Peter Walsh and PTSD

 Now to begin with I want to stay that Peter Walsh doesn't actually have PTSD having not really fought in a war, but he lived in India in the years immediately following World War I and people around him were probably going through it and I think that that rubbed off on him as from what we see him thinking about and what I know about PTSD he seems to exhibit similar symptoms. When he came back and talked with Clarissa what went through him mind was just like what goes through peoples mind when they come back from war like, "how are these people living their lives just like normal after what happened to me?" Even though such a terrible thing happened to the people fighting in the war the people in the place you fought for doesn't even act like anything is different aside from congratulating you for fighting for your country.

Not only that but he seems to really regret not staying with Clarissa, along with being really disappointed she didn't love him back. But he appears to have fallen in love in India though I'm not entirely sure what he said as he sounded like he was divorcing the woman he just met, as he seemed really sad while talking about a divorce. He also chased after some unknown girl, which could've just been a figment of his imagination showing him the exact woman he wanted to marry, and showing him how he could never obtain her.

The Privacy of Plastic Bags

     I really relate with Baker's passage on the plastic bags you get things in when you buy stuff from the gas station. I often go to the gas station to get snacks and the such as there is one near my house, and I always wanna keep the bags hidden even though I know that it really doesn't matter if anyone sees them. Just as Howie thinks that people want to keep what they buy hidden as they see it as their private information and no one else should see it. I also want to keep what I have bought hidden from others. I think it's really interesting how he talks about people wanting to keep their privacy, they see it as a very important thing, yet here Howie is, or really Baker, spilling pretty much all his thoughts about all these subjects to anyone who wants to read them. He tells about his childhood, L, his coworkers, and most importantly what he thinks about many of these subjects. He is just throwing away his privacy while telling us about how much people want to keep their privacy. How he wants to keep the privacy of his purchase hiding it in his plastic bag. Although it is hard to tell if this is Baker telling us about Howie's mind, but considering the book is from the perspective of Howie telling us about his thoughts during this escalator ride, I think it's okay to believe is is Howie who has decided to give up his privacy.