The Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner

610 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on war poems

“The death of the ball turret gunner”

“The poem Death of the ball turret gunner” by Randall Jarrell describes the life of a world war two ball turret gunner, on his mission of protecting his B-17 while on it is on an air raid, bombing Germany. Jarrell somehow shows, in vivid detail how harsh and unforgiving war is, and the shear courage and resolve of what has now become known, as the greatest generation in only five lines. (Gale)

Jarrell also shows us, that the men fighting on both sides are in a way innocent much like children, who have been taken from their sleeping mothers, and forced to go to war, and face its horrors and possibly death. (Bassett)

To fully understand this poem one must first know what a purpose of a ball turret gunner is, and the dangers that this particular position presented to the man inside the ball turret. Like any gunner on an aircraft the ball turret gunner is changed with defending the aircraft from attacking fighters, but the role of a ball turret gunner is extremely important to the survival of the slow and unmaneuverable bombers more so than almost any other position.(Bassett)

The ball turret is positioned on the underbelly of the aircraft, although having this position provided great protection to the underside of the aircraft; it also poised a great threat to those who manned this position for multiple reasons. Including, its construction which was almost entirely of plexi glass which provided, the gunner no protection from enemy bullets, another was the systems used to power the movement of the turret. Which could easily become damaged and prevent the turret from moving to a position allowing the gunner to escape in the event of a wheels up landing. Throughout the war this occurred many t...

... middle of paper ...

...M. Galens. Vol. 41. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 20-21.

Literature Resources from Gale. Gale. Alabama Virtual Library Remote Access. 30 Nov. 2009 .

Humphrey, Ted. "An overview of “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner”." Poetry for Students. Detroit: Gale.

Literature Resources from Gale. Gale. Alabama Virtual Library Remote Access. 30 Nov. 2009 .

Travisano, Thomas. "Randall's Jarrell's Poetics: A Rediscovered Milestone." Georgia Review. 50.4 (Winter 1996): 691-696.

Rpt. in Poetry Criticism. Ed. David M. Galens. Vol. 41. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 691-696.

Literature Resources from Gale. Gale. Alabama Virtual Library Remote Access. 30 Nov. 2009 .

Galens, David. "Vol. 41". Poetry Criticism. Detroit: Gale, 2003 p691-696.

Show More
Related

  • A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...it may help us arrive at an understanding of the war situation through the eyes of what were those of an innocent child. It is almost unique in the sense that this was perhaps the first time that a child soldier has been able to directly give literary voice to one of the most distressing phenomena of the late 20th century: the rise of the child-killer. While the book does give a glimpse of the war situation, the story should be taken with a grain of salt.

    Read More

  • Free Essays on All’s Quiet on the Western Front

    438 Words  | 1 Pages

    “This story is neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an   adventure, for death is not  an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped its shells, were destroyed by the war...”

    Read More

  • Interpretations of the The Death of the Bull Turret Gunner by Randall Jarrell

    357 Words  | 1 Pages

    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:

    Read More

  • Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    Another unique aspect to this book is the constant change in point of view. This change in point of view emphasizes the disorder associated with war. At some points during the book, it is a first person point of view, and at other times it changes to an outside third person point of view. In the first chapter of the book, “The Things They Carried,” O’Brien writes, “The things they carried were largely determined by necessity (2).

    Read More

  • Disillusualism In Chickamauga

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story “Chickamauga”, the author Ambrose Bierce uses a young boy to connect to his audience with what is the disillusions of war, then leads them into the actuality and brutalities of war. Bierce uses a six year old boy as his instrument to relate to his readers the spirits of men going into combat, then transferring them into the actual terrors of war.

    Read More

  • Speaking of Courage: The Norman Bowker Story

    856 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today, we have a lot of veterans who are coming home from war that are being displaced. In this chapter it talks about a Vietnam War soldier named Norman Bowker who arrives home from the war. In the chapter, Speaking of Courage from the book ‘The Things They Carried’ written by Tim O’Brien, Norman feels displaced from the world and everyone there. A returning soldier from the Vietnam War is driving around a lake on the 4th of July in his fathers big chevrolet, but then realizes he has nowhere to go. He starts to reminisce about his father, ex-girlfriend, and his childhood friend. Norman talks about all the medals he had won. He starts to think about his fathers pride in those badges and he starts to have a recollection about how he had almost own the silver star but blew his chance. He continues to drive around the lake again and again. He continues to imagine telling his father about the story of how he almost won the silver star, but failed to do so. This paper will analyze Speaking of Courage with the new criticism/formalism lens.

    Read More

  • O'Brien's Things They Carried Essay: Experiences and Emotions

    1608 Words  | 4 Pages

    The violent nature that the soldiers acquired during their tour in Vietnam is one of O'Brien's predominant themes in his novel.  By consciously selecting very descriptive details that reveal the drastic change in manner within the men, O'Brien creates within the reader an understanding of the effects of war on its participants.  One of the soldiers, "Norman Bowler, otherwise a very gentle person, carried a Thumb. . .The Thumb was dark brown, rubbery to touch. . . It had been cut from a VC corpse, a boy of fifteen or sixteen"(O'Brien 13).  Bowler had been a very good-natured person in civilian life, yet war makes him into a very hard-mannered, emotionally devoid soldier, carrying about a severed finger as a trophy, proud of his kill.  The transformation shown through Bowler is an excellent indicator of the psychological and emotional change that most of the soldiers undergo. To bring an innocent young man from sensitive to apathetic, from caring to hateful, requires a great force; the war provides this force.  However, frequently are the changes more drastic.  A soldier named "Ted Lavender adopted an orphaned puppy. . .Azar strapped it to a Claymore antipersonnel mine and squeezed the firing device"(O'Brien 39).  Azar has become demented; to kill a puppy that someone else has adopted is horrible.  However, the infliction of violence has become the norm of behavior for these men; the fleeting moment of compassion shown by one man is instantly erased by another, setting order back within the group.  O'Brien here shows a hint of sensitivity among the men to set up a startling contrast between the past and the present for these men.  The effect produced on the reader by this contrast is one of horror; therefore fulfilling O'Brien's purpose, to convince the reader of war's severely negative effects.

