Thursday, March 31, 2022
"Speaking of Courage" and "Notes"
Please choose ONE of the following prompts to write about. Then, reply to two of your classmates posts.
1) How does “Speaking of Courage” show us the complex relationship between one man, his fellow
soldiers, and his family and friends in his hometown? Does learning about Norman
Bowker’s post-war life change the way we feel about his actions during the attack that took
Kiowa’s life? “Speaking of Courage” is the only story other than the title story, “The Things
They Carried,” that is written in the third-person point of view. Why might O’Brien have
chosen this narrative stance?
2) In “On the Rainy River” O’Brien writes, “Courage, I seemed to think, comes to us in finite
quantities, like an inheritance, and by being frugal and stashing it away and letting it earn
interest, we steadily increase our moral capital in preparation for that day when the account
must be drawn down.” Do you think there are any heroes in the book. If
so, how do they display courage? Does the narrator’s opinion of courage change during the
course of the book?
3) How does the chapter “Notes” expands the way we read“Speaking of Courage.”
How does the last paragraph of “Notes” demonstrate O’Brien’s
struggle to find the “truth” about the Vietnam War?
4) To begin with, why is this story called "Speaking of Courage"? Assume the title does NOT hold any irony. In what sense does this story speak of courage? Why does Norman Bowker still feel inadequate with seven metals? And why is Norman's father such a presence in his mental life? Would it really change Norman's life if he had eight metals, the silver star, etc.? What is the more difficult problem for Norman--the lack of the silver star or the death of Kiowa? Which does he consider more and why?
Why is Norman unable to relate to anyone at home? More importantly, why doesn't he even try?
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I think that the ending of the chapter notes is very interesting and makes us contemplate what we read in the previous chapter "Speaking of Courage". Throughout the Chapter Norman Bowker explains the situation in which he lost the Silver Star of Valor by failing to save Kiowa from sinking into the field. He explains how it was his own inability to endure the smell and sinking into the field that lead to Kiowa's death. In the last paragraph of "Notes" however, O'Brian confesses that, "Norman Bowker was in now way responsible for what happened to Kiowa. Norman did not experience a failure of nerve that night. He did not freeze up or lost the Silver Star for Valor. That part of the story is my own" (154). This ending makes the reader reconsider what they read, and think about then, what was the truth. O'Brien was a friend of Kiowas' and although he states Bowker was not to blame, he included it in the paragraph implying, that for him, there was at least some sort of truth to it. This shows the struggle of finding truth in the War and how there are so many different versions of the exact same events. It emphasizes the fact that everyone has their own, individual, unique truth when it comes to the war, and not everyone has the same. Although all the men lived the same night and the same attack, O'Brien admits to adding more to the story in order to make it his own truth, one that slightly differs from that of Bowker.
ReplyDelete^Haley Hamilton
DeleteI really think this comment shows an understanding of one of the major themes about memory, truth, and storytelling that O'Brien is getting at. I feel like there are two ways to read "that part of the story is my own" and it raises some questions for me, and it sounds like it did for you as well.
DeleteI think you made some good points. It brings up the question of the truth of war stories once again. O'Brien is trying to explore where to insert aspects of truth and still make the story worth telling - Nora
DeleteI completely agree with your response, Haley. I think the "Notes" chapter brought me back to the idea of story truth and real truth, as we don't know which aspects of the story were through who's perspective.
DeleteClaire Nistl
ReplyDeleteThe chapter “Notes” expands on Speaking of Courage by O’Brien wanting to bring more justice to Norman Bowker and his story. Bowker’s letter was very powerful for O’Brien. He says “Norman Bowker’s letter had an effect” (152). Bowker provided O’Brien with all the emotions needed for the story. O'Brien just had to put it into words. When O’Brien initially wrote the story Bowker did not feel like it was complete. O’Brien had left out important details to Bowkers story. After Bowker hanged himself O’Brien felt he had to give it another try and is “hoping that “Speaking of Courage” makes good on Norman Bowker’s silence. O’Brien wanted to have the story tell the full truth and do right to Bowker. He decides to use Norman’s name and explain what really happened in the field to Kiowa. O’Brien explicitly writes that Kiowa’s death was not Norman’s fault even though Norman felt like it was. O’Brien adds his own truth to the story in the very last part of the chapter. He explains that Kiowa’s death was not the reason Norman loss the silver star. O’Brien is adding his own truth because sometimes soldiers have a clouded depiction of what really happened. They are often guilty and harp on what could’ve been done. O’Brien makes it clear that Norman did no wrong and he conveys that when he says “that part of the story is my own” (154).
