I don’t recall any of before this portion, other than that I was with my mother.
My mother left me with a cart at what I think was a Walgreen’s. The Walgreen’s was very large, and very busy. The hall I was in, which was near the doors and checkout, was crowded, and people were constantly moving.
I was watching the cart while my mother was off doing something. I leaned on it, bored, and watched people go buy.
Someone caught my eye. He was in an army uniform, and quite clearly had “Born to Kill” scrawled on his helmet. The peace symbol pins clashed with that, and I watched him walk. Then I noticed he was staring directly at me. He kept walking as he shouted at me, “Are you sane?” I blinked, and he was still there. I turned my head as he continued, “Are you like me?” I did a double take. He was still there, and he shouted one last time, “Don’t you want to be like me?” He began to laugh hysterically as he walked out of my sight. No one else noticed him.
I panicked. Thoughts raced through my head all at once – Why was Private Joker from Full Metal Jacket in Walgreen’s yelling at me? Why was he saying I wanted to be like him? How was I like him? I looked at the cart, and the cameras were missing. I never noticed there were cameras in there before, but now they’re gone. I assumed my mother took them to be developed, but I didn’t see her. They must be stolen.
I leaned on the cart and cried.
I’m going insane.
For the Research paper:
| Feelings | Actions | Symbols | Meaning? |
| Boredom | Mother left me with cart at Walgreen’s | Mother: Parental unit; Cart: Item to push groceries/etc. in; Walgreen’s: Store with groceries and stuff. | Mother left me in charge of something. |
| Social Disgust | Standing still while people constantly moving in the hall. | People: Things I dislike; Hall: A place where people move a lot. | Life goes on, and I’m stuck at Walgreen’s. |
| Shock and Interest | Private Joker walked down the hall. | Private Joker: A character from Full Metal Jacket. | |
| Fear | Private Joker stares directly at me. | Stare: To hold one’s vision on a subject. | |
| Self-Doubt | Private Joker shouted at me: “Are you sane? Are you like me? Don’t you want to be like me?” |
Shout: To speak in a loud manner, drawing attention. Private Joker: Witnessed a soldier go mental and shoot their Sergeant; went to Vietnam as a Journalist, wasn’t really in charge of anything, just witnessing other people’s actions. At a point in the movie where he is forced to make a decision, he hesitates and someone else makes it for him. | Am I like him? Do I spend my life as a witness, having other people make the important decisions? Do I idly site by as madness occurs around me, and act unaffected? |
| Panic | No one noticed Private Joker but me. | Figment of Imagination: Something that one sees, but no one else does. | I’m going mental. |
| Disinterest | I notice the cart is missing it’s cameras. | Camera: An item to take pictures. | In Full Metal Jacket, a camera was stolen. In my dream, a camera was stolen. In real life, my camera was stolen. Each time, the theft was dealt with by not caring to much about it. Maybe this is how I’m like Private Joker. (I didn’t realize this until I typed the “Dis” of “Disinterest” |
| Hopeless, Confused | Crying. | I gave up. |