Theme of Justice

Justice is defined as the quality of being fair and reasonable. In the chapters “Enemies” and “Friends”, the theme of justice has a particularly entertaining way of carrying itself out. These two chapters deal with the interaction between Lee Strunk and Dave Jensen.

During “Enemies”, the first chapter, Jensen and Strunk get into a fight. “Strunk’s nose made a sharp snapping sound, like a fire cracker, but even then Jensen kept hitting him.” This quote vividly describes Jensen’s victory over Strunk. After Strunk’s nose was put back together, he returned to the patrol. Jensen expected revenge for his actions and became very paranoid about Strunk. He was so paranoid that it was, “Like fighting two different wars.” Eventually Jensen smashed his own nose with the back of a pistol, in order to end his guilt. The next morning, both soldiers agreed that everything was square and they moved on.

            In the second chapter, “Friends”, justice is once again served in an unpredictable way.  As time went on, the two became better friends and even made a pact. The pact stated, “If any of them should ever get totally f**d up—a wheelchair wound—the other guy would automatically find a way to end it.” This agreement would later be tested after Strunk stepped on a mortar and lost half of his leg. While lying on the ground helplessly, Strunk is approached by Jensen. Strunk moaned, “Jesus, man. Don’t kill me.”  Against their previous deal, Jensen agrees not to murder Strunk and even gives him hope towards recovery. Strunk later died in Chu Lai. His death brought Jensen a great deal of relief. I believe justice prevailed because their pact’s end goal, neither of them having to live severely handicapped, came true.

            Justice presents itself different ways in each of these chapters. In the first, it is Jensen’s action of breaking his own nose that levels the playing field. In the second chapter, justice sort of prevails on its own without Jensen having to kill Strunk. These two chapters show Tim O’Brien’s ability to present justice in different and entertaining ways.