Chapter 15

"Speaking of Courage"

Quote 1:

"And a pity about his father, who had his own war and who now preferred silence.

Still, there was so much to say." (page 147)

Analysis:

It is weird how Norman's father also participated went to war (apparently he went to World War II) and was such a traumatizing experience for him that he couldn't talk about it, and share experiences with his son about how it felt like going to war. Even thought both father and son went through the same experience, Norman's father can't come to realize how in great need of talking to someone.

Quote 2:

"Sometimes, like that night in the shit field, the difference between courage and cowardice was something small and stupid.

The way the earth bubbled. And the smell." (page 147)

Analysis:

Its kind of absurd, that what separates courage from cowardice, is sometimes so small. We tend to think that there is a abysmal difference between the two; some are heroes and others are cowards. But what can be seen in this quote is that even "[...] the smell." of something insignificant can change you from being "the man of the moment" to the coward of the story. 

Quote 3:

"He could not talk about it and never would. The evening was smooth and warm.

If it had been possible, which it wasn't, he would have explained how his friend Kiowa slipped away that night beneath the dark swampy field. He was folded in with the war; he was part of the waste."

Analysis:
Through the book, after incident, Norman keeps trying to find people he can talk to about Kiowa's death, but he just can't find the words. Even when he gets the chance to talk to the A&W, burger place, intercom; a nonjudgmental entity who's got all the time to spare, he finds himself unable to speak, and realizes that he too, like Kiowa "[...] was folded in with the war; he was part of the waste.".