paranoid everywhere she goes, even in her own apartment and is still thinking about what happened in Iraq. The main character keeps recalling what happened in Iraq with the haji and her friend Kavanagh. She feels guilty that she couldn’t protect Kavanagh and she should have died with her. The protagonist can recall the image of the haji, the look in his eyes and what he was going to do in that moment. Kalinowski never says that this character had PTSD, but you are able to infer based on her thoughts and what happened throughout the story. The character is struggling to move on with her life after her deployment in Iraq. She has been avoiding talking with her mom about her experience and is wondering whether or not she will be able to talk about what happened in Iraq. Struggling with PTSD is something that many veterans deal with after returning home. …show more content…
He is glad to be coming home and reuniting with his wife Cheryl and dog Vicar. “When I got to the window and handed in my rifle, though, it brought me up short. That was the first time I’d been separated from it in months.” (43) When he comes home, he is asked to hand over his rifle. He feels very disconnected after not having to hold a rifle at all time during his deployment. His rifle was used as protection during the war, but now that he is back in the United States he does not need it. He says that he didn’t know what to do with his hands, so he put them in his pockets, took them out, crossed them, and then just let them hang. He then spots Cheryl. “I moved in and kissed her. I figured that was what I was suppose to do.” (45) You can tell that the narrator is very nervous, as well as Cheryl. They are both very awkward with each other, not really knowing what to do, after being separated for so