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complete analysis of the death of the ball turret gunner
the death of the ball turret gunner essay
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The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner by Randall Jackson Jarrell
Randall Jackson Jarrell was born on May 6, 1914 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was the first child to Campbell and Owen Jarrell. He attended Hume-Fogg High School in Nashville and later graduated. He then attended Vanderbilt University through the generosity of his uncle Howell Campbell. His teacher, John Crowe Ransom, considered him "the best by far of the young writers in his workshop." Jarrell later went on to teach at some well know colleges and universities. He also went into the army and wanted to be a gunner but he failed. Jarrell had a mental break down, and was hospitalized for a while. He was released from the medical center. He was on a trip back to the doctor and he was fatally hit by a car on October 14, 1965
"The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" really has no verse nor does it have a rhyme scheme, so it would be classified as a regular meter. It has five lines, and is a good poem. It could really have many different meanings, depending on who the reader is. The main meaning that people often hear about, would be, that this guy is a ball turret gunner and has been chosen to go up in battle. When the wind hits his jacket it then freezes and then with no warning the enemy destroys his body. The only thing that the guys on the ground could do to get his mutilated body out is to wash the turret out. Many people believe that this poem was influenced by his experience in the Air Force. Jarrell wanted to be a gunner. When his chance came up, he was not chosen to be the gunner. He was then transferred to Tucson to serve as an B-29 crewman.
On the other hand there are some people that have criticized the poem. They say that "Jarrell should not tell the horrors of war and let the people find it out when the have to go to war.
The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner is a poem about many different subjects. In just it’s short five lines one can see that it has depth far beyond the actual length of the poem. The author Randall Jarrell was born in Nashville, Tennessee on May 6, 1914. He went on to teach at the University of Texas just before joining the US Air Force. Jarrell did write some before he joined to military but his most popular works (including this poem) were written after his service in the Air Force and his work was heavily influenced by it.
In the reading of “Babylon Revisited” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is the tale of the return of an American expatriate to Paris. The protagonist is named Charlie Wales. We find him in the Ritz bar chatting to the barman about the whereabouts of his past drinking buddies. He also describes Paris as being mostly desolate compared to many years earlier. Charlie describes himself as being soberer for more than a year and he now lives in Prague. He then leaves in a taxi and moves about aimlessly through Paris. Later in time, Charlie goes to his brother-in-law’s house where is five year old daughter Honoria jumps in his arms. As the story progresses, we realize that Charlie Wales returned to Paris to regain custody of his daughter, who presently lives with his sister in law. His sister in law hates him and his blamed for the death of his wife Helen. Helen died few years ago meanwhile Charlie was in a mental institution. Eventually, Charlie wins her trust and makes urgent plans to leave with Honoria. This happiness is short lived after two former party friends of Charlie, show up at the home of his sister in law asking him to come and drink with them. Charlie’s affiliation with this group, causes her to change her mind about letting him take is daughter back. Lastly, he returns to the bar hoping that, in few months he would get another chance to get Honoria. Charlie is determined not to drink and party with his friends, but we are not sure if his improved from the old days. He also shows a bit of nostalgia from his old days. Charlie has many flaws, but at the same time also charismatic and persuasive speaker. Charlie is not a victim, but sympathetic yes.
This is the poem that Jim Northrup wrote about war. I am going to Explicate the poem and
Poetry in my opinion is a writer describing, life experience, feelings, things he has seen and perhaps things he would like to see or experience. In Randall Jarrell's poem "The Death of the Bull Turret Gunner," there are many ways this poem maybe interpreted. I really did not understand the poem until I read it a few times. This is what I believe the writer is saying:
Wilfred Owen expresses his feelings about war in “Anthem for a Doomed Youth”, which revolves around the events that took place in World War I. Throughout the sonnet, the speaker talks bitterly about modern warfare, noting the harsh sounds of war and questioning the treatment of the soldiers that perish. In the octave, the speaker wonders what can be done to honor the soldiers that died, but realizes negatively that the soldiers only receive death instead of ceremonies. In the sestet, the speaker expands upon this idea of a proper ceremony for the deceased soldiers, saying that the families must be the ones to properly honor their dead. Owen’s use of the Petrarchan sonnet with a Shakespearean rhyme scheme, helps him express his frustration about war and its subsequent treatment of the dead.
US Clergyman Henry Emerson once said, “The tragedy of war is that it uses man's best to do man's worst." And I agree with him. What is it about the human race and war anyway? Well, Carl von Clausewitz also said that, "To secure peace is to prepare for war." I also agree with that. War is an ironic subject at times. And war can also be a way of life for some people. Walt Whitman and Stephen Crane’s poems have no similarities and they both have different ways in writing about war.
