Visions of War Reading Response #1

In Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk the book starts off with Billy and his team (Bravo) are on their victory tour coming back from Iraq. They are traveling all over the U.S getting a lot of support from people. They are at the stadium and they are very hungover. The Bravos find out that they will be participating in the Halftime Show. Billy struggles with the loss of his friend Shroom which really impacts the story. Then it flashes back to Billy going back to his family and having Thanksgiving dinner. Then Billy says his goodbyes to his family and he heads out.

1. “The DA agreed to drop the felony charges down to criminal mischief if Billy joined the Army” (Fountain 18). This quote shows us how Billy got involved with the Army and how he was like when he was younger. This gives the reader more characteristics of him that we can take into perspective and see how it can affect him in the future. But it also shows that he loves his family and that he is willing to get payback on a guy for leaving his sister just because she was injured in an accident. ---Plot, Character, Juxtaposition, 

    2. “Dime speaks with the steel of a man born to lead.  “Gentlemen.” He pauses. “Do not even think about it” (Fountain 49). ---- Perspective, Character, Understatement, Metaphor

    3.“The dream contained awareness that Shroom, was dead so there was the huge anxiety of an opportunity missed, the parade moving on and Billy’s float being carried with it, this ridiculous paper barge coasting down the river of life and the banks lined with all these thousands of cheering folks who--dear Jesus! Terrifying thought!--were they all as dead as Shroom” (Fountain 92).---Plot, Perspective, Character, Simile, Imagery

    4.“He wasn’t even aware of falling asleep until being waked in the most unpleasant way by the whom of the back door bursting open as if fireballed, blown out by a breaching charge, than the whhhhhhiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrr of the latest in assisted mobility systems. Son of a bitch! Heart going like a speed bag, eyes sparking tiny gigabytes of shock, Billy spun onto his belly, wrenching various small muscles in his back, and there was Ray buzzing across the patio” (Fountain 99). This quote shows how this moment brings back flashbacks to Billy of when he was in Iraq. He reacted in a way that he was under attack and he did not like this. This shows us that he probably has PTSD and it will show more often in the future.---Plot, Perspective, Character, Hyperbole, Onomatopoeia

In Dalton Trumbo's 'Johnny Got His Gun', at the very start of the book, the main character, Joe, has to go home to his family to find out his father died. What a way to start a book. However, after that, he has to deal with even more trauma and unfortunate events when he loses both his arms from being injured on the front lines, serving as an infantryman. He also lost both his legs too. Not only that, but he is also deaf. He has multiple times where he's just remembering his life in the past before everything that transpired, and feels ashamed of his state. In short, life is not great for Joe.

• "In the living room his father lay dead with a sheet pulled over his face. He had been sick for a long while and they had kept him in the living room because the glassed-in porch which was the bedroom to his father and mother and sisters was too drafty" (Trumbo, 6). -Plot, Perspective.
• "I haven't got any arms Kareen. My arms are gone. Both of my arms are gone Kareen both of them. They're gone. Kareen Kareen Kareen. They've cut off both of my arms. oh Jesus mother god Kareen they've cut off both of them. Oh Jesus mother god Kareen Kareen Kareen my arms" (Trumbo, 39). -Plot, Perspective, Character.
• "He thought well kid you're deaf as a post but there isn't the pain. You've got no arms but you don't hurt. You'll never burn your hand or cut your finger or smash a nail you lucky stiff. You're alive and you don't hurt that's much better than being alive and hurting" (Trumbo, 59). -Plot, Perspective, Character.
• "That's why his head seemed lower than his legs. Because he had no legs. Naturally they seemed light. Air is light too. Even a toenail is heavy compared to air. He had no arms and no legs" (Trumbo, 60). -Plot, Perspective, Character.

The 2 quotes I choose for my deeper explanation are the second and third ones. They both showcase his thoughts given his situation. Not knowing how to cope and panicking in the first one, and then slowly trying to be positive and look on the better side of things amidst his agony and despair he's going through in his situation. It's showing some slight character development and self reflection as he slowly adapts to his new life, but there could be regression at some point where he enters a state of denial, self loathing, and even worse depression than he's currently in. The literary device they both show would be plot and character in showing how Joe is dealing with his situation.

