What happened to Curt Lemon at the dentist?
The irony of the story is that shortly after he gets up the courage to have a tooth pulled in order to reassure himself of his bravery, he is killed while playing catch with a grenade. His death is ridiculous and points out the uselessness of bravery.
What did Curt Lemon fear?
He finally admits that he has a fear of the dentist going back to his childhood. When it's his turn to see the dentist, Lemon the tough guy faints dead away from his fear. When he comes to, Lemon cannot handle the shame and embarrassment of his weakness.Dec 27, 2021
Was curt lemon real?
VIETNAM — Curt Lemon was tragically killed in 1970 while he was playing catch with his best mate and fellow soldier, Rat Kiley. Lemon was one of the younger members of the Alpha Company and known for being quite the humorous fellow. One Halloween, he even dressed up and went trick-or-treating near base camp.May 12, 2018
What killed Curt Lemon?
Curt Lemon dies by accidentally stepping on a grenade. Lemon and Rat Kiley “were playing catch with smoke grenades” in the shade during a break their platoon took from being on the move.
Who is Curt Lemon?
In “The Dentist” in The Things They Carried, O’Brien tells his own Curt Lemon story. He recalls an Army dentist who visited the company one day to check in on the men’s teeth. Lemon, for all his bravado, fearlessness, and exploits in combat, was, for some reason, deathly afraid of going to the dentist. When it came time for Lemon ...
What did Lemon do in Rat?
According to Rat, Lemon once went out to a Vietnamese village, nude except for a mask and full body paint, to go “trick-or-treating,” bewildering the villagers in the process. This is similar to the bravado and shows of masculinity demonstrated in “The Dentist” in The Things They Carried.
Why is Rat's language so coarse?
O’Brien notes that the coarseness of Rat’s language is what makes the story true, because it reflects the harshness of Vietnam. It is important that Rat says the vulgar “cooze,” and not “woman,” “girl,” or even “bitch.”. He also observes that it is nearly impossible to arrive at literal truth in the fog of war.
Who is the dentist in the things they carried?
Related to the chapter “The Dentist” in The Things They Carried is a story about Curt Lemon from medic Rat Kiley. Rat had served with Curt Lemon, who was known for volunteering for the most dangerous combat assignments, like late-night reconnaissance missions and patrols. Lemon was also celebrated for being a daredevil with what his fellow soldiers ...
Is it possible to arrive at literal truth in the fog of war?
He also observes that it is nearly impossible to arrive at literal truth in the fog of war. Memory is unreliable (especially after time) and every witness remembers things differently. Often, the wildest elements of the story are true and the most banal aspects are false.
Why is it so hard to mourn Curt Lemon?
O’Brien says that mourning Curt Lemon was difficult for him because he didn’t know him well, but in order to avoid getting sentimental, he tells a brief Curt Lemon story. In February, the men are at work in an area of operations along the South China Sea. One day, an Army dentist is flown in to check the men’s teeth.
Why does Lemon want to get his pain out of the way?
Lemon wants to get his pain out of the way—in part to save face in front of his fellow soldiers for fainting and in part to get used to the feeling of suffering. By actually experiencing and becoming familiar with pain, he eases his mind of the anxiety of not knowing what such pain might feel like.
What is the character of Curt Lemon?
Curt Lemon’s character offers an unusal take on the idea of bravado within war. He has an obvious need to demonstrate his capacity to endure suffering and to act bravely in the face of adversity. He, like several of the men, has a clear notion of what bravery is, garnered from popular culture. He experiences discomfort for the sake of pride and for the assurance that he has acted like a man. In the morning, when he reveals that the dentist has pulled his tooth, he is proud, having defeated his prior nervous reaction—fainting—with an obvious display of manliness. But the threat that Lemon faces is not a real one; nothing is wrong with his teeth. The challenge that he confronts with bravado is entirely psychological. As a result, this episode demonstrates the absurdity of conventional bravado.
What dentist is flown in to check the men's teeth?
One day, an Army dentist is flown in to check the men’s teeth. As the platoon sits, waiting to be checked one by one, Curt Lemon begins to tense up. Finally, he admits that in high school he had some bad experiences with dentists.
What is the irony of Lemon's character?
