Past and Present

I really like how O'Brien describes the war but also his life after the war. On page 36, he says "...the war occurred half a lifetime ago, and yet the remembering makes it now." At the beginning, it seemed like the book was going to focus on the war and the experiences one would have in a war and the emotional trials of being away from home. Chapter three and part of chapter two, however, give it a new spin. O'Brien shows the reader how memories of the war can affect a person for years to come. There are certain things which are too painful to talk about or things that people wish they could forget, and when Jimmy Cross and O'Brien visit with each other after the war, this becomes apparent. They have a mutual understanding of this which the reader sees on page 29 when Cross says "And do me a favor. Don't mention anything about--" and O'Brien responds with "No...I won't." Based on O'Brien's descriptions, memories of the war never go away, and neither do the details.