Billy starts off the story in a hotel room hungover and proceeds to drink more. Then his fellow men climb into a limo to go to the game. After arriving Billy and his friend Mango are sent to find Major Mac wh has seemed to wander off. After roaming for awhile Billy and Mango start fist fighting over if a leather jacket is actually leather. After fighting the two go back to normal and head back to there seats. After this they go to lunch to a “rich” peoples place.

1. “TerrRist/freedom/evil/nina leven/nina leven/nina leven/troops/currj/support/sacrifice/Bush/values/God.”(Fountain 2) Perspective and Character. Billy finds rich people sickening considering he is at the lowest of the lowest he's a grunt in the Infantry this is what he considers to be the lowest of the lowest he makes very little money and he's unhappy with where he finds himself, along with struggling with extreme p t s d he finds himself wandering in and out of mindfulness.

1. “Billy gets how shitty the place makes him feel, the quick sink of depression in his gut, but he thinks its just an allergic reaction to rich people.” (Fountain 51) Perspective and character. 
2. “Fake it until you make it he reminds himself.”(Fountain 52) Character.

1. “....it was all random.” (Fountain 53) Perspective. In this quote Billy's talkin about how living isn't by chance or luck it's just random just stepping foot in the wrong spot is random and that's what makes him feel alive not actually living amongst regular people in regular Society he finds that living is not knowing if the last step you took is the wrong step.

The first part of the novel Mash the army need more doctor to help the wounded. They get 3 doctors name Hawkeye Pierce, Duke Forrest, and John McIntyre. McIntyre didn't come until Pierce and Hawkeye requested for a chest surgery because they had to many chest injury's and they didn't know a lot about them. Hawkeye recognized McIntyre from a football game, McIntyre was know as Trapper. The long hours put a big toll on all them. They would even have to change day and night shifts because of all of the wounded soldiers coming in. 

1."I have gotta have more men, Colonel Blake was shouting into the phone" (Hooker 10)

"They better be good, Radar heard Colonel Blake answer." (Hooker 11)

"I said they'll be the two best men I've got, Radar heard General Hammond say." (Hooker 11) 

"You the guy going to the 4077th?, Captain Pierce said to Captain Forrest" (Hooker 11) 

"This is the famous Trapper John." (Hooker 34)

2.The quotes 2 and 3 showed me that Army really needed more good doctors to help them with all of the wounded soldiers. It show that they were very despite for them and want to get them as fast as they could because of the rising number of soldiers being wounded in the war. 

In Slaughterhouse-five, the book beings in the present time, more or less a reflection. In the first chapter, he explains how he has wanted to write a war book about stories from when he was in the war. The author speaks first person about his efforts to finish and publish his book by reuniting with an old war buddy to remember some old war stories. Starting in chapter two the author tells out his remembrance of the war in the third person.

 The number 1 quote (I get drunk.....breath like mustard gas and roses" Vonnegut 4 ) and the second quote (.... Every single boxcar became its own organism..." (Vonnegut 70) help me better understand the story more because in the first quote it states that he may get drunk more often by saying I get drunk rather than saying I got drunk. and the second quote help explain character views on different thing and how he visualizes thing and compares them to similar things suck as comparing a boxcar full of soldiers to a living thing

3. "..... the boy was a beautyful as eve..." (Vonnegut 53) . This is an example of hyperbole because it expains the boy being as good looking as eve      

4. "....... Liveing like woodedn creatures" (Vonnegut 49) This is an example of a simile because the book expains the peole liveing like wooden creatures

In the first 3rd of the book, we meet the Bravo Squad, who was filmed by Fox news emerging victorious in a war. As part of their reward, they are sent home to go to a Cowboys football game. They are not sure what they are there for yet, but they have some ideas. Along the way, we find out why Billy chose the army and we get a sneak peek of the flashbacks of the war. There is a movie being made about them and they have been trying to get Hilary Swank on board who is only interested if she plays as Billy. Scoping out hot women and beers 2 hours early for the game, the boys are drunk and looking for a deaf major mac in the stadium.

Quote 1: “Foom, the soggy thump of each kick resounds in Billy’s gut as the ball rockets off on a steep trajectory, up, up, onward and upward still, your eye falters at the sport where the ball should level off and yet it climbs higher still as if some unseen booster charge has fired and straight for the bottomless dome it goes…After seven or eight kicks Billy feels a kind of interior vaporization taking place, a dilution or relaxation of self-awareness. He feels calm.” 

