Just a bit of motivation.

The motivation for most things is pretty clear. Jealousy, lust, greed, hunger, or whatever it is, the author usually makes it rather clear. The case is no different on page 184. After being shot and not helped in a timely manner by a new medic, O'Brien tells us that he wanted "to make Bobby Jorgenson feel exactly what I felt. I wanted to hurt him." The motivation to cause this pain is obviously revenge. But I think there is more behind this motivation. I don't think it's just revenge against Jorgenson, I think it's revenge against the war. I wasn't really Jorgenson that caused the pain, he was just an easy scape goat. And it wasn't just the guns shot that brought on the pain, that was just the tangible cause. The real pain was due to the war as a whole. Most of the pain was emotional, but O'Brien couldn't blame anyone for that. He was changed forever by this war, and he wanted someone else to suffer that same change. Deep down he knew that his motivations weren't warranted and that he could never make someone pay for the damages caused. This motivation was one that most people of the Vietnam War were driven by. By not directly stating it, O'Brien is able to illustrate the mental turmoil that the war caused in those fighting it.