"The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner"

Paper Summary:

An analysis of the poem "The Death of the Ball Turrett Gunner" by Randall Jarrell about a plane gunner and his death in battle. The paper covers areas such as denotation and connotation, imagery, literary techniques, symbols, irony and tone of the poem.

From the Paper:

"Flak," "nightmare" and "woke" are words especially well chosen. Flak in the poem refers to flak from machine-gun fire but the word flak also has a second meaning of criticism. This double meaning implies that he is disliked with the actual flak a product of this dislike. Jarrell then describes the fighters shooting at the gunner as "nightmare fighters." The word nightmare on one level means terrible but on another links to the feeling of the complete terror in a nightmare. This double meaning gives an insight into the gunner's fear. The word "woke" also has important connotations. While the denotation "to wake" is important, it also implies a greater significance in the connotation meaning "becoming aware of." The "woke" then means not only that he woke up but also that he realized something."

More papers on "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner":

• Analytical Essay # 39949 : "Death in Literature"
• Analytical Essay # 32220 : "Portia and Anna in "The Death of the Heart"
• Book Review # 111206 : "The Death of the Rural South"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: