Dentist

Summary: After Curt Lemon died O'Brien found it hard to mourn him for he didn't know him that well and what he did know he was unimpressed with. O'Brien says its easy to get sentimental over the dead and with that he begins his story of Lemon. They were working on an operation called Rocket Pocket when a dentist is flown in to check everyone's teeth. While waiting for their check up it was obvious that Lemon was anxious. When he was asked about what his problem was he said that in high school he had a bad experience with dentists and they just give him the creeps. When called in for his inspection Lemon fainted even before the Doctor touched him. Later that night Lemon woke the dentist up claiming to have a killer toothache and the dentist couldn't find a problem but with Lemon's insisting the Doctor pulled a perfectly good tooth relieving the solider.

Response: I think the point O'Brein was trying to make in this chapter is that Physical pain is much easier to cope with than mental upset and I think many can agree with that. Lemon is the solider who acts all tough yet is scared of a mere dentist its rather ironic because he is so fearless yet is so unsettled at the sight of a silly dentist. When Lemon faints he is extremely embarrassed and torments himself for the rest of the day and later hiss inner pain is put at rest when he has the dentist pull his perfectly good tooth. The next morning when Curt Lemon shows off his pulled tooth he is proud because he faced his fear and can in a way redeem himself for fainting earlier.