake. Norman had won a bunch of war medals during Vietnam like the Combat Infrantryman’s Badge, the Air Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Metal, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart but he still felt guilty about not being able to win the silver star and make his father proud. Norman decided to write a letter to Tim O'Brien expressing to him how he felt so useless and insignificant anymore that he had lost the will to keep on living. Three years later, Norman hangs himself at the YMCA because he could not handle the guilt any longer.
ReplyDeleteTo Tim O'Brien, courage is like the wind. It comes and it goes, it never stays. To me, courage is something deep down inside of you. I believe all of us have some courage in our hearts, it just takes the right buttons to be pushed for it to come out. Some easier than others. Now is there a special type of courage that only a few of us have? Yes, I believe that. Maybe not all of us are willing to jump on a grenade to save our friends but we've all had to speak to someone that we had no idea who they were. That's courage, as small as it is, it is going out of the comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteAfter the war, Norman Bowker is alone. He cannot talk about his experiences in Vietnam, and even if he did no one would understand. He finds out the only few people he could trust were his ex girlfriend Sally Kramer and his old friend Max Arnold. Sally was married and Max drowned in a lake, so there was really no one else to talk to. The Medals he earned mean nothing to him, and I imagine that he still feels guilt for Kiowa's death even though he was the only one who tried to save him. Norman was probably tortured in his own mind for the last few years of his life because of the guilt and the loneliness he feels. With all the thoughts bottled up in his head and no where else to go, he decides to write a letter to O'Brien explaining he had no will to live anymore. Eventually Bowker hangs himself to escape these thoughts and the loneliness, which is very sad because no matter who he talked to, no one could ever understand him.
Courage to me is doing something that will make you get out of your comfort zone. The war pretty much ruined Norman Bowkers life. Norman was like any other young adult going to war, inexperienced and scared. He had an opportunity to save one of his friends, Kiowa, during the war. Kiowa was injured and falling under the mud and norman had his hand and let it go and watched him die. The guilt changed Norman. When Norman returned home he just drove around. He saw his ex-girlfriend and thought he could have married her if he didn't go to war. He saw how boring the town he lived in was. He wished he could talk to someone that would understand him but no one did. Norman received many awards for just going to Vietnam but he kept his mind on the one he almost received, the Silver Star. If he would have saved Kiowa he would of received the medal but he didn't. The guilt from not saving Kiowa ate away at him. Norman wrote to O'Brien because he wanted O'Brien to write about it and share it with the world. He wanted people to know how he felt. O'Brien didn't want to write about all the badness in the beginning and Norman didn't like that. Norman hung himself 3 years after O'Brien received his letter. He couldn't deal with the guilt of letting Kiowa die and he couldn't get back to the real world, he was still in the war world.
ReplyDeleteBy the quote “Sometimes the bravest thing on earth was to sit through the night and feel the cold in your bones. Courage was not always a matter of yes or no,” I take it as the narrator defining courage as little acts of bravery while I define courage as a huge act of heroism. The war took a big toll on Norman Bowker’s mental health. I believe he suffered from survivor’s guilt because he would never forgive himself for letting go of Kiowa’s boot and he kept replaying the situation over and over again. I also feel that even before the war, Bowker felt some guilt after his friend, Max Arnold, drowned in the lake he grew up around as a kid. Arnold wasn’t even given the chance to go to war and I think he feels as if he is to blame for some of it. After the war is over, Bowker heads back to that same lake, drives around in circles, and ponders on what could have been. Max Arnold would still be alive and Sally, his high school crush, would not be married. Also, his father wouldn’t have been such a baseball fanatic. He wishes that he could have been easily able to go up to both Sally and his father. He wishes that they would have found great joy in his return and he eager to hear all about his stories. However, driving around the lake, he finds that those people really did not give him a second thought after he was sent home.
