"They proposed toasts. They lifted their canteens and drank to the old man's family and ancestors, his many grandchildren, his newfound life after death. It was more than mockery. There was a formality to it, like a funeral without the sadness."(p. 215)
this whole piece starts with the platoon stumbling across the body of an old man. each of them shakes the corpse's hand. I know I'm not the only one that found this immensely creepy. I mean, it's a dead body for Christ's sake. as if it couldn't get more creepy, the prop him up and have a conversation with him! I don't blame O'Brien for not wanting to take part in this. there's just something that's not right about this. I'm not sure it's disrespect. I mean, they're not defacing the body in any way, but there's a lack of sincerity, it seems. there's no sadness. there's no respect in that way. for me, a funeral without sadness is kinda like a half-hearted apology: if you're not doing it for the right reasons, you might as well not do it... maybe that's just me.
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