The irony of Lemon’s character is that Lemon so abjectly fears something as generally harmless as a dentist’s visit and doesn’t give a second thought to the potential harm of playing with a grenade.
What is the irony of the story of the tooth pulled?
The irony of the story is that shortly after he gets up the courage to have a tooth pulled in order to reassure himself of his bravery, he is killed while playing catch with a grenade.
Does Lemon want his tooth pulled?
Though the dentist can’t find any problem, Lemon demands his tooth be pulled. Finally, the dentist, shrugging, gives him a shot and yanks the perfectly good tooth out, to Lemon’s delight.
Why is Lemon scared of the dentist?
Though the dentist has only rudimentary facilities, Lemon is especially scared because of childhood experiences with dentists. He faints in the dentist's tent before being examined. Others in the unit know about this because they help get him on a cot after the episode.
What is the weakness of Lemon and the dentist?
Lemon is a braggart and relishes creating a machismo personality. His weakness is that he needs others to hold him in awe, to treat him as important. It is upon this weakness, as O'Brien sees it, that the story pivots and O'Brien's low opinion of Lemon is based.
What did O'Brien think of Curt Lemon?
He remembers Lemon's tendency to play the clichéd role of the macho soldier, deliberately taking unnecessary risks and bragging and embellishing them with untruths.
Did O'Brien feel Lemon earned mourning rights?
In other words, he exchanged one fear for another, still letting his fears control him. For this reason, O'Brien does not feel that Lemon earned mourning rights.
Is Lemon a brave boy?
Lemon is shown not to be high strung or brave, but childish, reverting to fears sustained as a child about dentists. These fears overpower him even as an adult, a man, a soldier. So potent are the fears of youth that they can weaken even the man who tries harder than anyone to appear strong.
Does Lemon fight the dentist?
Lemon does not even fight against seeing the dentist, but instead faints and quietly is carried away. He returns, however, to have the dentist treat a fictional toothache and pull a healthy tooth. Lemon cannot cope with letting his childhood fears master his adult life, so he confronts them artificially.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
8. Characterize Curt Lemon and why he behaves the way he does. How does this affect your reading of the previous chapter? What is the purpose of placing this chapter directly after How to Tell a True War Story?
The Dentist
8. Characterize Curt Lemon and why he behaves the way he does. How does this affect your reading of the previous chapter? What is the purpose of placing this chapter directly after How to Tell a True War Story?
Who is Curt Lemon?
Curt Lemon. Curt Lemon was a childish and careless member of the Alpha Company, who was killed while tossing a grenade in a game of catch. Though O’Brien doesn’t particularly like Lemon, Lemon’s death is something O’Brien continually contemplates with sadness and regret. The preventability of his death and the irrational fears ...
Is O'Brien close to Lemon?
Though O’Brien is not close to Lemon, in “The Dentist ,” he tells a story of how Lemon, who faints before a routine checkup with an army-issued dentist, tries to save face by insisting that a perfectly good tooth be pulled.
What is the obsession of Lemon in The Dentist?
Lemon pulls stunts like these and then brags about them, always embellishing the story. Lemon's obsession with manliness, toughness, and valor come to a head in ''The Dentist.''. In the story, an Army dentist visits the soldiers to do check-ups and repairs on their teeth. As they wait, Lemon gets very fidgety.
How does O'Brien convey the feeling of war?
He strives to reach his readers' emotions, to move them to empathy. He knows that war is an incredibly complex experience, full of contradictions and juxtapositions. Using story-telling is O'Brien's way to convey the feeling of war, regardless of the actual, factual events that happened.
What does O'Brien remember?
O'Brien remembers white bone and pieces of skin and ''something wet and yellow that must've been the intestines.'' . Mostly, though, he remembers the sick, morbid humor exhibited by his fellow soldier Dave Jensen, who sings a song called ''Lemon Tree'' as they remove body parts from the tree.
Is Curt Lemon a character?
Curt Lemon, while not a major character in The Things They Carried, is a memorable one. The character is a tough-guy braggart, hiding his insecurities behind his bravado. Behind his character, though, Lemon is most memorable for the way he dies.
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Characterization in the Dentist. (2018, Jan 20). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/characterization-in-the-dentist/
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Characterization in the Dentist. (2018, Jan 20). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/characterization-in-the-dentist/
