After the death of one of their fellow soldiers , Curt Lemon, the men find a baby buffalo and take it with them. Curt's death has had a strong effect on the men, and one in particular, Rat Kiley, projects his frustrations onto the innocent, young animal.
Some of them finally pick up the dying animal and throw it down a well. The baby water buffalo is symbolic of the innocence and youth of the soldiers themselves before they were confronted with the horrors of war that have torn them apart psychologically, piece by terrible piece.
The land also takes on symbolic value: sometimes an enemy and other times a seductive force, the land can represent home or tomb, beauty, or brutality. This contradictory symbolism makes sense, given the stories' historical context.
The colour change happens because the dyes can exist in two states, one of which fluoresces at uv wavelengths and the other at visible wavelengths.
The shifting or "twisting" of the dye is referred to as a molecular excitation transition. The dye does not actually "change" color; rather, it becomes visible to the human eye. Research shows that some animals; e.g., certain species of bats, can actually see the color of a Spectrachrome® crystal in its inactive state.
When a flower blooms, the result is the exposure of the inherent color of the flower. A Spectrachrome® crystal is similar in that an energy-shift occurs causing the color of the dye to become visible to the human eye. The shifting or "twisting" of the dye is referred to as a molecular excitation transition. The dye does not actually "change" color;