Bowker Dialectical Journal

One could almost see Bowker’s stressed, confused, yet accepting face through the words in the letter. He’s pouring out his thoughts about life and his place in it, all along the way thinking about what he has said and what he’s going to say next as seen in the second part of the letter that Bowker shows: “God, this is starting to sound like some jerkoff vet crying in his beer. Sorry about that.” (150). It’s here that the roller coaster of emotion levels out a little bit and we can see direct evidence of Bowker start to use this letter as a platform for self-reflection. Generally self-reflection is supposed to be used to identify personal issues to fix them and eventually make yourself into a happier, better person. Here, Bowker attempts to
come to terms with his own state by writing “...But I shouldn’t b**ch.” (150) and invites O’Brien to come hang out.