This quote helps show the effects of the war on these men. It’s subtle, but after 7 or 8 kicks Billy relaxes, which likely means he is never relaxed. During the war being trained to be taught as a bowstring at all times and seeing things not many people do, the Bravo squad is always tense. The football puts him into some sort of relaxation trance. I think this quote sets the tone for the rest of the book in terms of visions of war. People don’t really know what goes on in the minds of soldiers, so something so simple like the punter finally calming the soldier offers a lot. 

Quote 2: ‘“Robert we do not. There’s tons of interest out there, but nobody wants to commit until a star commits.” “But Swank won’t commit until they do.” (Fountain, 33) Plot, Paradox

Quote 3: “He hadn’t meant to reveal such a fraught and intimate fact and felt cheap as if he’d divulged a shameful family secret, but there it was, you can dodge an RPG, that damn crazy thing lamely fluttering at you, spitting and smoking like a cheap Mexican firework, ttttttthhhhhhhhppppppffffffftttt-FOOOM!” Character, perspective, imagery, onomatopoeia

Quote 4: “You had to be inside it to understand the pure human misery of that day, the desolation, for instance, one among many, of seeing Lake up on the table fighting off the docs, howling and flailing and slinging blood like he wasn’t being saved but skinned alive. Billy has come to see that as the breaking point, the bend in his personal arc that day.” 

This quote is sheer imagery. Billy takes the reader into the war watching one of his fellow soldiers in action. It is so intense and terrible of a place. It's so descriptive that you feel in the war yourself. Offers the perspective that these memories are flashing through their heads wherever they go, almost unshakable. Billy also tells us he broke that day. This may be a moment Billy comes back to throughout the book.

THE SUN ALSO RISES

Jake Barnes is a Veteran of WW1. Not said directly but he has been injured from the war. He wanders Paris France aimlessly drinking and eating out. He meets a girl by the name of Georgette,(A Prostitute) He takes her out but soon gets bored of her witty remarks. He abandons her at a nightclub to be with Brett. She is is one love of Jakes. They are not together bit they still sort of love each other. Jake has no sense of meaning in his life, it is aimless. Everyday is a social gathering to drink alcohol and dine.

Jake Barnes feels broken after the war, he gets jealous pof other adequate men that get on his nerves like this quote states. "I was very angry. Somehow they always made me angry. I know they are supposed to be amusing, and you should be tolerant, but I wanted to swing on one, any one, anything to shatter that superior, simpering composure." (Hemingway 11) He states that he wants to hit one of these guys dancing with his prior love Lady Brett Ashley. This would be an example of character development, reveals that Jake is really insecure about his injury. This shows how He still has feelings for Brett and how he cannot let go like the remains of a relationship that failed.

Jake Barnes has Deja-Vu of  his past experiences of the war, "I had the feeling as in a nightmare of it all being something repeated, something I had been through and that now I must go through again."I had the feeling as in a nightmare of it all being something repeated, something I had been through and that now I must go through again." (Hemingway 34) He had experienced bad things in WW1 (Not yet said but I have inferred this due to his aptitude towards life,) And he has now experienced this again Brett his old love is leaving to go abroad to find someone to marry. This is Deja Vu he is experiencing something that has happened before.

Brett Ashley is a very important character in this novel. But Jake Barnes cannot be with her. "Good night, Jake. Good night, darling. I won’t see you again." (Hemingway 35) This makes Jake sad, another reason why he is lost in life. He has no Love and no family to start.

"I have a rotten habit of picturing the bedroom scenes of my friends."(Hemingway 7) This quote further reveals Jakes Raging insecurity. He is filled with embarrassment witch has turnt him sour. This forms the plot. It is an early on hint to jakes personality. This better helps me understand why jake talks the way he does all of his not so nice remarks to life.

In the first third of the novel Mash, 3 doctors get assigned to the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital to care for the injured during the Korean war. The 3 doctors were, Duke, Trapper John, and Hawkeye. The doctors were always busy because there were a lot of wounded soldiers. They were very good at their job, and even though it was very stressful, they still found a way to have fun during their downtime. 

#1 “Following directions, they were confronted, first, by four helicopters belonging to the 5th Air Rescue Squadron and then by several dozen tents of various shapes and sizes, forlornly distributed in the shape of a horseshoe.” (Hooker 15) This quote is an example of imagery.  

