Just caught up with today's thread and its been a great one. How cool is a shout out from Klipdoctor! Had to go off and read chapter 8 of the Captains Log and I think he's nailed it again for me. The build up to the date and what happens after (ahem) seems just right.
Now, going to get a bit analytical here so be warned! It is clear that a recurring theme on this thread has been how OG has inspired us to make a change for the better in our lives. Change is in fact an obvious central theme in OG with Molly looking to take charge of her destiny. But it has occurred to me that it goes much deeper than that and attitudes to change and peoples ability to influence change in themselves and others is examined through each of the main characters.
Smirf believes that he can affect change but his goals are unrealistic. He thinks he can revenge his brothers death, he thinks he can become a war hero and a knight of the realm and he thinks that he can make Molly love him. In the end he discovers that he cannot achieve what he wants but that the achievable alternative (Molly's friendship) can sometimes be just as rewarding.
CJ is almost the opposite.His rigid adherence to the chain of command and what he sees as the limited role of a soldier means he has no ambition to achieve change for the better - he simply wants to get his soldiers through and get them home. This is underlined by his almost nihilistic attitude to life as something being entirely governed by fate or chance. We all know that Molly ultimately changes his view and that he grows to understand that changing the little things can eventually make a big difference.
Molly knows that she can change her life and has consciously done so by joining the army. What she is unconscious of is her ability to influence others through example. Her journey is to move from being an unconscious agent of change in others to a conscious agent or a teacher. CJ has a central role in awakening her self awareness of this which I think makes there relationship so mutually beneficial and meaningful.
There are also various other threads around change or metamorphosis including Mollys Mums ambitions to do better, her dads wish to get fit and her grans regret at being unable to change the past. Molly even refers to her school project about the life cycle or metamorphosis of a butterfly and the life cycle of a squaddy.
Anyway. Gone off on one there a bit and sorry this has turned into a rambling post. Please ignore or comment as you wish. My only excuse is that you lot have really made me ' engage my brain'.