Norman Bowker symbolizes the alienation that veterans of the Vietnam War felt within their community, consequently, this alienation illustrates the struggle they faced to be integrated back into the society.
Norman Bowker, a veteran who returns home, feels alienated from the other men in his hometown. “Speaking of Courage” chronicles the alienation and remoteness he feels in his hometown; though a deep desire to tell his story, he refuses to talk to Sally “… there is really nothing he could say to her” (O’Brien 133) as they both come from different worlds, one of war and the other ...
