These set of chapters are particularly disturbing and really go into depth exploring what can happen to a person when they peer to far into the darkness. Most prominently, Fossie's girlfriend Mary Anne loses herself to a freedom which she never had. As a result, she assumes a disturbing image that is darker and more wild, an effect that is enhanced greatly by her necklace made out of human tongues. What starts as a normal blonde going to Vietnam to see her boyfriend ends as a girl who runs away into the mountains like a feral animal, showing how the strangest of things can happen in Vietnam. The chapter is quite atmospheric, with references to darkness and jungle music that paints a very good image in the reader's mind. To an extent, the reader even feels the shock of Mary Anne's transformation.
Furthermore, Henry Dobbins loses his girlfriend as well. He normally wraps her panties around his neck as a lucky charm. However, he gets dumped. Dobbins eventually overcomes the initial turn of of events and wears the panties anyway. Doing so illustrates how the soldiers cling to their pasts despite the past moving on from them, like when Jimmy Cross keeps his love as well. They retain a piece of their humanity in a way and in doing so keep their sanity. While the world may betray them, they will not betray themselves. Such an effect is not so much loyalty towards the people who abandon them, but towards there own constant image of themselves which lets them be alive in a human sense.
The set of chapters concludes with the death of a young and seemingly inexperienced Vietnamese fighter. O'Brien is finally mentioned in a somewhat direct manner, but does not actually have dialogue. Instead, the story is a portrayal of his inner feelings. Through the story, O'Brien is shown to deeply regret killing the man, believing fervently that he killed a person that would otherwise have lived. There is a battle in O'Brien's head back and forth about whether he can forgive himself or not, showing that war is not something that one can forget. Kiowa shows up to comfort him by claiming that he would have died anyway by one of the members of the team, but the circumstances seem to indicate that such an event would be unlikely, considering that Kiowa is asleep during the confrontation. It seems instead that Kiowa comforts O'Brien, something apparently implied by how Kiowa keeps repeating the same thing despite not knowing anything about the situation. Friendships are a centerpiece of this set of chapters and the characters support one another in very troubling situations. Also, it seems that more is being developed when it comes to O'Brien and the soldiers in general. In accordance with such a trend, it seems likely that the bonds of the characters will be further built upon and O'Brien's character given solid elaboration. As the end approaches, the story is beginning to pick up and there seems to be care developing in what might transpire as the story comes to an end.
No comments:
Post a Comment