The Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner - A poem by Randall Jarrell

Randall Jarrell - The Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner

From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

Added: on December 2nd, 2008 at 6:39 PM | Viewed: 14906 times | Comments and analysis of The Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner by Randall Jarrell Comments (20)

The Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner - Comments and Information
Poet: Randall Jarrell (Randall Jarrell Art) Poem: The Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner Comment 20 of 20, added on July 11th, 2009 at 3:57 PM. Just to state the obvious, poems aren't about literal (to the letter) representations. They are deliberately ambiguous, and use meter, rhyme, etc. as a kind of 'head fake' to make you move one direction and surprise you by winding up somewhere else. Abortion is not 'in there' but is consistent with what is there - the issues of 'state vs. individual,' 'choice vs. right to life' are illuminated by the words. It is what the scientists call a 'thought experiment.' Loosen up, y'all! Holland Whitten from United States Comment 19 of 20, added on March 13th, 2009 at 8:05 AM. Just as a side note, during the war, airplanes were often referred to as a womb. Here's an example from Catch-22 "Doc Daneeka had been told that people who enjoyed climbing into an airplane were really giving vent to a subconcious desire to climb back into the womb" Chapter 4 "Doc Daneeka" Hilary from United States Comment 18 of 20, added on December 2nd, 2008 at 6:39 PM. Clearly, none of you guys are helping. Its great that you have your own opinions and crap but lets get to the bottom of this poem FIRSt of all, this poem is about life and death and the use of the words "fetus" and "womb" is to symbolize the ball turret gunner in its protective state; however in the fetus, he still wasnt born yet. So, this turret gunner is just sad because he didnt get to live life and all of a sudden, he died. Clearly this piece is about life and death. DUHHH Aléin C. from United States More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, The Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner, has received 20 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Randall Jarrell with others on the American Poems poetry forum!

Poem Info
Poet: Randall Jarrell Poem: The Death Of The Ball Turret Gunner Last read: Mar 20 2010, 10:59PM Viewed 14906 times. Added on December 2nd, 2008 at 6:39 PM.

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