How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
Have a war and then prices go up and wages go up and everybody makes a hell of a lot of money. (19.18)
Okay, so remember how Joe was criticizing capitalism for coming between him and his dad in the chapter with the fishing rod? Same sort of thing happening here. Joe is trying to point out that some people are so wrapped up in immediate financial gains that they hardly consider that these personal gains at a price, and it's people like Joe who pay it.
Quote #8
You'll have a chance to die for your country. And you may not die you may come back like this. Not everybody dies little kiddies. (19.20)
The idea that it's great to die for your country has been a trope since at least the time of the Romans, who even had a saying for it: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. But by the time we get to the 20th century, things have become a little different (take a look at this poem from World War I riffing on that Latin phrase if you don't believe us). So what if kids in 1914 were shown Joe's understanding of war instead of the gung-ho one they most likely were shown? Do you think Joe himself would have been so keen to go to war if he had any idea he might end up trapped in a shell of a body? Would he have thought about war differently?
Quote #9
Then let them speak of trade policies and embargoes and new colonies and old grudges. Let them debate the menace of the yellow race and the white man's burden and the course of empire and why should we take all this crap off Germany or whoever the next Germany is […]
But before they vote on them before they give the order for all the little guys to start killing each other let the main guy rap his gavel on my case and point down at me and say here gentlemen is the only issue before this house and that is are you for this thing here or are you against it. (19.25-26)
War can be thought about in terms of a larger picture (like its global impact) and in terms of an individual picture. It seems like the big guys only think about the global impact without considering the individuals who ultimately suffer as a result of their decisions. Is this a conscious decision on their part? Do you think the people in power would act differently if they knew what was happening to people Joe? Do you think the guy who puts that medal on Joe's chest really cares about Joe? Or do you think he'll just forget him once the little ceremony is over? Will anything change?