He tells the story of Curt Lemon's death more than once, but manages to change minor details in each story. I felt that each story could have been told by a different person. As we gather a general idea of what happened to Lemon, each story is told with something different being used as the "main focus". In the way that O'Brien says he remembers certain things, such as the sunlight on Lemon's face or the giant trees and the soft dripping sounds, I feel that he witnesses something in his life that triggers these different memories. The way that he can also remember such specific details, such as where Rat hit the buffalo and the order he took all of those hits in,
"This one wakes me up" connects to PTSD in a way that when these memories get into his head, they disturb him from sleeping. Looking into it more, this version of Lemon's death that "wakes him up" is the one that is so descriptive of Lemon's body being blown up into the tree. One that I would consider to be a complete nightmare. On the other hand, there is the story of Lemon's death that just seems more pleasant and peaceful, with him stepping into the sunlight and the sunlight came lifted him up and sucked him into a tree full of moss. It seems to me that O'Brien is woken up by the reality of what really happened to Lemon, but he wants to remember his death in a more peaceful way. He even talks about how it is difficult to to separate what really happened from what seemed to happen. Just as O'Brien stated, "...war is grotesque. But in truth war is also beauty" even though Lemon's death most likely was very gruesome, he chose to add a few details to look at it as a beautiful story.
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ReplyDeleteYou brought up some excellent points, Jessica. I agree that O’Brien wants to remember Lemon’s death as peaceful rather than tragic and dreadful which will probably explain why he chooses to remember the sunlight encompassing Lemon as opposed to him being blown up and his remains scattering everywhere.
ReplyDeleteYou also mentioned that O’Brien waking up to this memory twenty years later connects to PTSD and I could not agree more. It has been approximately twenty years and O’Brien still recalls this event in complete and vivid detail. It haunts him in his sleep and, as you stated earlier, specific sounds or sights he encounters daily triggers this memory.
O’Brien stated that a true war story never ends. I suppose he is right because every time O’Brien remembers Lemon’s death, he is, once again, back in the shade of the trees, and awakened by the smell of moss and dirt, and surrounded in the jungle catching sight of the sunlight engulfing Lemon as he took his half-step into the booby trap. Nonetheless, instead of focusing on the tragedy of this horrific event, O’Brien concentrates on the sunlight and Lemon’s soft laughter.
I really enjoyed (not enjoyed I guess, found interesting is better) the incredible details that O'Brien recalls and chooses to focus on during the death of Lemon. He also seems to struggle with deciding what details mean what, like you mentioned -- maybe that's why he retells the story repeatedly. The way the sunlight blends with the explosion is unnerving, just like how real life can blend with war memories - a sign of PTSD.
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