How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Platoon.
Quote #7
BARNES: Why do you smoke this s***? So's to escape from reality? Me I don't need this s***. I am reality. There's the way it oughta be, and there's the way it is.
Barnes boldly claims to be reality itself—the "way it is." That reality is the fact that they're fighting a bloody, terrible war, and there's no place in that war for the naiveté of guys like Taylor and Elias. The reality that Barnes identifies with is one in which it's okay to kills guys like Elias who kill the de facto leaders, the Barnes, of the platoon.
Quote #8
BUNNY: I told the padre the truth, man. I like it here. You get to do what you want, nobody f***s with you. The only worry you got is dying, and if that happens you won't know about it anyway so what the f*** man?
For Bunny, the reality of Vietnam is that it is a lawless, almost carefree place, a place where freedom reigns. This is a strange version of reality, but perhaps he looks at this way so that he can better cope with the very real possibility of his life being tragically cut short.