Thursday, July 8, 2010

The Things They Carried: Speaking of Courage

Even though it was hard for him, Tim O'Brien put a great deal of effort into writing a piece that would truthfully tell Norman Bowker's story. This task would not have been easy for anyone to take on. Having to think back and remember the death of his other friend Kiowa must have been such a hard thing for O'Brien to do. I think that it was a very honorable thing for Tim O'Brien to put the time into editing and rewriting the story after hearing Bowker's reaction to the initial piece. After Bowker passed away, O'Brien could've taken the easy way out and left the story as it was. He could have forgotten about what Bowker had said and moved on to other things. Maybe no one would have known the difference. But because he valued the opinion of Norman Bowker so much and had respect for the man in general, O'Brien worked to make the story better. I think O'Brien shows how good of a friend he is by making sure that his comrade and friend Bowker had a voice even after he was gone.

"Now a decade after his death, I'm hoping that "Speaking of Courage" makes good on Norman Bowker's silence." -O'Brien

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