The speaker in "War is Kind" is an officer who grapples with his own conscience in an internal monologue. He is struggling with his feelings of guilt over leading younger soldiers into battle and his military responsibility to cover up the truth. One way of interpreting this poem is to consider that the officer is attending a traditional military funeral for one of his soldiers. This can be seen in the way the stanzas are set up in the poem. In the first, third, and fifth stanzas, the speaker appears to be consoling the weeping loved ones of a soldier who died in the war. This would normally be the job of an officer who leads a regiment into battle. Consoling the family members is a powerful tool for conveying the reality of war. Addressing loved ones of a deceased soldier illustrates the loss and suffering to be dealt with by those left behind. He speaks to a "maiden" (1), a "babe" (12), and a "mother" (23), thereby, conveying one of the most significant truths about wa...
In conclusion, depending on the position from which one views war, the standpoint may vary ranging from being supportive of the soldiers because those who die are dying for the country or they are completely unsupportive of war activities because it is a brutal and gruesome experience involving countless unnecessary injuries and deaths. Affected by a number of factors, the authors of the two poems have chosen opposing standpoints on the issue of war where Tennyson glorified it with the main message that it is an honour to die for one's country whereas the other, Owen suppresses the idea of war by illustrating all the horrid experiences of a soldier.
War and its ramifications for those who are unfortunately entangled in it, is an issue that has fueled both political discussion and literary exploration throughout the previous century. Underived, authentic accounts of the experience and effects of war, from those who have served in it, can be especially enlightening for the majority of society who have had the fortune of not being intimately familiar with war. Through the examination of poems and stories written by soldiers, who were inspired by their involvement in conflict, one can obtain a greater understanding of this gruesome aspect of life, without having to directly experience it. Similarly, soldier turned poet, Bruce Weigl, has contributed his perspective on war through his literary
War is not meant to be glorified. War is not meant to look easy. Stephen Crane was one of the few authors during his era who realized this fantasy-like aura around war and battles and decided to do something about it. The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane, was inspired by Crane’s life and his desire to portray the realistic side of war.
...and the way that the opposing sides think of each other is awful. The fact that one side is praying for disaster to come on their enemies isn’t showing God’s love and at the end of the poem it says, “We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love.” It is out of love for their own soldiers but not for the soldiers on the other side. This poem shows the real aspects of people’s feelings about war. Many people don’t want their own side to be crushed, but they don’t care if the other side does get crushed.
Through reading this poem several times I decided that the message from the poem is that war is full of horror and there is little or no glory. Methods which I found most effective were Full rhyme and metaphor.
The powerful poem ‘Weapons Training’ showcases a sergeant, through malicious words, guiding his troops. However it is through ‘Homecoming’, where Dawe exposes the brutal hopelessness brought forth by the futility of war. Therefore it can be seen that war has an emotional toll on both families and the soldiers. Both poems have a recurring message that all war does is bring loss, death and mourning, showcasing Dawes strong opinions about a futile
The poet Wilfred Owen was one of many poets who were against war. He reflected this idea of anti-war in his poems, one of his poems called “Anthem for Doomed Youth”, mirrors most aspects of war all put together in this short still deep poem. An example of that would be when the speaker stated,” What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?”(1) The speaker asks is there any sound that marks our soldier’s death other than the sounds of church bell’s which are mostly rung to represent somebody’s absence? Clearly, the speaker sets anger as the tone of the poem through this question to show that soldier’s death is unremarkable.. The speaker compares the soldiers to a “cattle” which illustrates that soldiers are treated more like animals with no feelings and also shows how they are killed indiscriminately in war. Finally the line ironically contains an iambic pentameter which is a natural rhythm for such dark, grim, dull subject. The two novels, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, and All Quiet on The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, both present a similar idea of how soldiers are killed out there in the front comprehensively and the dehumanization of war towards its soldiers. The first novel is set during the Civil War, and it focuses on the psychological aspects of one soldier named Henry Fleming and how his naive thoughts about war constantly change through the course of the novel. The second novel presents the life of a soldier named Paul Baumer and his friends who were faced with the terribleness of war and how severely it affected their lives. The Red badge of Courage and All Quiet on The Western Front are similar in the way of how the main characters develop through the novel to change from naïve and innocent men ...
Crane was able to capture both the horrendous reality and the romanticized view of war in both of these works. Crane expresses this through irony. He amplifies the public’s view of the greatness of war his poem, to ridicule, in a sense, this view to more deeply express his opinion that war is a harsh reality, the opposite of what most civilians make it out to be.