Chapter 16 and 17

"Notes"

Quote 1:

"I did not look on my work as therapy,and still don't. Yet when I received Norman Bowker's letter, it occurred to me that the act of writing had led me through a swirl of memories that might otherwise have ended in paralysis or worse." (page 158)

Analysis:

Here we can clearly see Tim's dislike for therapy. Although sharing his war "adventures" through this story he avoided suffering from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) because otherwise he would've ended up in a "[...] paralysis or worse.", he still doesn't come to realize that for him, writing was a kind of therapy.

Quote 2:

"Norman did not experience a failure of nerve that night. He did not freeze up or lose the Silver Star for valor. That part of the story is my own." (page 161)

Analysis:
In this quote we can find the use of an allusion. This can be seen when the author states that "Norman did not experience a failure of nerve that night. He did not freeze up [...] That part of the story is my own." meaning that the one who lacked courage to save Kiowa and was paralyzed with horror was Tim and not Norman.

This quote is an eye-opener for the reader because it leads you to believe that all along you were blaming the wrong person for Kiowa's death. In this quote we can see how the author puts the blame on himself indirectly by saying "that part of the story is my own.", meaning that Bowker wasn't the one who lacked "[...] nerve that night." it was him.

"In the field"

Quote 1:

"Ten billion places we could've set up last night, and the man picks a latrine." (page 166)

Analysis:
Here we can also see a hint of allusion, when O'Brien sates that "[...] the man picks a latrine.", pinpointing all the guilt on Jimmy Cross. But he doesn't just blame him for picking "the wrong place", he also holds him responsible because he has to blame somebody, for his friend's death. He can't accept that his buddies' death was meaningless.

In this quote we see Mitchell Sanders blaming Lieutenant Cross for Kiowa's death. The accusation those not entirely come without merit, but Sanders also points out that after all who knew that it was a "shit field anyway."