Ball Turret Gunner Message

The author, Tim O'Brien, is writing about an experience of a tour in the Vietnam conflict. This short story deals with inner conflicts of some individual soldiers and how they chose to deal with the realities of the Vietnam conflict, each in their own individual way as men, as soldiers.

Through “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” the soldiers standing, watching as everything goes on around them, are not able to stop what is happening. The soldiers represent the unforgiving nature of war.

In the poem “The Man in the Dead Machine,” Donald Hall uses vivid imagery and alternative scenarios to emphasize the sheer overwhelming specter of death that loomed over those serving in the greatest conflict known to man. The hook that Hall uses to initially provoke the readers interest is the mentioning of the Grumman Hellcat, a fighter plane used by Americans in World War II. Specifying the model of the fighter plane allows the reader to be knowledgeable about the setting of the poem. The meaning of this poem focuses on the destructivity wartime causes on the life of those in service. The main focal point Hall emphasizes throughout his poem is the uncertainty of life and death. However, other important targets of this poem are suicide

“The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” written by Randall Jarrell is a poem that introduces three major ideas in only five lines. These ideas are birth, death, and war. Jarrell is able to accomplish a lot in this short poem by using diction and syntax such as metaphor and figurative language.

During times of war, it is inevitable for loss to be experienced by all. In the poems “The Black Rat” and “The Photograph” written by Iris Clayton and Peter Kocan respectively, the idea of loss is explored through an omniscient narrator recalling a soldier’s involvement in warfare. While Clayton writes of a soldier’s abrupt loss of hope and how this experience negatively affects his life, Kocan explores how the loss of a loved one affects a family sixty years later. While both poems incorporate similar techniques in imagery and narration, the time setting for each poem is different as “The Black Rat” is set in Tobruk, Libya during World War 2 and “The Photograph” is set during World War 1.

Memoirs of war often reflect the positive or negative experiences endured throughout battle. Considered by many to be one of the best memoirs of World War I, Hervey Allen’s “Toward the Flame”, recalls his own experiences of battle. His recollection of events shows that he had a negative image of war and that there was nothing glorious about it. What started out looking like a man’s greatest adventure turned into a shell-shocking reality that war is actually horrible and trying. Allen’s experiences with consistent hunger, mustard gas, and artillery shellings led to his disillusionment with war, and left him with a permanent hatred of battle.

The short story that will be discussed, evaluated, and analyzed in this paper is a very emotionally and morally challenging short story to read. Michael Meyer, author of the college text The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, states that the author of How to Tell a True War Story, Tim O’Brien, “was drafted into the Vietnam War and received a Purple Heart” (472). His experiences from the Vietnam War have stayed with him, and he writes about them in this short story. The purpose of this literary analysis is to critically analyze this short story by explaining O’Brien’s writing techniques, by discussing his intended message and how it is displayed, by providing my own reaction,

Growing up, many young boys idolized the war heroes in movies such as Saving Private Ryan and American Sniper. However, in the poem "Tunnels," Yusef Komunyakaa portrays the theme of the true fear and lack of purpose experienced by the American soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. This was done by showing the reader that any mistake could easily result in the death of a soldier. Through his use of poetic form and structure, figurative language, and diction Komunyakaa is able to effectively convey his theme.

The poem "Weapons training" composed by Bruce Dawe, explores the realities of war. The poem is situated in the period of the Viet-Nam war

Since the beginning of time, humans have sought after power and control. It is human instinct to desire to be the undisputed champion, but when does it become a problem? Warfare has been practiced throughout civilization as a way to justify power. Though the orders come directly from one man, thousands of men and women pay the ultimate sacrifice. In Randall Jerrell’s “The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner”, Jarrell is commenting on the brutality of warfare. Not only does Jarrell address the tragedies of war, he also blames politics, war leaders, and the soldier’s acknowledgement of his duties. (Hill 6) With only five lines of text, his poems allows the reader to understand what a soldier can go through. With the use of Jerrell’s poem, The Vietnam War, and Brian Turner’s “Ameriki Jundee”, the truth of combat will be revealed.

Tim O’Brien, an influential war time writer, has many short stories describing the horrific hard times during war and the terrible things they had to go through during their time of service. Soldiers had to go on with their duties no matter what may have happened to them during the previous days. You also have to do what is needed to stay survive, which may be the simplest task at hand or fighting for your life in hand-to-hand combat. “How to Tell a True War Story,” shows how in life everyone, whether in war or in everyday life, is required to move during the hard times in life and to complete the daily tasks that are necessary.

Death Traps, by Belton Y. Cooper, is the story of an ordnance officer and his duty of finding and assessing the damage of the United States main battle tank, the m4 Sherman. Cooper sings the most unsung song through history, the heroism of maintenance and supply units. What good is the greatest army if they starve? Or the good of the best armored vehicles in history, if they have no gas? Cooper delivers an intense, firsthand account of the maintenance associated with armored vehicles. From the beaches of Normandy, to the final days of the Reich, Cooper was there running information between front lines and command, what tanks were damaged and what was needed for repair, if repairable. While good in spirit and intent, Death Traps is riddled

Tonight was another day that I was at the gun again. In the pitch black of night, at the gun, and firing in the general direction of whoever the poor bastard was up there, giving em’ hell. I probably haven’t told you this by now but I am drafted into the 5th Anti-Aircraft Division as a Gunner. Our unit controls the searchlight formations and AA guns in Reading. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this earlier – I was caught up so many times to go out and fire the gun and forgetting to write to you. I think last night we actually managed to get into one of the record amount of planes that were shot down in a single raid. It wasn’t hard at all- there was a continuous stream of them, never ending, like an

On average 6600 airmen died per month in World war 2 in combat. In the novel Catch- 22 the setting is set around a bombardier in World War 2 whose job is as stressful as it come. When the mission came about the bombardier had to be in perfect condition, so that they can carry out the mission successfully. The conditions of work for the bombardier was one of the toughest workplaces for a human, nearly inches of clearing, tight squeezes, and the use of one of the most advanced weapons of the time. They had to carry out the missions plan, or they would have to answer to one of the disorderly officers that job is to make sure the mission goes as planned. World War 2 was a terrible and disturbing war, and the devastation of war left a lot of people in physical and mental instability after World War 2. Catch- 22 takes you through times of the author's personal experience as an American bombardier during World War 2. Catch- 22 is a representation of this because it gives details about the period and the job of a bombardier of the Second World War.