This chapter's only real purpose is to show a little chink in O'Brien's armor. I think it would've been all to easy to try to make it look like he made it out of Vietnam unscathed. It would've been easy to make it out with no major character flaws, and along the way he rescued a baby from a fire and cured cancer. But this chapter shows that O'Brien is human, just like all the men, he has his flaws. By exacting vengeance upon Jorgensen, he shows that he, too, has ventured far from the peace-loving article-writing fellow who once dreamed of running away to Canada oh so many chapters ago. Dare I say that this makes him a dynamic character? mmm....yes I do. The peace-loving liberal who once said "The problems of killing and dying did not fall within my special province" (p. 39) is now exacting ruthless vengeance against some poor little green medic. Granted, he didn't kill him, and it probably made him feel better, and his butt was nearly gangrene, but still, one would expect the Tim O'Brien of page 39 to forgive and forget. If this doesn't count as a great change brought on by Vietnam, then I don't know what does.
This is clearly the superior sleeping position.
Update: I hurt my arm skating tonight (July 9), and tonight it appears that in order to elevate my arm at the proper angle...I will have to sleep on my back. Ha...ha ha. So you could say that now I'm in the exact same boat as O'Brien...except upside-down...oh karma, you are a cruel mistress. At least I didn't get shot.
this part of O'Brien's character definitely caught me off-guard.
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