Class Period D Blog
Randall Jarrell's "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" - Primary Blog entry only
Now that you have spent some time reading and considering the imagery, connotation, and theme in Randall Jarrell's poem, please respond to the following writing prompt:
In reference to his poem, Jarrell wrote that the gunner, who sat hunched up and revolved with the turret, looked like a fetus in the womb. Based on this information, how would you interpret the first four lines of the poem? Remember to refer to the figurative imagery and connotation found within these lines.
What does the abrupt and literal imagery of the last line suggest about the speaker's attitude toward death, specifically in war?
Please compose a Primary Blog entry of between 200 and 250 words (be sure to add word count at the end of your post).
No Secondary Blog entries needed for this posting.
The Author was talking or dreaming about his life or sweet thing which was going on in his life. But when he waked up he found himself in a bad and terrible situation in which his dream did not come through, it was a nightmare for him. In other ways the poem was not written by him because he was dead and was taken out of the turret with a hose, this indicate that, he was replaced by another person to continue the process. The speaker's towards death, specifically in war means that, whenever there is a war and people die, they get rid of the dead people and replace a new or another people with the dead person in other to continue their journey or process, which is part of their job, so in other ways the speaker or author was treat the same way even though he was having a good or sweet dream which was shown in the peom.
In those first few lines of the poem, you get an idea of the turret gunner being young, scared, and a bit naive. Since the poem refers to pregnancy using the words like "belly" and even referring to "mother's sleep", it gives you the idea of the beginning of life. the last line of the poem becomes ironic since it ends with the turret gunner being dead. The poem goes from dreaming about life in a middle of a war to talking about war's main reality, death.
"From my mother's sleep I fell into the state," It's not his real mother but the plane that carries him around. He was unaware when he went into the state, most likely he join into the cause of war but did not truly know why or just did it because it was the right thing to do. "And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze" He's comparing himself to a baby in his mother's womb, hunched in a fetal position. Also when he states that his "wet fur froze", he might be talking about a fur jacket that he is wearing that is wet with rain. "six miles from earth, loose from its dream of life," Six miles from earth, he must be flying in the sky, it must have be a great experience like being in a dream. "I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters". It was a dream, waking up to smoke and the enemy he's has to defeat. "When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose". Here he is stating that he might die during this battle and if he does, he's going to be washed away. Almost applying that his death might not be so significant because it can be forgotten or "wash away" with a hose so easily.
I think the first four lines of this poem is about young men who are unaware or have no idea of what they are getting into but they feel there is a need to leave wherever they have, being a good or bad thing or place to get to another place which they have no clue of what to expect. They would leave whatever behind being family, education and other necessary stuffs in order to became part of what they feel is the right to do and do everything it takes for them to be part of what they are chasing after. They think becoming part of what they are chasing after is the best thing in the world and only the right thing to do as a young man. It show courage, honor and bravery of these young men who are becoming part of something new and no idea about it. But if these young men finally joins the new thing and they die, their honor and bravery are no longer needed, is kind of being thrown away into a trash and the lifes of these young men are forgotten, like it never happened and they are replaced under short notice.
In The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner the author uses metaphors and a deep underlying message relating the gunner to a fetus in the womb. Birth can either be a beautiful moment or turn into a very complicated situation. In relation to the gunner and birth it turned out to be very complicated situation when he remarks "I woke up to the black flak and the nightmare fighters." Seems as though this was a terrifying dream that he reminisces on after he is already dead.
In the last line of the poem the author writes "When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose." The attitude toward death when relating to war is that you must move past it a quickly as you can because the war isn't going to stop because one person died. War is something that you sign up for and death should be something that you expect to happen even though it is negative you must be prepared for it. Therefore, they don't pay that much attention to death in war. When the gunner died they were quick to clean out the turret and find somebody knew to replace his position.
The first four lines of the poem indicate young men who are new to this task that they're going to take on at hand and they're unsure of what to expect and what the possible outcome could be; whether positive or negative. "And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze" this line to mean indicates that they're in a tight and cold space and the air in which they're breathing is resulting in the air around them to have an effect on what happens when they breathe. Also, the "belly" in which they referred to was known as the center of the plane or even the turret. These lines also seem to represent men who took time to really think it through and see if the task that they planned to take on at hand was the right and of course the best decision. They obviously knew that in conclusion to it all, there were possible consequences to the actions that they took or even negative outcomes that can also come from it all. However, all in all it shows that they were brave and courageous and willing to do what was right even if it meant putting their lives at risks.
