Monday, August 9, 2010

Motivation

I had already picked up on the fact that Curt Lemon was sort of a crazy dude, but this chapter only strengthened that idea. I could tell that he was a man who felt the need to be tough and in control. A show off, really. He wanted everyone to be impressed at his crazy antics and fearless attitude - or as some might say, his stupidity. His encounter with the dentist was honestly a little ridiculous. I don't blame him for being embarrassed at his reaction because truthfully I would have been too. Here he is, some supposedly macho tough guy who passed out before the dentist even opened his mouth. I wonder what kind of "bad experiences with dentists" he was thinking of when the other soldiers asked him why he was acting weird. They must have been pretty terrible to terrify him like that, right? I'm curious at least. On another note, because I understand Curt Lemon's character, I can also completely understand his motivation for faking a toothache later that night. He was so embarrassed of his reaction to the dentist that he felt the need to redeem himself as brave and manly. He complained about a nonexistent toothache until the dentist pulled out one of his teeth merely to prove that he was tough enough to handle it. This Lemon guy must have had some serious self-esteem issues back home.
"The dentist couldn't find any problem, but Lemon kept insisting, so the man finally shrugged and shot in the Novocain and yanked out a perfectly good tooth. There was some pain, no doubt, but in the morning Curt Lemon was all smiles." (page84)

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