Symbolism of smell in Throttle

In “Throttle (with Stephen King),” sense of smell is symbolic of visceral association with trauma. Lemmy’s description to Vince of events that strongly imprinted upon his memory were through the lens of the scene’s scents. Lemmy uses smell to define danger and wrongdoing; the experience of smelling gruesome, dirty scenes allows him to access the memory and thus the emotions associated with it. On the contrary, though, Lemmy also uses his sense of smell as a means of comfort, symbolic of the way physical experience influences the mind. Lemmy’s comfort in the explosion’s scent, similar to that of Vietnam, blurs the distinction between trauma and comfort. He survived Vietnam with his lifelong friend. They also survived Race’s carelessness and Laughlin’s attack. Lemmy’s wisdom through experience allows for new associations to be made through smell.