The last line in poem, "When I died they washed me out of the turret with the hose" builds great meaning to the fact that they planned to replace any and all damage that was done and they also appreciated the hard work that their fellow man put forth. The authors' attitude towards death in war and how they deal with it suggests that they obviously show remorse and show as much respect and honoree that they possibly can.
In the first four lines it can be interpreted that the gunner must have been asleep by the way the author says in the first line "From my mother's sleep I fell into the State" which can be inferred that the mother could be a plane since the author is talking about times in war. Then skipping to the third and fourth lines it says "Six miles from earth, loosed from its dreams of life, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighter." It can be inferred that he was dreaming the way earth creates a life for many different things, but the last sentence is what gives away that he could have been sleeping while the trip up. It makes sense for him to have fallen asleep because it must have been awhile until they reached the altitude they needed to be at in order to fire the turret. It's similar to long car rides and people tend to fall asleep sometimes hoping that by the time you wake up you'll already be where you needed to be. In the last sentence the author's attitude is different kind of inferring that death in war is like a routine or cycle of life. It means that when someone dies they "hose" them out, take apart the ball and replace it then have a new person as the ball turret gunner. So every time a soldier has been replaced with a new one you can picture how the fetus is in the womb kind of like rebirth.
In The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner by Randall Jarrell the first four lines of the poem basically talks about how he was in the planes "belly till my [his] wet fur froze" and he was referring to being in the womb of his mother where he was dreaming (Jarrell, Line 2). But he is really talking about being in the plane and making remarks that resemble what it is like to be in the womb. While he is in the turnnet finds himself in a terrible situation, he thought that he was doing something great for the country. But, little did he know that he was risking his life and no one he worked with was going to care about if he is alive or did. He didn't know how easy it would be to replace him.
The abrupt and literal imagery of the last line suggests that the speaker's attitude toward death was very blunt. As if it did not matter. He said it in a way that it made it feel like if it was the normal thing to happen and no one would care. He states that his colleagues "washed me [him] out of the turret with a hose" as if they didn't mind that he has just passed away(Jarrell, Line 5). He was just another soldier who has passed away and tomorrow they will have another member of their crew.
In the first couple lines of the poem you're able to interpret the fact that these young men are definitely making a drastic change in their lifestyle and the way they'll be living life. They're beginning to start a new and very much risky journey in their lives. In the lines "From my mother's sleep I fell into the State, and I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze", here you can infer that the mother role that's being played in this scenery is the plane in an unaware state of mind. The "belly" that is being talked about is in fact the turret or the plane. These four lines also give off the impression of the soldiers knowing that it's their time now and that now it's time to fight and not only learn to protect themselves but their partners.
The last line in poem looks to represent replacement and them knowing that after all is set and done, they'll have someone new to take that place the next day. "When I died they washed me out of the turret with the hose", the authors' attitude towards this line seems like it follows having sympathy and knowing that their lost soldier did the best he could in order to help protect the others and keep them from harm's way but obviously he failed. The soldiers appreciate and honor what their fellow soldier did and that's why instead of starting over and building a new plane, they'll fix it up and get someone to take his place.
How I would interpret the first four lines was as if someone was unaware and alone in a place they thought they would not die in. As when he said my "wet fur froze" it can be seen that he is a baby animal, and usually when baby animals are in the wound they are obviously unaware when they are born, but when they are leaving the wound to be born they are also confused. Also when he said "they washed me out of the turret with a hose" I can interpret that they didn't care if the person in the turret died, and it was just something that they could easily replace. This then relates to the authors attitude to the death specifically in war. His attitude is somewhat anger and hate, in his writing you can tell that he doesn't like war, and how they treat the men that die there. It also shows how easily someone in the war can die and how he or she can just replace them so fast, which is also apart of his attitude because they can just replace and forget death like as if nothing happened.
Based upon this information, I would interpret the first four lines of the poem as the writer describing how he is placed in the turret. Scrunched up like a baby and in position to fire at all enemies who become a threat. The turret is small and every corner is tightly in place. He abrupt imagery of the last line tells us that the soldier knew he was no better then a dead man. He himself was already dead when he comforted himself into the turret. His speech and the way he described this showed us as readers that he was not afraid. The fear of death did not live in him. He was ready to accept that as soon as he enter the turret. He was named "The Ball Turret Gunner" for a specific reason; he did not fear death, he only accepted it as part of his job. It was something that came along with his job, and he was prepared to deal with it as soon as it came. The first four lines do show that the man felt a slight amount of fear; just because he positioned himself in a fetal like position. This type of position can make anyone feel safe; as if they are in their mothers womb again. He placed himself this way, but only because he wanted to feel safer. In the end, he knew what was coming, and had accepted it.
