Nosey
It is not easy to be a war reporter. You can’t interfere no matter what, you are bossed around by your editor, you often argue with the military over what you may write about or what you may not. Ursula stays behind when she sees how “a white car” approaches “a check point.” It could be just a usual car with peaceful civilians, but the strange thing is that the car “shows no sign of slowing.” There are “two” or “tree figures in the car.” She sees how the sergeant “approaches the car.” He uses “hand gestures and simple English” when talking to a driver and passengers. They are “getting out of the car,” “put their hands on their head and move away.” Meanwhile, the soldiers “take two guns out of the car.” This imagery evokes a feeling of worry, for readers don’t know who people in the car are and what they are up to.
Expectations
You have to follow “the rules of engagement” and you really think of them. There are only “three verbal warnings before you can fire.” Like it often happens, it is “not easy following rules” when it is “for real.” “You are thinking, fuck, he could have anything on him,” says Geordie. Then you ask yourself, “When it is right to shoot a man?” If you waste too much time, you might die. “Bang-bang you are dead,” “fifty bullets in your head.” On the other hand, you don’t want “any hassle,” you simply want to go home. The image shows absurdness of life, and how little a person’s life matters – awfulness of it terrifies.
Destruction
Malek is sick of being mistreated by Freddie. To show him what he and his comrades have done, he urges him to look around. There are “broken” electricity pylons, because they have been “boomed.” There are “burnt out cars” on “the side of the road.” There six of them, if you look “close enough,” you will see “the charred remains of ‘ragheads’” that even “the vultures and the rats won’t touch.” “To remove this monster Saddam,” they have “boomed” and “impoverished” the locals. The children died “of the most preventable illness.” You “reduce a country to rags” and then you call those who manage to survive “ragheads.” This imagery evokes feeling of deep sadness and exhaustion.
