red finger as a trophy, proud of his kill. The ardent imagery describing Bowker’s darkening indicates a psychological and emotional change. The vision of the callow corpse “badly burned, flies in its mouth” (13) sputters through Bowker, smoldering his soul. O’Brien states that the VC from Delaney 2 whom Bowker takes the thumb is “just a boy” (13), giving the image of an unfledged person who should not be subjected to the horrors of war. The connotation associated with “boy” enhances the pathos one feels for the dead soldier, which in turn enunciates Bowker’s ebony heart. Just before Bowker takes his own life, he tells O’Brien in a letter, “It’s almost like I got killed over in Nam…Hard to describe. That night when Kiowa got wasted, I sort of sank down into the sewage with him…Feels like I’m still in deep *censored*” (178). The general bleakness of the war has placed Bowker in the never-ending night, running wildly with no hope of reaching day. This “heart of darkness” is additionally seen through the character Mary Anne. She is originally described as a “cute blonde – just a kid…she’s got on culottes. White culottes and this sexy pink sweater” (102). O’Brien utilizes descriptive diction, choosing the wo

Some topics in this essay:
Mary Anne’s, Mary Anne, Tim O’Brien, VC Delaney, Norman Bowker, Bell Vietnam, Transgressing Delaney, mary anne, “heart darkness”, mary anne’s, dark heart, attempt reader, norman bowker, bowker takes,