Like Bowker, Linda gives O’Brien a reason to write. In his vision of her after her death, Linda tells O’Brien to “stop crying,” that death “doesn’t matter.” Indeed, O’Brien uses writing to tell the story of Linda, to give her life again, or as he puts it, to “save Linda’s life.” Writing is creative; it counters the destruction of death and war. Bowker’s need to have O’Brien tell his story is the same as O’Brien’s need to remember Linda through writing, which is itself an act that sustains life by animating the dead.