Lonliness

I would imagine that a great deal of soldiers count down the days until they return home to their families. All that time away, I'm sure, really must make them miss home. What really struck me in this story is that even though they miss home, some soldiers return and their lives go downhill from there. For Norman Bowker anyways, that is exactly how things went. It was hard for him to get back into the routine of a normal life. "The war was over and there was no place in particular to go." (pg 131)It seems as if life as he had known for so long was gone. And even though he was back at home, he had no one to share his stories and memories with. Atleast Tim O'Brien had found a way to relieve himself of the memories by writing them down. Bowker however was stuck with just thoughts in his head. At one point Bowker actually considers confiding in a car-hop at a local A&W restaurant (Which by the way has nothing on Edwards Drive-In or their awesome carhops :)). To me, it's just really sad to see that someone who risks their life in Vietnam can live and still come home with a spirit that is dead.