I really like your response, and I agree with you. I think that O'Brien was deeply affected by Bowker's letter and made sure to include his "own story" to emphasize Bowker's lack of responsibility for the death of Kiowa.
Delete^Haley Hamilton
DeleteI agree with you Claire, especially to your point that Norman Bowkers letter provided O'Brien with all the emotions needed to tell the story. I think that the chapter notes just added more impact to Norman Story.
DeleteSpeaking of Courage demonstrates how war can change a soldiers relationships with his fellow soldiers and family and friends. Prior to Norman Bowker going to war he had two good friends, Sally Arnold and Max Kramer. War creates an emotional and literal distance between Norman and all of his friends and family from his hometown. When he returns home he says that it feels different and that is because the war changed his relationships. He no longer feels connected to anyone or anything in his hometown because none of them know or want to know what he went through. For the same reason that Normans relationships with his family and friends decrease, his relationships with his fellow soldiers will likely improve. His fellow solider understand the struggle he is going through and they understand the hardship of war so they have the ability to connect with Norman in a way other friends and family will never be able to do so. Learning about Normans post-war life tells us that he is walking around with a lot of guilt over what happened. This makes readers feel better about Norman Bowker because we know that he is not just going on with his everyday life. He thinks about Kiowas death and how he could have done better. O’Brien might have chosen to write in the third person because he wanted to show what an outsiders point of view would have been watching the events unravel. He wanted readers to see the impact that Norman was feeling from an outside perspective.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this Jane. I liked your point about the point of it being written in third person was to show people how much pain Norman is really going through. Additionally, I agree with the guilt that you mentioned. I felt like he had survivors guilty in a sense because of Kiowa's death, and that guilt really affected his life. -Katherine
DeleteHi Jane, I liked your point about the emotional and literal distance war can create. Norman struggles to find a way back in to his old relationship pre war. Norman has lost lots of connections but is it possible he can continue to have strong connections with his fellow soldiers like you mentioned.
DeleteHaley Hamilton
DeleteI agree with your comment and think that this part of the novel really shows the solider's humanity. Their inability to seamlessly return to society proves the profound impact the war had on them. He isn't able to forget what happened and those around him, cannot relate to him, and do not try to. This leaves him alone, unable to relate to those around him, unable to process and cope with what he experienced in Vietnam.
I think that the chapter "Speaking of Courage" discusses the courage that it takes to tell your own story rather than the courage on the battlefield. I think that he feels very inadequate with the seven medals because he is seeking his fathers approval through the accumulation of medals. This relates to how the people at home during the war are very far removed from the war. For Norman's father, he views success through the accumulation of medals, but he really doesn't know what his son has been through. I think that Kiowa's death affected him much more than the lack of the silver star. This is because he felt like he could have done more to help him, but he lacked the courage. I think that he cannot relate this story to anyone at home because they are so far removed from the war and the concepts of death, that he feels that no one would understand. For example, he mentions a girl named Sally from his hometown that seems to have such a simple life, but he feels as if he cannot talk to her. I think that he doesn't try to talk to anyone from his hometown, such as Sally, because they simply would not be able to understand. -Katherine
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with this as it appears that often soldiers that come back from the war feel a loss of purpose and are often misunderstood from the ones around them who comment their bravery on the battlefield
DeleteWill^
DeleteI like what you wrote Katherine. I think it is very difficult for soldiers to come home and share their stories. Even more difficult than the war itself like you said. Norman struggles to feel courageous enough towards his own father since he is missing the silver star medal.
DeleteI thought you made a really great point about that the courage is not necessarily on the battlefield but the courage of telling your own story and how important that is.
