Saturday, September 17, 2016
"Church"
In this chapter, O'Brien gives the reader insight to Dobbins' life by including quotes about religion, which is normally a topic that Dobbins dismisses. However, Dobbins shares his feelings, "I just didn't have the smarts for it. And that's the religious thing, too. All these years, man, I still hate church" (121). Throughout the discussion, O'Brien develops Dobbins' character as we begin to see a sensitive side to a man who has only been viewed as another soldier who kills water buffalo and is deeply, mentally distraught. We learn that Dobbins feels that his intelligence does not measure up. He repeats his feelings of not feeling smart enough several times, "it takes brains" and "you have to be sharp" to mention the necessity of intelligence, and how he is lacking (121). Perhaps he was told throughout his childhood that he was dumb, or maybe he has experienced a lot of failure in his life, but whatever it is, the author has shown us that the man feels less competent because of it.
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One of the most interesting things about this chapter was Dobbins' feeling of wanting to help. He states that the religious part was never really for him, but he enjoys the helping of people. This great juxtaposition, between the war and Dobbins wish to help people, shows something interesting about the entire conflict. You have people who delight in being nice to others thrust into a position where they are forced to kill. This chapter, I believe, is an opportunity to show this difference between war and church where church does not necessarily mean religion, but kindness and loving of other man.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter is completely necessary in this book that is filled with mostly violent and gruesome stories. In the short story "Church," the reader witnesses a different side of Dobbins. Admiring the peace and kindness of the monks in the chapter, he discusses how he one day wants to join up with them post war. This side of Dobbins definitely shocked me as a reader because whenever I think of Dobbins, I think of him killing the water buffalo. I too agree with Eric’s previous comment that war put the nicest of people in a position to kill. Maybe Dobbins had been longing to be this kind, decent person described in the chapter when he was back home before the war. Just his desire to want a lifestyle full of kindness and decency shows us that he is more than just a war-impacted, violent soldier who has lost all sight of himself. Maybe his encounter with the monks is bringing him back to himself and his values/desired values before the war.
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