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Lake is one of the two absent members of Bravo Squad. Very little is said about him, but he lost both his legs in Iraq and is at the Brooke Army Medical Center for the duration of the novel. Before every meal, Billy ritually imagines where Lake and Shroom would sit were they present.
Lake Quotes in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
The Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk quotes below are all either spoken by Lake or refer to Lake. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5 Quotes
What's happening now isn't nearly as real as that, eating this meal, holding this fork, lifting this glass, the realest things in the world these days are the things in his head.
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As Billy eats lunch in the exclusive club at the stadium, he loses himself in thoughts about Shroom, Lake, and the war, reasoning finally that being at this meal doesn't feel as real as his memories of the war. This makes it abundantly clear to the reader that Billy struggles to understand what's real and what's not, entirely independent of the Fantasy Industrial Complex that does the same for citizens at home. Billy struggles because what he's experienced and what he remembers about the war feels far more real than being back in the US on the Victory Tour, even Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus
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Lake Character Timeline in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
The timeline below shows where the character Lake appears in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
1. The Thing Begins
...Ratner, accompany the eight remaining members of Bravo Squad. Counting Shroom, who is dead, and Lake, who is seriously wounded, Bravo has two Silver Stars and eight Bronze Stars among the...
(full context)
4. The Human Response
...is "property," and the rest of the Bravos are "product." Billy wonders what Shroom and Lake are in this system. He is also annoyed by the rest of the platoon's interest...
(full context)
5. By Virtue of Which the Many Become the One
...conversation and hopefully learn something. Before he starts eating, he thinks about where Shroom and Lake would sit. Billy considers the other rituals he follows, and reasons that none of them...
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...the memories in his head feel more real than eating in Texas. He thinks of Lake and his two missing legs, but Dime calls Billy's attention back to lunch. Albert declares...
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Dime berates Billy some more, and Billy recalls the day that Lake was injured. Billy had lost all composure, and Dime shoved him in a supply closet....
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11. This Is Everything There Is
...guard brings out the flag and the national anthem begins. Billy thinks about Shroom and Lake, but his mind wanders to Faison. He picks her out in the line of cheerleaders,...
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12. Billy and Mango Are Out For a Walk
...his aisle seat. Billy wonders what he believes in and sends up a "prayer" for Lake, Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld. He prays that the war is about the oil and the...
(full context)
