Lieutenant Dan/Soyster Compare Contrast
Lieutenant Dan is a character from Forrest Gump . Serving as Gump’s Lieutenant in Vietnam, he is wounded in an ambush. Gump saves the Lieutenant along with the rest of his company. From his injuries, he loses both of his legs below the thighs. Along with his legs, he lost everything: job, glory, direction in life. One night, he jumps on Forrest and yells in frustration, “Why didn’t you just let me die like I was supposed to?” This bitter anger drives him to give up in life. He lives as a hobo, alone and aimless. Much like Lieutenant Dan, Soyster expresses the frustration in becoming disabled. He describes it as Circe’s Spell” and how multiple sclerosis turned him into “something” else (Soyster). The loss of his legs took away his meaning in life which was full of marathons, cycling, and skiing. In parallel to Lieutenant Dan, he sees himself as a useless “cripple” just “waiting” for life to take its due course (Soyster). However, Lieutenant Dan has a far different ending than So...