Motivation

In this chunk of the novel (pgs 120 to 132), the author tells of the man he killed. Whether or not this piece is factual or not is seemingly irrelevant, as is the case with all of the stories in this novel.

" 'We all had him zeroed. A good kill-weapon, ammunition, everything.' (pg 129)"

This speaking sequence is not that of Tim, but of Kiowa. Still, it shows a motivation that must have entered O'Brien's head when making the split-second decision to kill the man. Even though the kill was one that could have saved many American lives down the road, O'Brien felt terrible about it because the man had been just walking down the path. He had not made a move to kill a single one of them because he was presumably unaware of their existence. Realistically, there was not much motivation when it came to killing the man. O'Brien states that he acted on instinct. The only real motivation he had to kill the man was the training he endured to prepare him for this exact occurance, and he did exactly as the Army would have liked him to. Still, it is phenomenally clear that, if O'Brien could have gone back and not killed that man, regardless of the fact that his comrades would have likely done it anyway, he would not have done it. His motivation, in this instance, is weak.