In chapter 3 Billy looks into the commanders boots to see Adam and Eve, in my interpretation of this, I see something quite unordinary. Billy is very vulnerable in the state he is in, everything he does he questions, he is not a fighter but he lives surrounded by people who fight. "Next to the Golden boots were a pair of feet which were swaddled in rags." (pg. 54)
Alone the feet are very vulnerable, alone without the protection of anything guarding them, alone Billy, Adam and Eve and even the feet are very easily disturbed. Adam and Eve stay in the garden of Eden because its easy to be safe, nothing will attack them or hurt them, so they think. But no one can stay out of the ever pressing thought of harm. Sometimes you have to go into the night, you have to be vulnerable, vulnerability can only be apparent if their is harm in your way, you have to take off your boots, so to say, and run towards the night, with bloody feet ready to fight, because next to something that is holy and protected, their is always something that can hurt you or get hurt itself. Billy walks towards danger with a slight tremble, in order to stay strong he needs to have that tremble, but he should never back away, he faces the tremble, induced with fear full on and keeps on pushing. Is Billy vulnerable in the state he is in, or does he have what it takes to be a fighter?
Billy seems extremely vulnerable, but he is protected by the fighting nature of those around him. He uses his comrades as his shield, if you will. The idea of Adam and Eve using the garden of Eden as their shield is something I never thought about.
ReplyDeleteI saw the designs in the commander's boots as a primal representation of war. There is something very glorious, almost fancy about the idea of being a soldier. Think of that as the golden boots. However, the deeper you glance into the boots, the more raw human nature you see. Adam and Eve represent the very first of human kind, and they begin as simple people with a minimalist mindset. This is the side of war that soldiers see, and that they keep with them for the rest of their lives. Both perspectives are present today, I think, and the primal side of war is so unspeakably horrible that it hides behind its own shield of wealth, power and glory, just as Adam and Eve hide in the depths of the golden boots.
Both of your statements bring interesting points. I never thought about the boots alone being vulnerable, or as being 'fancy' until you look inside. While something may seem glorious on the outside, you don't really know until you see what's on the inside as well. I think that of Billy; while he may seem immature and unable to defend himself, he seems like he could have what it takes to be a fighter. In a way, he sort of is, because he has to wake up every day and fight the depressing surroundings and the negative impacts of the war.
ReplyDeleteEveryday someone wakes up on the battle field with doubt, it seems like the boots give a character more of a meaning and maybe a disguise for what they really feel. I never really thought about how Adam and Eve hide within the boots, for some reason I have always seen them as strong figures with no weaknesses, but for the first time I am seeing their vulnerable aspects.
ReplyDeleteEveryday someone wakes up on the battle field with doubt, it seems like the boots give a character more of a meaning and maybe a disguise for what they really feel. I never really thought about how Adam and Eve hide within the boots, for some reason I have always seen them as strong figures with no weaknesses, but for the first time I am seeing their vulnerable aspects.
ReplyDelete