CHAPTER SUMMARY AND NOTES

CHAPTER EIGHT (The Dentist)

Summary

OÂ’Brien remember that he had trouble mourning when Curt Lemon was killed. He thought Curt Lemon either had an inflated opinion of himself, or a very low opinion he was trying to erase. He tells the following story in order to avoid getting sentimental about Curt.

When the platoon finally had some quiet time in an area along the beach, the higher-ups sent in a dentist to check their teeth. The dentistÂ’s tent was a primitive operation, assembly line dentistry, which made Curt Lemon queasy. His reputation for bravery was threatened when he fainted before he could even sit down in the dentistÂ’s chair.

After regaining consciousness, Curt felt ashamed of the incident and separated himself from the platoon for a time. The embarrassment was too much for him. That night he woke up the dentist and asked him to pull out a tooth that was supposedly causing all sorts of pain. The next morning he was back to his usual self.

Notes

It is noteworthy that O’Brien wants to avoid lionizing a dead soldier that he didn’t have much respect for when he was alive. His distaste for generalizations and obsession with a ‘true’ war story is such that he relates this comical episode about someone who was supposed to be such a diehard warrior.

We also see to what lengths Lemon will go to avoid the blush of dishonor, even over something as silly as a dentistÂ’s chair. Curt forces the dentist to pull out a perfectly good tooth rather than live with the shame of having fainted at the sight of the drill. It is another example of how bravery can have adverse affects.

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