    Read More

  • Brian Turner's The Hurt Locker

    2149 Words  | 5 Pages

    Brian Turner's "The Hurt Locker" captures his personal and painful experiences during his time spent in war and furthermore, express the tragic events he witnessed. Brian Turner's poem is miraculously able to gather multiple first hand accounts of tragic, gory, and devastating moments inside a war zone and project them on to a piece of paper for all to read. He allows the audience of his work to partially understand what hell he himself and all combat veterans have endured. Although heartbreaking, it is a privilege to be taken inside "The Hurt Locker" of a man who saw too many things that should not ever be witnessed by anybody. Turner's words bring to life what many have buried deep inside them which subsequently is one of the major underlying problems facing combat veterans today. Reading this poem, I could not help but wonder what the long term effects of war are on a human being, if it is worth the pain, and how does a combat veteran function properly in a society that is unfamiliar with their experiences?

    Read More

  • Importance of Life Revealed in Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    Erich Maria Remarque's classic war novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, deals with the many ways in which World War I affected people's lives, both the lives of soldiers on the front lines and the lives of people on the homefront. One of the most profound effects the war had was the way it made the soldiers see human life. Constant killing and death became a part of a soldier's daily life, and soldiers fighting on all sides of the war became accustomed to it. The atrocities and frequent deaths that the soldiers dealt with desensitized them to the reality of the vast quantities of people dying daily. The title character of the novel, Paul Bäumer, and his friends experience the devaluation of human life firsthand, and from these experiences they become stronger and learn to live as if every day were their last.

    Read More

  • All Quiet on the Western Front and the Horrors of War

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the worst things about war is the severity of carnage that it bestows upon mankind.  Men are killed by the millions in the worst ways imaginable.  Bodies are blown apart, limbs are cracked and torn and flesh is melted away from the bone.  Dying eyes watch as internal organs are spilled of empty cavities, naked torso are hung in trees and men are forced to run on stumps when their feet are blown off.  Along with the horrific deaths that accompany war, the injuries often outnumber dead men. As Paul Baumer witnessed in the hospital, the injuries were terrifying and often led to death.  His turmoil is expressed in the lines, “Day after day goes by with pain and fear, groans and death gurgles. Even the death room I no use anymore; it is too small.”  The men who make it through the war take with them mental and physical scarification from their experiences.

    Read More

  • Analysis: All Quiet On The Western Front

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    Have you ever thought about what it was like to live during World War 1, or what it was like to fight at war? At first glance of any war piece, you might think the author would try to portray the soldiers as mentally tough and have a smashing conscience. Many would think that fighting in a war shows how devoted you are to your country, however, that is not true. According to All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, the reality of a soldier's life is despondency, carnage and eradication at every bombardment. Living every day is not knowing if they will eat, see their families, or even if they will awaken the next day. Demeaning themselves from heroes to barely men without their military garment or identity. Remarque conveyed how

    Read More

  • Horror of War Exposed in Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the greatest war novels of all time. It is a story, not of Germans, but of men, who even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war. The entire purpose of this novel is to illustrate the vivid horror and raw nature of war and to change the popular belief that war has an idealistic and romantic character.  The story centers on Paul Baümer, who enlists in the German army with glowing enthusiasm.  In the course of war, though, he is consumed by it and in the end is "weary, broken, burnt out, rootless, and without hope"  (Remarque page #).

    Read More

  • WWI Sources

    1627 Words  | 4 Pages

    Autobiographies, diaries, letters, official records, photographs and poems are examples of primary sources from World War One. The two primary sources analyzed in this essay are the poems, “Anthem for Doomed Youth” by Wilfred Owen and “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae. Primary sources are often personal, written from the limited perspective of a single individual. It is very difficult for the author to capture their own personal experience, while incorporating the involvement and effects of other events happening at the same time. Each piece of writing studied describes the author’s perception of the war. Both of the poems intend to show to grave reality of war, which often was not realized until the soldiers reach the frontlines. The poems were both written at battle within two years of each other. However, the stark difference between the two poems is astonishing. “Anthem for Doomed Youth” gives a much different impression than “In Flanders Field” despite the fact that both authors were in the same war and similar circumstances. The first two lines in “In Flanders Fields” “…the poppies blow, 
Between the crosses, row on row.” are an image o...

    Read More

  • The Iran Hostage Crisis

    2450 Words  | 5 Pages

    Gale Virtual Reference Library -. Web. The Web. The Web. 18 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • The Construction Of Pillboxes During World War I

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pillboxes were miniature forts or bunkers developed by the German army to give their trench lines extra strength in world war 1. Pillboxes are built in guard posts made out of concrete and they are most always equipped with loopholes through which the soldiers inside are able to fire small arms weapons. The very first name for pillboxes came from their similarity to the cylindrical and hexagonal boxes in which medical pills were sold before world war 1. They were also an effective tactic in trench warfare for the German and French armies during the course of world war 1. They were used to help protect the German soldiers and also the French soldiers against small arms fire, grenades and artillery fire and they were also raised up above the

    Read More

More about The Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner

Open Document