#2 “The new boy was six feet tall and weighed about a hundred and thirty pounds. His name was John McIntyre.” (Hooker 28) This is an example of character. 

#3 “With continued blood replacement and with Levophed, hope began to merge from what had been desperation and chaos. The patient’s youth and vigor, plus rapid surgery and the remarkably effective Cross Action from Dago Red, added up to a virtual miracle.” (Hooker 39) This is an example of plot because it’s an important event in the story. The reader realizes that the doctors are saving lives even though the patients chances of living were slim. It’s also an example of character because the quote shows how talented the doctors are. The quote mentions how it was a miracle that the patient survived. 

#4 “I’m going to commit suicide.” There was a moment of silence. Finally Trapper John leaned from his sack and grasped Walt’s hand. “We’ll miss you, Walt,” he said. “I hope you’ll be happy in your new location.” (Hooker 47) This is an example of understatement because Trapper John’s reaction wasn’t what I expected. He didn’t attempt to change Walt’s mind, instead he just accepted it like it was no big deal.

Sparta is a novel about Conrad Farrell- a boy who went into the marines and came out a whole different person four years later. He doesn’t know how to act around friends, family, and his ex girlfriend-who he still loves. Since getting home he’s having a hard time figuring out who he is as a person while struggling with PTSD. Although the PTSD is affecting his everyday life he refuses to tell anyone or get help with it. 

1. “The act of murder is a serious offense, carrying the burden of bloodguilt, but killing a Helot was not murder.”(Robinson 44)- hyperbole, paradox, juxtaposition

2. “Watch the kiddies gather ‘round

Slap a mag in your M16

And mow those little fuckers down.” (Robinson 51)-plot, character, understatement, imagery. 

This quote is helping to show the mentality that Conrad was given in the marines- although they could all sing it together in normal society it would be highly frowned upon. I used understatement because this was something they were used to saying-making it seems like nothing although he is figuring it out now that it’s not okay. 

3. “If the marines are the surgical tool of war, the scalpel, the Army is the blunt instrument, the sledgehammer.”(Robinson 60)- metaphor, simile

4. “The driver's head was crushed, and he died on the scene.”(Robinson 80)-plot, understatement, imagery

This quote helped show just how much these soldiers went through-with no real reaction since the military wanted them emotionless. This quote helped show imagery because it added detail to the bombing the soldiers had just gone through.

in the first third of the novel Eleven Days by Lea Carpenter, we get a little bit of information about Sara's life, and her son Jason. Sara is mostly taking a run in the first third, but she does leave us on multiple cliff hangers, such as when she saw 2 men at her house who looked important like they were there to bring her news, but then jumped away from her character. Jason we get to hear about his military training, a little bit about what his childhood was like, and why he decided it was right for him to the military. We also hear a little bit about Jason's father, but not much. 

1. “You’ve traded Athens for Sparta,” teased her old boss from Langley, the only boss she’d ever had, the one who had got her to the conference where everything started. Or ended, depending upon your point of view.” (Carpenter 16) Plot, Perspective, Understatement Juxtaposition.

This quote helped me better understand the story by telling me that there was a conference that is pretty significant to the plot of the story, but not giving us too much information right now (understatement) as to what happened at the conference. But, you can assume it has something to do with her son. 

2. “Elephants would have been easier. There was a new generation of soldiers and sailors born that September day. Sara had not lost a son on 9/11; she lost him later to something she could not provide at home.” (Carpenter 16) Plot, Perspective, Understatement, Metaphor.

3. “Something along the lines of “the eagle keeps his head down, because humility is the true sign of a warrior.” (Carpenter 21) Perspective, Character, Metaphor.

4. “As she reaches the top of the driveway, she can see a new car out front. It is not a police car, but it has government plates. There are two men standing by it. One of them is in uniform. They have come to bring her news. (Carpenter 23) Plot, Perspective, Understatement, Imagery. 

This quote helped me better understand the story because it shows us she went through a tough time, and that she will be receiving news, most likely bad, soon. It leaves us on a cliffhanger (understatement), as they don’t tell us what the news is right after. It also builds the plot very well as we can expect to hear this news these two men have come to give her.