ReplyDeleteIn the war, Bowker received the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Air Metal, the Army Commendation Metal, the Good Conduct Metal, the Vietnam Campaign Metal, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart. Bowker keeps referring to the Silver Star because he is suffering from survivor’s guilt and can’t allow himself to accept that Kiowa wasn’t going to be able to be saved. I think that not sharing his story of losing the Silver Star with his father or with Sally only made things worse because he kept it all inside and he was allowing that guilt to tear him apart.
Norman Bowker wrote to O’Brien because he did not know what to do after the war and he was feeling many emotions because of it. O’Brien was shocked on how easily he made the shift from ‘war to peace.’ Although O’Brien feels that his writing of war stories is not therapy, I do. This is because Norman Bowker did not write down his feelings of the war until it was already too much for him to handle which I believe caused him to mentally fall apart and result in his suicide, feeling as if it was his only escape. O’Brien’s escape was writing his war novels. Norman Bowker’s letter was haunting to O’Brien but the haunting finally went away when he wrote down Bowker’s story in “Speaking of Courage.”
O'Brien's view on courage is fairly simple, yet at the same time, it's complex. It is clear that he believes it changes from time to time, and I agree with this to an extent. Take defending one's own family for an example. While someone wouldn't be willing to take a bullet for a stranger in a dangerous hold up, if a hostage or crime victim was a relative, who wouldn't hesitate to save them in anyway they would? Norman Bowker's life post-war was something I couldn't help but pity simply because he did not deserve to live with survivor's guilt. When he returned home, after watching Kiowa die right in front of him, he saw reminders nearly every day of what his life could have been if he had never gone to war. He wanted somewhere to vent and wanted a friend to know how he felt, but he was alone. There was no one he could turn to and though he received many awards for his service, he never received the one he wanted. The Silver Star, which wasn't given to him because he did not save Kiowa's life. It ate him from the inside out, and he had to deal with the guilt. That's why he sent the letter to O'Brien, he felt maybe if people knew how he felt, he might feel better. But three years after O'Brien, the guilt drove Norman to take his own life. He could not get back into the current time, he was stuck in Vietnam and the mistakes he made there.
ReplyDeleteI think that courage is a word defined by society its like whats fashionable it changes with the seasons what i think is courageous is totally different from what you may think is courageous. i think its partly not having fear but i also know that its not that because you can be scared and have courage. i think that it might be not being afraid of what society thinks of you and doing what you think you should do. O'Brian was a coward in the book only because he was scared of society and what it would think of him if he was a coward in their eyes. Spencer and i have actually talked about this during practice we both said we would move to Canada if the need arise, because we value our lives more than we value other peoples opinion of us. I don't believe that even if i lived through the war i could go on like myself having the guilt of murder on my mind. I think that i would turn out much like Norman and i may even share the same fate as Norman is i did even anything close to what Norman did.
ReplyDeleteI believe the narrator defined courage by how you carried yourself, and what you faced head on. He writes about all the things they carried and how they affected them, he writes about all the hardships each one made it through. I believe courage is how far you can go through the tough stuff with your head still raised high. It’s how far you can be pushed without giving in, and it’s having the world on your shoulders but still keeping it calm and collected. I believe what may be courageous to me may not be courageous to you, but that’s alright because everyone can agree to disagree.
ReplyDeleteNorman Bowker. He was a man that went in clean and came out dirty as they say in the novel. When he got out he had lost so many things while being in the war that he didn’t know what to do with himself. He drove around for hours with his own feelings and emotions eating away at him. He felt like there was no way to get his emotions out because he thought that nobody would truly understand how he felt. Nobody could truly understand the affects that the war could have on you. After the war he wished for so many things. He wished to meet an old high school sweetheart, and impress her with his time telling skills that he learned at war. This he could not bring himself to do because she was married and he wouldn’t know what to say. He also thinks a lot about Max, his friend that drowned before war. He finds that nothing is the same as when he left, he found that you can’t just expect to leave for years and come back and have everything be normal.
