The Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner Irony

The death of the ball turret gunner from my mother s sleep i fell into the state from my mother s sleep i fell into the state the academy of american poets is the largest membership based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting american poets.

The death of the ball turret gunner irony. The death of the ball turret gunner. First the title itself would have evoked to people familiar with world war 2 the image of a b 17 or b 24 bomber. It is about the death of a gunner in a sperry ball turret on a world war ii american bomber aircraft. What visual images does jarrell present in the death of the ball turret gunner.

Randall jarrell was addressing the horror and destruction cruelty of war also is voice of the death soldier during wwii. It was characteristic of jarrell to see the soldier as a sacrificed child and he relates this to maximum. While capable of standing alone the death of the ball turret gunner is best understood in the context of the other 32 poems that comprise little friend little friend. If you have read a poem that deal with war you.

Taken together the poems relentlessly document the pain struggle and desperation of young men in their warships.