17. It Really Happened

On page twenty-one of chapter one, O’Brien writes about how men, in order to get themselves out of the war, consider injuring themselves. I never really thought it would happen to one in his platoon. Then again, there is a reason for everything, even this small inclusion of chapter one. Foreshadow. However, the men of chapter one do not ponder this decision more because they do not want to receive the nagging of their peers. Yet, the situation with Rat was different. His mind was not in the right place. I am sure that as a medic he could diagnose his own illness. By the final days of his stay in Vietnam, I am not sure he was fit to serve anyone. So maybe he not only did himself a favor but everyone else. Even O’Brien accepted it, and later, as a result, had to deal with the novice Jorgenson.