Dedicated To The Infantryman Poem Analysis

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Trotting tirelessly through various terrains, witnessing death and other atrocities at every corner, and slowly losing oneself in the process is the life of a soldier. The poem "Dedicated to the Infantryman" by Gary McDonough accurately and thoroughly depicts this. Although it is vague and does not directly mention any one soldier, it is an overarching poem which can apply to the life of a soldier overall. Especially, it relates to the death of Kiowa and the ramifications this loss has on Norman Bowker from the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. First, the poem states, "His pack so heavy." For Norman, his pack does not only contain his survival accoutrements like weapons, canteens of water, and rations; but he also carries his memories, which are the heaviest things on his back. Furthermore, the poem mentions, "He is never clean." With the case of Norman Bowker, he will never be able to clean the unsavory smell of the deep, thick muck off his body. This slime devours his friend Kiowa and Bowker's pride. "He could taste it. The shit was in his nose and eyes. There were flares and mortar rounds, and the stink was everywhere—it was inside him, in his lungs—and he could no longer tolerate it," the narrators describes this experience on page 149. The stench overwhelms the boy causing him to let go of a …show more content…

He describes his sleeping habits on page 145 as, "You couldn't sleep. You couldn't even lie down, not for long, because you'd start to sink under the soup." During war, soldiers barely sleep because they are continuously watching their backs to prevent death from creeping up on them. Finally, the poem states, "He gave so much." Not only does the war rob him of Kiowa, but he also gives up his sanity in the process. The war destroys this poor man and causes him to spiral into an inescapable misery, which ultimately leads to his

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