8. Six

Six. I am not exactly sure if it could be a motif, but the number appears quite frequently. It is like the bible and the number forty. The number six occurs in Mitchell Sanders’ story of the six man listening patrol, then again with the six greenies in Rat Kiley’s story. It should also be noted that Mary Anne arrived six weeks after Fossie requested her. So do I really believe the number six is important? Not so much. But I think it goes back to O’Brien’s thoughts on a story’s validity. When O’Brien first hears Kiley’s story, Mitchell Sanders was also listening. So, there is a connection between the two chapters. Mitchell Sanders’ story could possibly be based off of Kiley’s. There are six greenies who are sometimes at Rat’s base and sometimes gone for days. Sanders tells of six men who go into the silence of the mountains and hear music. It would not be the first time Mary Anne had sang. As Kiley says “In the darkness there was that flipped-out tribal music, which seemed to come from the Earth itself, from the deep rain forest, and a woman’s voice rising up in a language beyond translation” (pg 107, O’Brien). Sounds like music that was creepy enough to scare a six-man patrol because Mary Anne “…was ready for the kill” (pg 110, O’Brien).