This casually heroic moment marks a point of contrast with Decoud's suicide, both
of which involve a bullet aimed at Decoud. This occurs at the height of his idealism,
that at the depths of his skepticism. Although one is perceived as heroic and
the other as cowardly or pathetic, there is in both cases the same disregard for
life, showing that utter idealism and utter skepticism are equally dangerous to
the health.