We live in a world where if we hear something dangerous happens to our loved ones, then we get all buttered up, or apprehensive. In this case were the sheep, and the boy (enlisting), or "caught up in this state", is the sheepdog. He was born to do a job that he would serve honorably on a gunfighter line. He's a blue collar man, with an unquenchable thirst for his job. He is hunched in this womb of thunder, and woken by the black flak. It's like the kicking from a baby in the womb of a mother from the baby. In the end of birth, they clean you up and send you on your way so they could take care of the next rebirth. So for the last line, the poem speaks in a very definitive tone. "In the end they wash me and clean me out with a hose." It's just the standard operating procedure of the job. He is working as a cadre where they're all collegial, and in cases of casualties occurring you need to follow procedure. In this case the soldier has died, and they need another one to complete, or fill the missing piece to the tandem or company. It is as if an assembly line of gunfighters are produced, and are fired off into war, and it keeps going on into a repetition after a warfighter dies for the USA. The context of the poem put this into the birth of a human-being, or animal. In other words a sheepdog.
Based on this information, I think the first four lines mean this man got into this American/government job, "State", at a young age and they found him useful to be in the turret due to his size. When the speaker says "And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze." This literally means he is in the turret which is technically the belly of the plane and he is frozen with fear. The fur is just the jackets they used and the wet must be from his sweat because he's nervous. The baby in the womb imagery given shows that boys lied about thier age just to have this job and also may symbolize a rebirth because he as other have been in that spot. Then when the turret got stuck he lost the dream of a perfect life outside the dark turret because he knew he was done. Then the last line he really means that people in this war were just used for their abilities and then replaced. His attitude toward death in war seems like he accepts it, like it doesn't matter and isn't an emotional event. I feel he says it with a tone like just get over it, it's bound to happen sometime.
In the first four lines it can be interpreted that the gunner must have been asleep by the way the author says in the first line "From my mother's sleep I fell into the State" which can be inferred that the mother could be a plane since the author is talking about times in war. Then skipping to the third and fourth lines it says "Six miles from earth, loosed from its dreams of life, I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighter." here he is clearly flying in the plane and away from reality. Almost like a dream going on and him being in a state of relaxation. But eventually it all gets interrupted when he "wakes up" to a nightmare fighter which can mean that he was being fired at and was frightened. After his death the story seems to reveal a bias against death. It's clear that the author isn't okay with death. This story is like a stillborn the gunner being the baby curled up in the fetus but coming out dead. It's tragic but life has it's curveballs occasionally. word count:185
In Randall Jarrell's poem, "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner", his feeling towards the death of these solider kind of seem careless. He make is seem like it's a normal thing that people die all the time and there just replaced as this is just a casual thing that happens and know cares they just move on with their lives. When the author says "I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose"(Gunner) which makes him think that he was just an object that they replaced show no remorse. When he describe being in the torrent he compares it to being in your mother wound before you come and being sprayed out by the hoes shoes like when you're out the wound its cold were the author shows no sympathy or remorse when you are a gunner your just an object of war that can be easily replaces.
I see the first four lines as him being born and him experiencing the world for the first time. The figurative poem is that there is something happening with the ball turret Gunner and the guy maybe is looking around and he's sitting there so it would look like he's in a belly of a pregnant women, and maybe the sweat because of his jacket referring to the fur. The literal meaning of all this is someone is in the torrent sweating and sitting there. The imagery meaning is him being born into the world for the first time when he's dead. He had a normal responds towards death he knew his time was up and he accepted the fact and he was replaced soon after. He saw it as a war death and he understood that best of all.
The first four lines of the poem he describes the scenario going on in the ball turret as the gunner is preparing for his death, it sounded like a description of an animal being born. in Buddhism they believe that you are reborn when you die. So what I got out of this is he was describing him being reborn in the tragic sense of him dying.
Want to see how you will be assessed? Please click the link below.
Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner
Futility Of War
Loss Of Innocence
The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas
Women's Roles