Norman Bowker's Shame In O Brien

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Lastly, O’Brien includes a story in his novel that deals with the death of a soldier named Kiowa, a quiet, conserved friend of O’Brien, and how the death brings forth shame for Norman Bowker. Norman Bowker, a humble and silent individual, is reliving the moment he found Kiowa stuck in deep mud. While reliving the horrific event, Bowker is driving around a lake continuously and O’Brien, narrating Bowker’s thoughts, remarks, “Sometimes, like that night in the shit field, the difference between courage and cowardice was something small and stupid” (O’Brien 147). Bowker experiences the feeling of shame when he losses his fellow soldier during the monsoon because he lacks the courage to withstand the heinous smell and save Bowker. Due to the stink

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