Courage

Speaking of courage seems to portray courage as self-sacrifice, or the willing to do so, to save another human being. Bowker of course has not shown true courage, because although he attempted to save Kiowa, this did not occur while he was in danger. As soon as he himself was in immediate danger from the mortars, he let Kiowa drown in the muck. I think this can be contrasted with “The Man I Killed,” wherein the main character kills a man against his own will to save his life. Kiowa, in this scene, consoled the main character by saying that he had to do what he had to do, and in “Speaking of Courage,” Kiowa dies because Bowker, who was going to save him, abandoned him for his own life, as the person in “The Man I Killed” killed the Vietnamese man to save his own life.

I think that this a great, honest portrayal of what it means to be brave. There were no courageous acts in this section of the story, but there was a lack thereof that clearly defined bravery.