SCores to settle

"I was down there with him. I was part of the night. I was the land itself-everything, everywhere- the fireflies and paddies, the moon, the midnight rustlings, I was jungle fire, jungle drums- I was blind stare in the eyes of all those poor, dead, dumbfuck ex-pals of mine-all the pale young corpses, Lee Strunk and Kiowa and Curt Lemon- I was the beast on their lips-I was Nam- the horror, the war." (pg.209)

O'Brien has officially crossed over to the dark side. He has become, for a second, the man that feels nothing. He feels no pity for his "ex-pals" he is opaque and blank in emotions. All he wants is to even a score and in doing that O'Brien becomes the war which is a symbol for emptiness and horror. Nam is the symbol for death and war. The author wants us to see what it can make men become. What it makes them do.