In Speaking of Courage, I'm fascinated by how close it takes us to Norman Bowker and Tim O'Brien. You learn about them not only as people, but also what they have and are going through in life and their emotions. Courage is a big part of the book pertaining to war and just being a man. How and when the characters become courageous are revealed in these stories. The group assignment we did in class really made me reflect and analyze these stories by focusing on motifs and deeper meanings and images.
Max Arnold, friend of Norman, is very significant in these chapters. Whether you're O'Brien, Bowker, or someone else, the experience of war is a lot different than the typical life outside of war. He knew such a unique and genuine person prior to the war in Max. When he got to war and came back, it was easy for him to make that contrast between the innocence of people and places in life and the evilness of things in war. I think it's very important how he was able to know a person like Max who made an impact on his life. Norman also witnessed the death of his friend Kiowa, who sunk in the muck in the war. He doesn't have anyone to talk to after such a tragic happening and I think this is what triggers his thoughts about Arnold. Max would be someone he could come to about a loss like this. The struggle to accept and explain the truth, death, guilt, and courage are all portrayed here. Just like O'Brien's war stories, Norman drives around his town when he gets home to cope with his feelings. Tim doesn't know what to do with himself and Bowker doesn't know what to do with his life after the war.
Also, in Notes, Norman sends Tim a letter taking about how the war takes away your will to live and you can't find a use of life. The difficulty and how telling a true war story makes you think hard about what happened and what seemed to happened is shown here in Bowker's letter to his friend. The reality of war is it's a crazy place that threatens your stability mentally and physically. Despite Norman hanging himself, it's significant how writing these stories can be your only hope during and after a time like war. O'Brien wrote a draft of Speaking of Courage and sent it to Bowker. He responded to O'Brien telling him to mention Kiowa and the full truth but not to mention his name. He didn't want O'Brien to refer to him as Norman Bowker. These were the things that affected Norman most and he wanted his friend to include them in a war story that's true. However, for the story to be really true he felt it would be right to have Bowker's name in the story. Shortly after the complete story edited by O'Brien, Norman hung himself and this is where O'Brien came to terms about making the whole story true. He knew his friend wouldn't mind if he included his name.
In conclusion, I believe these events and feelings are important because within two chapters, you think back to How To Tell A True War Story and The Things They Carried. It took courage for Norman to let Kiowa go in the muck. To write the letter to O'Brien. To face the truth. To face his emotions. That's part of war. War makes you a man and I think he was made a man during these stories. In war, you carry emotions. Friends. Love. Death. Truth. And in war, you have to be able to follow the rules and correctly tell a true war story. It's only true if you understand the true concepts of these stories. I think it's cool how no matter how much guilt and worry these men had, they always were able to communicate with each other and be courageous. This is why I love these stories and this book. I would probably act the same exact way as either Bowker or O'Brien. War changes you and you don't know a real sense of truth, death, or storytelling until you get there. Not only have they been changed by the war but especially by the death of Kiowa.
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