This chapter, “Speaking of Courage,” is dedicated to Norman Bowker and his feelings after the war. Although this chapter is focused on Norman, its overall theme is the effects of war and its toll on the veteran’s mind. In the beginning of this chapter Norman is back home, but, he doesn’t feel happy about it. Life is different at home, he doesn’t feel the same. In war, Norman had a duty and orders to follow, charlie to kill and brothers to protect. After the war he isn’t given any of those things, he finds himself circling a lake just to keep himself busy. The lake symbolizes meaning.

The settlers before Norman had settled there because the lake gave them a starting point, a job, a duty to build a town and expand. The lake is the new beginning to all the people before Norman, yet, he can find no meaning, no duty, no commands, so he circles and circles hoping for something. The world moves without him, he tries his best to talk about the war to his friends and family, but, he doesn’t have the courage. He wants to tell them about a time where he almost got the silver medal for bravery or that he can tell time without even looking at the clock. No matter how much he wants to tell them, he feels that they wouldn’t understand. Like most civilians after the war, they just pushed war aside, pretend it didn’t happen.     

Normal people just don’t get it, Vietnam was a different way of life with its own agenda. Back home, was different too, but for the soldiers. Although, they thought they would be happy to be home, they feel meaningless. They rebuilt their life and mind to be fit for war, so they’ve lost their old ways. Courage dedicated to fighting the VC, courage used to save their brothers only to have it ignored by most. Friends have moved on, family’s the same as before, love interests have gone away. All that’s left for them to talk to is their fellow soldiers, who might’ve died in war or killed themselves afterwards. Their mind tries to bring them back to war, PTSD and everything else I’ve talked about.

      Those that have formed a family after the war still bear the scars of war, physically and mentally. Courage is a big part of this chapter, courage is a different thing in war than at home. To civilians courage is the act of going to war and becoming a soldier. To the soldiers, courage is not the same, you must do something that no other soldier wants to do to have courage. To Norman he is haunted by this, all the medals he has earned are from simple things that every soldier would earn, they’re meaningless. He thinks to himself about not having the courage to save Kiowa, he can’t get over himself for that. Even though he couldn’t save Kiowa it wasn’t his fault, he would’ve died with him. But, dying with Kiowa is better to him than having a meaningless life at home with nothing to live for…