While away at war Norman received many medals and awards, he received the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Army Commendation Medal, the Air Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, and the Bronze Star. Although all of these medals are great honors, all Norman could think about was the one medal that he did not get the Silver Star. He said he would have explained all this to his father if he was not passed and that he would say “You received other shiny medals. Don’t worry about that one.” in fact though that was the medal that he would never be able to forget about. This medal would have been received if he had saved his dear friend Kiowa. I believe he regrets it, not so much that he didn’t get the medal, but he regrets not saving a friend.
I believe that Bowker writes to Brien to tell him everything that has been trapped inside him. He wants to feel like there is someone out there who will understand him. The letter affects O’Brien because he is shocked how easy it is to return to normal life, and how easy it was for Bowker to write this. After Bowker writes this letter to O’Brien he hangs himself about ten years after he had sent it to O’Brien. He had hung himself in the locker room at a YMCA. I believe he thought that was the only way to escape.
Personally, I believe the narrator portrays and describes courage in the way I think as well. He shows that courage is not what other people expect you to do but being able to do what you, yourself, think you can do. For example, when O'Brien decides to go to war on the river he calls himself a coward. He goes to war because other people would expect him to, so in my eyes, this is not courageous. If O'Brien had went to war for himself then by all means that would be courage.
ReplyDeleteOn Bowker, the war had a huge effect. It changed his life at home and in general. He was unable to have the motivation to keep a job, find someone to marry, and most of all, he was unable to get Vietnam out of his head.
I believe Bowker wanted to come home to someone who loved him such as Sally or even his best friend Max. He wishes for all the thoughts of Nam to go away, everything to return to normal, and all the relationships he had before to be restored. Instead he finds sadness in Sally being married, his best friend still gone after drowning, and the ever-lasting thoughts of Vietnam.
The awards Bowker received were the Combat Infantryman's Badge, Bronze Star, Good Conduct Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Air Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, and of course the Purple Heart. These awards were given to him on his great attitude and service he provided. The one award he always talks about but never receives is the Silver Star. This medal was so important to him because it reminded him of Kiowa who he was unsuccessful in rescuing from the "mud."
Bowker writes this letter to O'Brien because he mainly wants to get the story off his chest. He felt bad for what happened and finally wanted someone to hear it. He also mentioned that O'Brien should write a story or chapter about it so that way, what Bowker really wanted to tell, was able to be told.
Bowker ends up committing suicide in the gym of a local YMCA after playing basketball. I believe he does this because of the guilt he feels for not saving Kiowa, the changed and lost relationships he came home to, and of course the whole Vietnam experience itself. The war brought tragedy to Bowker and he felt this was his only escape.
The narrator defines courage as just having the guts to be in vietnam. I define courage as rising to the occasion, doing the unexpected when only the unexpected can save someone or some thing.
ReplyDeleteNorman Bowker feels as if he has no other purpose but to be a soldier.
When he gets back he cant stop thinking about how he had the opportunity to save Kiowa and get the silver star for valor. he ends up killing himself because he feels like he had no purpose outside of the war.
he gets the combat infantryman's badge, the air medal, the army commendation medal, the bronze star, and the purple heart.
Bowker killed himself because he felt that he had no purpose outside of the war.
The narrator describes courage as working past your limit and outside your comfort zone, while I think of it generally the same way, whether it be for something huge like fighting in a war or something little like trying something new for the first time. The war essentially broke Norman Bowker. Bowker entered the war as an average man when it started and, near its end (due to the events with Kiowa and his friend Max Arnold dying), made him never the same man. Bowker wishes that he can tell someone about his war stories; however, his body won't allow him to tell anyone. He wants to tell his father, old crush (who's now married), and even the Intercom worker at "Mama Burger", although it would never happen for him.