To summarize what has happened so far Billy and the rest of the soldiers with him have come back from the war and are being greeted by many people.  They are doing their victory tour from making it back.  Their tour includes going to the Dallas Cowboys game and many other things.  There is also a movie that is gonna be made about them but they all have to go back to the war for 11 more months.

Quote 1. ”Life in the Army is miserable that way. You fuck up, they scream at you, you fuck up some more and they scream some more…”(Fountian pg.3) This qoute shows us just how hard the Army really is on you and selitifys the fact of how terrible it is to be in. perspective, character. 

Quote 2.”... oh, soldiers. Jarheads, they’re probably thinking, because it’s all the same to them. Not rock stars, not highly paid professional athletes, riding on some millionaire’s dime…”(Fountain pg.9) The shows that even though soldiers risk their life all the time people just push them aside like they mean nothing just because basically they aren’t rish.  Character, perspective.

Quote 3. “She was really into me.  It wasn’t about the money.  Still in shock from Shroom's funeral that afternoon.” (Fountain pg.26)  perspective, character.

Quote 4. “Americans fight the war daily in their strenuous inner lives. Billy knows because here at the contact point he feels the passion every day.” (Fountain pg.39)  perspective, metaphor.

In Sand Queen by Helen Benedict, an American girl named Kate joins the army to serve in the war in Iraq. Stationed at a prison camp for Prisoners of War, Kate meets Naema, a girl fighting to free her family from the camp. With Naema being one of the only English-speaking Iraqi around, Kate relies on her to communicate with the other people protesting the prison camp. Kate is assaulted by one of her male higher-ups and when she realizes the other few female soldiers also have been, she seeks to report him.

“Corpses lying in the street, smashed and gory, like those run-down deer on the highways at home, only with human faces.” (Benedict 8) --- Simile, imagery --- Because Kate isn’t in an active warzone, the author had to find other ways of showing how brutal the war is. This is something Kate sees when driving to where she’s stationed. It helps us understand the brutality of war and how gross it can get even if we’re not actively experiencing it.

“The nurse wraps her big arms around the soldier and drags her out of the hospital bed, wet and reeking. The nurse and the soldier dancing the waltz of shame.” (Benedict 13) --- Metaphor, flashforward --- This is a small part of a larger flashforward. It’s implied that this is Kate sometime after she leaves the war. This helped to understand just how traumatizing war can be because in this, and the many other flashforwards, we see how Kate clearly struggles with PTSD. She gets flashbacks, won’t talk to or trust her friends or family, and lashes out when confronted.

“ “And the boys? What about the children you have locked up in here like animals?” (Benedict 72) --- Simile

“... I Hurt all over, and because I’m trying not to cry. “I’m fine.”” (Benedict 84) --- Understatement

Summary: In the novel Billy Lynn’s Halftime walk, Our main character Billy is in the army. We find that the army was not Billy’s choice, he either went into the army or he would get into serious trouble for an incident that happened in high school. The first part of the book is Bravo at a football game. They are also getting a movie made about them and there are also parts of the war that show up from the past while the story goes on. 

1- “”Sucks, have you not had your morning glass of shut up?”” (Fountain 13)-Terms: Metaphor. This quote helps me better understand the book because it shows the difference between this book and other war books. In other war books you always see the seriousness and you always see how everyone is supposed to be but in this book you get people not being that serious and like joking around with each other even if they're in trouble for something.  

2-  “There is no doubt, he said. The latest intelligence, he said. Our commanders in the field, he said.” (Fountain 15)- Terms: Repetition. 

3- “ Once on OP Billy was pulling night watch and felt a sick little pop just off the bridge of his nose, which was, he realized as he tumbled backwards, the snap of a bullet breaking the sound barrier as it passed. Inches. Not even that. Fractions, atoms, and it was all this random.” (Fountain 53)- Hyperbole, understatement and imagery. This helps me better understand the book because it shows me that everything that happens can be random one second everything is fine and then the next you get shot at. A lot can change in just a little bit of time. 

4- “He wasn’t even aware of falling asleep until being waked in the most unpleasant way by the whoom of the back door bursting open as if fire balled, blown out by a breaching charge, then the whhhhhiiiiiiirrrrrrrr of the latest in assisted mobility systems”. (Fountain 99) Onomatopoeia, Perspective and hyperbole. 

