Lovely Literature

"How the rain never stopped. How the cold worked into your bones. Sometimes the bravest thing on earth was to sit through the night and feel the cold in your bones. Courage was not always a matter of yes or no," [page 141].

This quote comes from Bowker's chapter when he's in his hometown circling the lake. This also goes back to how war changes people. Bowker felt like Kiowa's death was his fault because he couldn't stand the smell and couldn't grab him out of the poop. I think watching a death like that would weigh upon me as well. He eventually hangs himself because he feels like war sucked everything out of him, like his life is suddenly pointless.

The number of deaths that are told in a nonchalant way in this book astounds me. I'm sure O'Brien doesn't mean to convey that they are not important, but I suppose once you're so used to death, you can easily write about it like it's nothing.

It sounds like this quote says sometimes the most courageous thing you can do is live. I agree with that, but I think killing yourself is definitely the cowardly way to get out of a difficult spot. Everyone is put on here for a reason, but it is not one person's choice whether or not to stay on this earth.