DeleteI think you're right, he cannot relate to his family and friends because they are so far removed from acts of war. All they see is the medals he brings home so he can't bring himself to tell the whole truth. - Nora
DeleteIn the chapter “Notes” we see an expansion on why “Speaking of Courage was written as its main purpose is to console Bowker as he tries to live on with the guilt of leaving behind his friend to die on the battlefield. We can see that now after the war, Bowker had become quite weary of his existence and felt little purpose in his life now that he was no longer in action. Despite all his accolades, Bowker is still condemned by his cowardly actions on that fateful day as from his perspective, there was more he could've done to save Kiowa’s life. In the final paragraph of the chapter, O'Brien consoles Bowker’s actions as, despite the tragic death of Kiowa, he knows that there was nothing Bowker could’ve done to save him. He says “I want to make it clear that Norman Bowker was in no way responsible for what happened to Kiowa.”(154) However, we see O’briens struggle to find the truth as he feels like someone is responsible for the death, but instead of blaming Bowker, he blames himself and continues to preface that Bowker experienced no lack of judgement that night.
ReplyDeleteWill ^
DeleteI like how you talked about O'Brien's sympathy for Norman along with writing "Notes". I admire O'Brien for adding in Norman's own words and the kind words featured at the end of the chapter, where he reminded us that Norman is not responsible for Kiowa's death. - Jessi
DeleteThis chapter explores the relationship between Norman and his father. Norman is pleased to share with his father that he won several medals in combat, something he knows his father will be proud of. Their relationship seems to be built off of Norman giving his father something to be proud of. Norman even admits to his father, “this one night out by the river… I wasn’t very brave” (136). His father responds by reminding Norman that he has seven medals, of course he was brave. In a town where bravery is favored, Norman knows his truth is something he will have to keep to himself. In private he admits, “he had been braver than he ever thought possible, but how he had not been so brave as he wanted to be” (147). Norman has a mental battle going on as he considers both the loss of the Silver Star and the loss of his friend. When searching for validation, the Silver Star is more important to him. Even when he admits to his father that he let Kiowa die, his father reminds him of the seven medals, justifying his feelings of loss for the eighth medal.
ReplyDeleteNora ^
DeleteI liked your point about how the only security in Bowker and his dad's relationship stems from Bowker's bravery in the war, however his dad has no understanding of the guilt he feels for kioa's death.-Will
DeleteThis story, like so many others by O'Brien is significant to the context of both the novel and the characters. O'Brien states that his goal in "Speaking of Courage" is to make good on Norman's silence which he accomplishes despite the unreliable narrator. The reader can also make this connection for "O'Brien," in that he fulfills his promise to remain silent, and thus apply the trope of storytelling's use to "Speaking of Courage" itself. The story succeeds in making up for Norman Bowker's silence twice over, because the act of writing rescues "Tim O'Brien" from the same fate.
ReplyDeleteJessi (#3):
ReplyDeleteIn the chapter “Notes,” the readers learn about the context behind why “Speaking of Courage” was a chapter featured in The Things They Carried. I think it was super interesting to know that Norman Baker had an input on the way this chapter was presented and the fact that he wanted it to be authentic. Additionally, the following chapter further highlights the struggles Norman went through post-war and how his life ended up. This way, we are able to recognize Norman’s thoughts about Kiowa and the metals in a more meaningful way. The last paragraph of “Notes” demonstrates that O’Brien struggles to find the “truth” about the Vietnam War. When initially writing this chapter, O’Brien wanted to distort the story to make it easier on himself. This way, he wouldn’t have to think about Kiowa and his death and rather incorporate fiction into the story to isolate himself from it. Lastly, O’Brien acknowledges the one truth he is sure of. He mentions that Kiowa did not die from a lack of courage from Norman, yet that this part of the story is his own. In my mind, this line sparked some confusion, as I didn’t know if O’Brien meant that he was the one who didn’t get the Silver Star for valor, or if he had added that metal for the story. I think the “Notes” chapter was necessary to fully understand “Speaking of Courage” as a story of hardship.