Sara is a single mom with a son named Jason, who is a member of the Navy Seals. Jason has been missing from his team for 9 days. This section of the novel opens with a little backstory of Jason's life, leading up to when he goes missing. Jason’s father left Jason and his mom shortly after he was born. Jason and his mother were all each other had, and they used to enjoy going on runs together. When Jason left for the navy, Sara really struggled, especially since she wasn’t allowed to know that her son was always in a safe place. But Jason made sure to bring his mom comfort through letters, where he would talk about his special training and his experiences in the Navy. The day the colonel arrived to inform Sara that her son was missing, she was worried and heartbroken. But Jason’s friend and team member, Sam, who came to support her after the news, gave her hope. At the end of this section of the novel, Jason is found.

“On its own, each element of the training might appear absurd, like a lone tennis player tasked to stand and volley cross-court for forty hours, without a racquet.”(Carpenter, Pg. 25)---plot, simile

This quote helped us understand how the training Jason endured was effective for his overall body. It explained to us that, for serious physical training, you had to break sessions down for specific parts of the body. This quote helped showcase a simile by comparing the individual sessions of training to a tennis player practicing without a racket. 

“The men are very wet, cold, sandy, and tired. The Hell started on Sunday, with the breakout.”(Carpenter, Pg. 46)---plot, imagery, hyperbole

This quote helps us get a glimpse of what the Navy training is like for Jason and his team. It tells us about the conditions of men in training, and how the “hell” hasn’t even started yet. This quote showcased imagery by describing the conditions of Jason and his team, and allowing us to get an image of the sandy, wet men.

“Running is like breathing here. Run to the O course. Run to eat. Run to rest, briefly. Run to gain the privilege of another, longer run.”(Carpenter, Pg. 47)---simile, hyperbole, alliteration, perspective

“At the very start of the jump, things move fast. Then once your chute opens, they move v e r y s l o w ly. It’s peaceful. It’s exhilarating. Then before you know it, its landing time, and the ground is rushing up beneath your feet.”(Carpenter, Pg. 63)---Paradox, perspective, personification, imagery

It was a little after 9/11 while we were in war with Iraq, there was this man who went by the name of Billy Lynn. he was in the Iraq war on team Bravo, he and his squad had taken a victory so they got sent back to the states. While they were in the states they were selected as guests by the Dallas cowboys. For the time he was at the football game he was very paranoid. Almost it was like he was at war for one second then came back to the game and realized there's no threat even though the crowd would go crazy.

¨Dime had a vicious budget.¨(Fountain p13) This is showing some imagery and juxtaposition, Dime is the name of one of the soldiers, and ironically enough he very broke and sent all his money to his wife. This is a juxtaposition because you look at his bank account and his name. They are two different things, but they are also kinda related. Imagery is shown when they talk about his bank account and how it is viscously low or about how he's on a budget so he can send all his wife the money he makes. The word that makes it imagery is viscous cause it really makes you picture the bad so you really see how low of a budget he is on. This really shows that in war you're very close to the people you work with. The reason Dimes' money got brought up was because they all wanted to gamble. Reading that kinda made me think that when they get back to the states they wanna do all of the fun stuff and get wild with their closest friends 

¨By making it a goddamn force of nature.¨(Fountain p32) allusion because they are used to forces of nature, like bombs, tanks, even air planes. We don't really have anything that could wipe us out even at a football game. 

¨They breathe in fitful, stinky huffs.¨(Fountain 39) This quote is showing imagery, you can tell because the way they go into such detail about the way they were breathing. This shows that they have been putting in the work and it takes quite the physical demand from their bodys.

¨Looks like a little zamboni, anyone ever told you that.¨(Fountain 79) simile and imagery. Simile is shown because it is saying that his electric wheelchair is like a little zamboni. Saying that two things are similar, or look similar makes it similar. Imagery is shown when he describes what the zamboni might look like if they were the same as how he said small. This really shows that a soldier can be at his worst, yet they will always have a sense of humor with the people they're closest to, aka their fellow soldiers.

Vonnegut gets into a taxi and rides back to dresden. There he begins to recant his experience of his post-war life.

"The dog, who had sounded so ferocious in the winter distances, was a female German shepherd. She was shivering. Her tail was between her legs. She had been borrowed that morning from a farmer. She had never been to war before. She had no idea what game was being played. Her name was Princess."

(vonnegut 52)Understatement paradox

"A siren went off, scared the hell out of him. He was expecting World War Three at any time. The siren was simply announcing high noon."

