Notes

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to ask questions in this format, but is this chapter real or a story? I'm asking because the chapter seems to be an explanation from the writer's perspective of some of the other chapters. That is perhaps what makes this chapter seem so sincere.
Bowker's suicide broke me up. Unfortunately this leads to more guilt for O'Brien. It seems as though no one involved can escape guilt from the blight upon humanity that is war. I wonder if the letter was real, because it was just so heartfelt. The way O'Brien had described Bowker enabled me able to picture him writing that letter so full of honesty and emotion. It it a true war story, because it is left unresolved. We can never know how Bowker would have reacted to O'Brien's unedited chapter.
   As I am pondering more over this chapter, I think the reason I like it is because it is almost like Rat Kiley's letter to Curt Lemon's sister. O'Brien is paying his respects to a friend by telling his story. He is telling a truth that he felt needed to be told, a truth that Bowker couldn't tell. Perhaps the stories themselves are their own resolution. Just telling them gives the teller and the characters the catharsis they need.