The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner
Randall Jarrell
From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.
Making Meanings
The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner
1. Do you find this poem shocking? Why or why not?
2. “Belly” here can be read on two levels. What two bellies is the speaker talking about?
3. How do you know that the speaker didn’t enter the army on the basis of a rational decision?
4. What is the speaker’s “wet fur”? Why do you think he compares himself to an animal?
5. Do you think the speaker is a hero? Explain.
6. What, in the long run, do you think this poem is about? Is it about political dissent? Is it a statement about the way things in the world are regimented and mechanized? Is it about the destruction of the innocent? Explain your views.
7. Hollywood has produced hundreds of movies about war. These movies reflect a wide spectrum of attitudes. Some show soldiers as heroes, some as victims; some evoke pride in one’s country, some hatred of another country; some summon nostalgia for a past era. Think of some war movies you have seen, and analyze their attitudes toward war. (Be sure to check your Quickwrite notes.)