"If I ever find out one of you goes and kills yourself over pussy, I'll chase you down into hell and kill your ignorant ass a second time." [Swofford, pg. 69]
I was rereading some pages & I find it rather disturbing how they take mortality on such a light note. Swoff mentions several reasons why some men may kill themselves while in the Corps. I personally have had my ups & downs with the opposite sex, but to kill myself? That seems a bit harsh. The manner in which they mention suicide or maybe even euthenasia [if one of the Marines helped] is just so lax.
The fact that the thought of death is just so easily tossed over one's shoulder is really upsetting at least in my opinion. I had my moments earlier in life when I felt like it would be easier dead than alive, but the reactions behind it weren't like theirs. "... And you want to kill yourself? I need to go for a run. You coming?" [Swofford, pg. 71] I never saw anyone toss away a life so simply & just verify his action by going for a jog. I question whether the war has hindered their feelings or if they think being casual like that would lighten the already dark mood. To me, I think different situations make you have different responses. If Swoff was in America without any military training, I could easily see him like his sister in "Serendipity" over an action like that. But does the influence of war & violence overrule something of that magnitude? Is it easier to laugh it off or work out than acknowledge a problem?
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Some interesting comments here--especially about the laxity of death. Rereading this memoir last night I kept underlining the word death--it's on almost every page.
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