"Billy fled upstairs in his nice white home." pg 176
Billy passed out and had a flashback of the war time. He was at a party at the time. A party where he had planned to propose to his girlfriend, Valencia. When he woke up, he handed her the ring and ran upstairs, as demonstrated in the quote above. There is irony in this quote that I didn't catch immediately, and has implications concerning the entire book. When this party happens, Billy is no longer in the war. He is in a "nice, white home". But somehow, the war, and his memories of it still has power over him. The war can still send him running. This is a possible explanation for the "flashbacks" also. They're the way that the war haunts him, but also provide him with an escape. It's an endless cycle between Billy and his memories. He can't let them go, but he can't shake the power they have over him, so he is still running.
First, the name of your blog is terrible. Why? And what is with the birds? Anyways, I like this post despite the difficulty in reading it. Very good analysis.
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