"Our time was short, however, and choices had to be made, and in the end I decided to take her to this piece of ground where my friend Kiowa had died. And, besides, I had business here."
Explain O'Brien's business - both literally and metaphorically.
11 comments:
This really made me feel for Tim O'Brien. That all these years he is still affected by Kiowa's death.
He means literally because he is taking his daughter Kathleen on a birthday trip all over. She wants to know her father's experience with the war a little better so O'Brien takes her to Kiowa's site.
Metaphorically speaking though he goes there to get over Kiowa and how he feels like he could have saved him.
Sara...what does he do there in the field ? Be more specific
Shayna Conner
O'Brien's business was to "look for signs of forgiveness or personal grace or whatever else the land might offer" (181). O'Brien wanted to comfort himself, in a way he wanted to find inner peace with a mans death that he thought he was responsible for. O'Brien brings Kiowas old moccasins to put at the place of his death. He had to let this go and that was the only way he knew how to. O'Brien's business was to be forgiven by Kiowa, the only place he could do that was the spot that Kiowa's body was found. He had to let it go.
O'Brien still struggles with Kiowa's death so many years after the war has ended. He, like the other men, feels partially responsible and wants to find peace. O'Brien takes this trip to offer not only an experience for his daughter, Kathleen, but to also allow her to see part of his past. O'Brien says, "Below, in the earth, the relics of our presence were no doubt... all the vulgarity and horror"(210). He wasn't willing to let this place get to him, to bother him like he had for so many years. He returned not only to allow Katleen to understand his past but to return to Kiowa is his moccasins that he cared for so much, "Right here, I thought. Leaning forward, I reached in with the moccasins and wedged them into the soft bottom letting them slide away"(212).
O'Brien's literal sense of business is that he wanted to show his daughter, Kathleen, a piece of his past. It may not have been an easy decision to go back to Vietnam, but his metaphoric business is what pushed him over the edge, I believe. As a symbol of him giving up his past and how he couldn't save Kiowa, O'Brien returns Kiowa's moccassins and the only way to do this was to go wading through the mucky "water". Kathleen doesn't understand this, hence why she said " Listen, this is stupid, you can't even hardly get wet. how can you swim out there?... It's not even water, it's like mush or something"(186). I find this kind of sad that he would go wading through this crap again, but it is understandable, in this situation. This was a great way to take care of his business.
Tabitha
Sara said that O'Brien is still affected by Kiowa's death. Yes it's true. And Shayna mentioned that the reason for this trip is to find his inner peace since he feels responsible for Kiowa's death and ask for forgiveness. That is true as well. But I also believe O'Brien took that "field trip" to ask for forgiveness from himself. The only way he could do this was by revisiting the site of Kiowa's death. He wants to lay off the guilt and memories by getting rid of Kiowa's moccosins. He wants to let go of that remorse that holds him down.
Allie,
Pushed him over the edge? What is he doing and why is he doing it?
Heather Rogers
O'Brien had a lot of buisiness to do at the field. "Leaning forward, [he] reached in with the moccasins and wedged them ino the soft bottom, letting them slip away", unlike the lake, I think that climbing back into this nasty water was cleansing (186). Coming back to the field with his daughter, climbing into the muck, leaving the moccasins, left him more at ease than he could have been before. I think that the moccasins kind of took his place in that mud where he would have been sinking.
Tim O'Brien gives Kiowa his "old moccasins" (186) back. To me this seems like O'Brien is giving them back to Kiowa so Kiowa can have his comfort item back so maybe in death Kiowa can still be alright no matter where he is. This gives O'Brien a sense of peace with Kiowa's death but he still feels morneful about Kiowa because he says, "all I could do was slap hands with the water" (187). Makes you feel that yes, O'Brien has moved on but he will always miss his good buddy Kiowa.
Tabitha...does he "wash" them away?
LaTausha ---> Shayna.
I agree completely. Closure, that is what he wanted. He wasnted to be forgiven and let go of his guilt. You hit the explination right on the dot!
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