Horrors of the war
War is terrible. “Struck matches and pinched cigarettes in trembling fingers” show that soldiers are very afraid of war. Far away, the bombers turn repeatedly. “The booming” begins repeatedly. There are many “wounded people” in the infirmary. In the buildings, where people are hiding, the booming is “louder, louder”, and then it is over them again, “tremendous crashing”. The ceiling shudders and cement dust sifts down. The image of the war gives an impression of the terrible and dangerous times during the Second World War.
Survival
The trip to the front is a “nightmare”. In a boxcar, it is “so hot” that boys are ready to escape. Louie is lying on “the discarded strip of metal”. “The railroad detective”, who forces them to jump from the moving train at gunpoint, discovers the future soldiers. After several days of walking, boys try to steal food. They are sitting on “the filthy, bruised, sunburned, and wet ground”, sharing “a stolen can of beans”. The image of the conditions and food gives an impression of the fact that soldiers will have to survive during the war.
Consequences of the war
After the war, men has been “crippled and disfigured” by unset broken bones, and their “teeth have been ruined” by beatings and years of chewing grit in their food. Others soldiers are “blind”. Many soldiers are “so ill” that they are needed to be carried from camps. Some of them cannot be saved. The physical injuries are “lasting, debilitating and sometimes deadly”. The image of the sick soldiers gives an impression of the cruel war, which took away many hopes and dreams.