ReplyDeleteNorman had recieved a total of seven medals: the Combat Infantyman's Badge, the Air Badge, the Vietnam Campaign Badge, the Army Commendation Medal, the Good Conduct Badge, Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart. One medal eluded him though, the Silver Star. The reason that he is so stuck on this is because he was close to winning by saving Kiowa, who was sinking into the quicksand like material near the Song Tra Bong. This dealt a major blow to Bowker, as he saw as he slowly sunk into the earth due to the stench of the area being too much for Bowker.
Bowker later writes a letter to O'Brien to make a book out of his life due to the events leading up to Bowker's current activity of driving around the lake. This hits O'Brien hard, causing him to make the book; however, not to Bowker's liking. Eight months later from this, Bowker hung himself. Although never specified, it can be inferred that the war had broke Bowker to the point of suicide, along with the fact that the story that Bowker prayed would be good by O'Brien didn't meet his standards by a long shot.
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ReplyDeleteIn "Speaking of Courage," the narrator says, "Sometimes the bravest thing on earth was to sit through the night and feel the cold in your bones. Courage was not always a matter of yes or no." How does the narrator define courage? How do you define it?
ReplyDeleteAnalyze the effects of the war on Norman Bowker.
Examine his thoughts after he returns from the war: what might have been, what he wishes for, and what he finds.
Discuss the medals that Normal received, and analyze why he keeps referring to the medal he did not receive.
Why does Bowker write to O'Brien? What is the effect of this letter on O'Brien?
What happens to Bowker? Why?
Norman Bowker received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star. Bowker did not receive the Silver Star medal. Throughout the chapter, Bowker continues to refer to the Silver Star because he can't forget the lives that he couldn't save and all of the lives that were lost at the Song Tra Bong River. One of the main lives that was lost was Kiowa. Bowker tried to save Kiowa from sinking in the mud but let go to save his own life. Because Bowker did not receive this medal, it is a constant reminder that he couldn't save Kiowa.
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ReplyDeleteIn this quote from “Speaking of Courage”, the narrator defines courage as something that happens in spurts. It is something that one doesn’t always have, but when needed, it’s there. Courage was an important thing to have when fighting a war, especially one like Vietnam. The war chewed up and spit out thousands of men, including Norman Bowker. Bowker returned from the war with many “what if's” and often blamed himself for all the things he could have done during the war. He often wished that he had someone to share his war stories with, especially his story of how her almost won the Silver Star, but no one wanted to hear about a man who almost saved someone else. This story hurt Bowker the most, because the man he should have been able to save was his friend Kiowa. Bowker had received other medals, but he claimed that they had no meaning to him because the Silver Star that he was brave enough to risk his own life to save someone else’s. Bowker felt that if he found someone to listen to his war story and to make meaning of his life after the war ended, so he gave his story to Tim O’Brien. O’Brien published the story, changing certain details to make the story more interesting but the heart of the story remained the same. Eventually, all of the “what if's” from the war got to Bowker, and he hung himself in a YMCA locker room three years after he sent his story to O’Brien.
ReplyDeleteIn "Speaking of Courage" the narrator defines courage as something that comes in short bursts. You might not always have it but it's there when you need it. When fighting a war, courage is an important attribute for a soldier to have. But sometimes even men with courage had doubts, they question if they could have done something differently that could have changed the outcome. For Norman Bowker this is especially true, especially with the death of Kiowa. For Norman the war didn't really end when the US withdrew from Vietnam. He, and many other soldiers, fought with what they had done for the rest of their lives. For some soldiers it was easier, those who had family and friends to come back to and lives to move on with. People who were not like Norman. When he came back he did not have anyone to talk to. He wanted to tell his father about the silver star he almost won, or the various other medals he earned for participating in the war, but is unable to. Bowker writes a letter to O'Brien asking him to tell his story. When O'Brien tries to fit it into his existing novel, he is disappointed with the results. Norman read it and questioned his adaulterated version of the events that happened the night of Kiowa's death. Years later Norman killed himself in the locker room at a YMCA. After Norman's death O'Brien re-wrote the story so to better fit what really happened.
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