In David Rabe's play The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, why does the title character hold onto the grenade and allow it to explode in his hands?

It is a moot point whether Pavlo deliberately holds onto the grenade, "allowing" it to explode, which, if true, would constitute his second suicide attempt in the play. After all, the grenade is thrown into the room through a window, and an attempt to dispose of it by tossing it back is not completely unreasonable. After the grenade mortally wounds Pavlo, his alter-ego, Ardell, questions the stupidity of his action. Pavlo responds that he was thinking about "throwin' it", highlighting his lack of forethought about the potentially devastating consequences of his action. However, his response also indicates that he didn't have a conscious death wish because he did intend to get rid of the grenade. The fact that Pavlo chooses to handle the grenade at all is arguably a function of his 'basic training'; the army has instilled a value system equating masculinity and success with action, resulting in the suppression of personal awareness to institutional (military) expectations. In this sense, Pavlo is compelled to seize the grenade without consideration of cause and effect because that would be considered a passive, 'soft' reaction. Basic training has muted Pavlo's autonomous decision making so that his thoughts and actions more closely subscribe to the mold of hyper-masculine soldier.