Friday, February 11, 2011
So here's what I've been thinking... The character Elroy Berdahl could almost be considered TO's conscience? The way the character is betrayed as just being there and quiet. There is never any real conversation between them at least none that is portrayed. When I was reading this part, I kept thinking, this is a fiction part and the old man is his subconscience telling him it is wrong to flee and this was TO's way to put the feelings into words.
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I was kind of thinking the same thing. It would make sense for this to be his subconscience talking to him. This chapter was one of the most touching for me. The way O'Brien describes being on the river not sure of what he wanted to do made me feel as if I was there sitting with him. It is hard to imagine what these boys/men went through mentally when they were told that they had to go to war. To be ordered to go without having a choice really had to be hard on them. Think about it, if you were told that you had to go to war, how would you respond? I have thought about this and I honestly have to say that it is hard to imagine what I would do!
ReplyDeleteI thought that Elroy Berdahl was real. I feel as if he knew exactly what was going on and he was just there to help even though he wasn't the friendliest person- or talkative person for that matter. I don't think he would have stopped him, if TO jumped out of the boat for Canada. I think he may have judged him if he did, but I think he would have accepted TO's decision. That would be a hard decision for anybody to make- especially if you didn't agree with the war in the first place. I think if I were in his shoes, the thought probably would have ran through my mind.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting view point. I can see how this could be true. He was struggling hard with his desicion. I can see how it could very possibly be his subconscience. When you think this way think about the scenarios of when, he is debating in the boat to jump or not or even when they have dinner and just eat quietly. Could this be him just taking time by hisself and really thinking about this situation. I can also see it as a old man that is trying to help TO out. He is just a man doing a good deed by helping this young man discover what his choice is in life..
ReplyDeleteWhile reading this chapter, I never questioned if Elroy was real or not. It never entered my mind that this was a creative approach by TO to describe his internal conflict. However, I now look back at passages I found interesting and I find this: "He was a witness, like God, or like the gods, who look on in absolute silence as we live our lives, as we make our choices or fail to make them" (60). Whether Elroy was real or not, he did serve as TO's conscience. I say this because even if he was real, his silence served as a sounding board for all of TO's thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though he may not have been real as well. I feel like TO created him in his mind to serve as his conscience. There is always that little voice in the back of our minds to help us with major decision like the one TO was considering. Whether our conscience "talks" back to us or not, it still allows us to see things more clearly in the end. When people go through stressful or hard situations they have been known to create an alterego, could this be what Elroy was representing for TO as well?
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