The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner Themes
Warfare
Don't let the size fool you. Anyway you slice it,"The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" is about war. War is in the title and, figuratively at least, it's in every line. Jarrell wanted everyone to k...
Death
If you have a poem that deals with war, death is probably going to make an appearance. The theme of death is definitely at work in "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," as the title would clealry...
Power
The "State" in line 1 gets a lot of attention (first line, end word, capitalization). When reading "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," Jarrell wanted us to think about the power of the state, of...
Innocence
Babies and bombers just don't mix well. You can't get more innocent than a newborn baby. They are vulnerable and oblivious to the evils of the world. The birth/womb imagery that Jarrell uses puts t...