(Vonnegut 57) Plot Understatement simile

Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake, commander of the 4077 Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, requests the addition of two new surgeons to his unit. Captains Duke Forrest and Hawkeye Pierce share a jeep to the post, discovering that they both enjoy alcohol and have similar views on many issues. Blake places them on the night shift with Major Jonathan Hobson, a Midwestern preacher and they grow tired of Major Hobson's religious zeal and demand that Blake rebill Major Hobson. Pierce and Forest request that a chest surgeon be assigned to the unit, and when Captain John McIntyre arrives, he demonstrates amazing skill, However, he rejects their attempts to bring him into their social circle. Hawkeye recalls playing football against McIntyre in college and introduces McIntyre to everyone as Trapper John during a recreational football game.

"I'm going to commit suicide." There was a moment of silence. Finally, trapper John learned from his sack and grasped Walt's hand. "We'll miss you, Walt," he said. "I hope you'll be happy in your new location." (Hooker 47) This quote is an example of Understatement. John didn't try to take it seriously, he didn't try to get him to help, he just brushed it off like it was nothing.

 "Following directions, they were confronted, first, by four helicopters belonging to the 5th Air Rescue Squadron and then by several dozen tents of various shapes and sizes, forlornly distributed in the shape of a horseshoe." (Hooker 15) This quote is a form of Imagery.

  “When the night shift had worked steadily from 9:00 pm to 4:00 am and finally had everything cleaned up, some of its members could usually be seen as the first light of day seeped into the wide valley” (Hooker 35) This is a quote of imagery

 “At Androscoggin he can start a little more slowly and get more attention. If he’s as good as I think he is, he can move into the big leagues later,” (Hooker, 71) This is a quote of P.O.V

In the first third of my novel we learn about Cohn's history, he's a boxer, a college student, was from a wealthy Jewish family, and in the span of five years he lost it all. He has many friends who live many different lives. They all left him alone and are traveling around the world. One went to Spain, one to England, one to Paris. Cohn is truly struggling with life after the war and so are his friends. Some people don't get it and one of his friends tries to be positive but the rest each struggle in their own way.

“I can't stand it to think my life is going so fast and I'm not really living it.” “Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull-fighters.” He doesn't really feel like he is living life to the fullest, he doesn't think anybody is except for bull fighters. 

“I don’t believe she would marry anybody she didn’t love.” “Well,” I said, “She’s done it twice.” This stuck out to me because Frances pulled Jake aside and told him what is up and how she wasn't going to get any money from her ex husband. Now knowing this the quote sticks out because it shows us that she really just wants money. This is a form of plot.

"I have never seen a man in civil life as nervous as Robert Cohn—nor as eager. I was enjoying it. It was lousy to enjoy it, but I felt lousy. Cohn had a wonderful quality of bringing out the worst in anybody." I chose this quote because knowing that Cohn had a good life, he was going to college and his family was wealthy, he had a wife, etc. after losing all that I don't think a person could help the fact that they bring out the worst in people. This is a form of juxaposition

"Why, you see, Robert’s always wanted to have a mistress, and if he doesn’t marry me, why, then he’s had one." She really wants Robert to marry her but he wont because he wants to have a mistress. You can't get married because otherwise she wont be his mistress anymore, she would be his wife. 

Joe Bonham, the main character has a lovely girlfriend before his journey to war, where they share a very special moment before he leaves. During the battle, a mortar shell hits very close to Joe, causing severe damage. Joe lays down in the hospital with all of his limbs removed, dreaming about his past, and having nightmare-like trips and memories from the drugs he is given to keep him alive. he has many people taking care of him well he thinks he's a test subject.

Joe remembers a time when "his mother was singing in the kitchen. he could hear her singing there and the sound of her voice was the sound of home."(Trumbo pg15) this represents the point of view of joe when he was younger and what he felt home sounded like. 

the kids in joes town "brought back flowers as big as your hand"(Trumbo pg19) this quote shows a Metaphor, as big as your hand, where the kids of the town brought people small flowers about the size of your hand unless you don't have hands.

"Lincoln Beechy didn't stop at every little stuck-in-the-mud town"(Trumbo pg19)-simile

"there was a smell at the fairgrounds you never forgot. a smell you never ceased dreaming of"-Understatement-Imagery-POV