In the Chapter Speaking of Courage O'Brien focuses on Norman Bowker, a fellow soldier. Norman struggles with lots of emotional issues and we get to see how he copes with them as he reflects upon a particular incident in the war. When O'Brien talks about the man he killed he creates a fantasy were he pictures the life of the guy he killed. He imagines his family, the details of his life goals and even goes into his childhood a little. Norman has a similar way of coping.
Norman spends a great deal of time circling a lake pretending he is talking to his father. He holds entire conversations within he own fantasy and discusses with his father how he was almost awarded the silver star medal. He talks about how he was going to save the life of one of his comrades but bailed due to the fact that he could not deal with the situation anymore. the situation being he was sinking into a field of shit and had a hand on the boot of his friend, overwhelmed by the smell he decided to let go. His made-up father tells him that his friend had probably already been drowned in the muck, but Norman argues that he just had this feeling that he was still alive. this is his major conflict that he argues with his father multiple times in the chapter. Norman feels as if he is drowning in his dark memories just as his friend drowned in the field of shit. This leads him to deal with the issue by creating an imaginary version of his father to talk through the situation with, maybe in hopes of clearing the situation in his head.
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