Symbolism throughout the chapter “Speaking of Courage”
In the chapter “Speaking of Courage” The dad’s Chevy that Norman Bowker drove symbolizes the comfort that he had throughout this chapter. In the chapter, this was when Norman was driving round and round watching the sun go down and not knowing what time it was. The car symbolizes the comfort and peace he had with his friends and the close ones he fought through the war with. The comfort that was present throughout the book so far and specifically this chapter was subtle because it was calming and relaxing. This is because he was constantly thinking and spilling his thoughts. Another piece of symbolism used in this chapter is the constant circles. This symbolizes the constant thoughts running through Norman’s head like circles that never end. Norman thought a lot but was clam while doing so. The Norman we saw was different from what he saw in himself and that is why what happened in “Notes” happened.
O’Brien uses words to make the reader calm and gives off a happy sign. For example when he talks about the sun setting and the purple stripe along the horizon. That to me makes me in a bright mood because it is such a bright and relaxing subject. The bight colors mentioned giving off a better picture for the readers to understand.
The symbols that are used as bright things in this chapter are really the nerves and the feeling of someone being there with you or for you in the war. Norman is always thinking because that is what his mind does. To me, that is a good thing because he is constantly thinking about his past and the future. But also this is a bad thing because of what happened in the chapter “Notes”. He ended his life. This is sad because he seemed so happy and relaxed in the chapter before “Speaking of Courage”. He never had a worry. Along with the “Notes” chapter, he was playing basketball with his friends and having a good time. In our point of view there was no worry in sight.
I used this sunset picture because it shows the comfort that Norman showed while driving. Along with the true image that Norman saw while going round and round. He used army time to see the time without worry. Norman didn’t care what time it was he cared about his future and what it holds for him. He never had a curfew so there was no time to worry about. He was on his own.
The symbolism helps us as readers understand the concepts that the story tells but in a deeper meaning. The car was just the dad’s car but using my past knowledge I know that it means something deeper and that is a comfort. The route that Norman takes also is a deeper meaning. It is a constant circle going round and round. That is the symbol for Norman’s thoughts and what is consistently going on in his head. These little things that I analyzed, show a bigger picture in the end.