T HE D ENTIST A Bit of Comic Relief?

A S TORY W ITHIN THE S TORY After Lemon dies, O’Brien finds it difficult to mourn his loss because he didn’t really know him Instead of getting “mushy”, O’Brien chooses to tell a story about Lemon.

“T ORTURE C HAMBER S TUFF ” The men are working along the South China Sea, on a base the men consider a vacation-despite the random bombing it receives. A dentist (along with some primitive looking equipment) is flown in to check the dental hygiene of the men. As it draws closer to Lemon’s turn to see the dentist, he grows increasingly agitated and attempts to flee

As he attempts to leave the tent his stress overtakes him and he passes out. It takes four men to drag him back to the chair When he wakes up, he is completely embarrassed at showing weakness So…

To seem “manly” Lemon woke the dentist up in the middle of the night, loudly proclaiming he had a “monster toothache” He then has the dentist remove a perfectly good tooth…

T HOUGH S HORT … This section is worth noting because it reflects on the theme of the weight the men brought with them to Vietnam (in this case, Lemon’s fear of dentists) This story also shows the absurdity and silliness of trying to act manly in the midst of a battlefield His death is just as crazy as his fear of dentists. Here O’Brien demonstrates that war is fundamentally a place where logic and sense break down.