Aim. A writer’s aim is his or her purpose, or goal. People may write with the following aims: to inform (expository/informational writing); to tell a story, either true or invented, about an event or sequence of events (narrative writing); to reflect (personal/ expressive writing); to share a perspective by using an artistic medium, such as fiction or poetry, to entertain, enrich, or enlighten (imaginative writing); to persuade readers or listeners to respond in some way, such as to agree with a position, change a view on an issue, reach an agreement, or perform an action (persuasive/argumentative writing). As you read, decide Jarrell’s aim in writing “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner.”
Tone. Tone is the emotional attitude toward the reader or toward the subject implied by a literary work. As you read, determine the poet’s tone toward the subject.
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“The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” was published in Little Friend, Little Friend (1945), one of Jarrell’s collections of war poetry. It is perhaps the best-known American poem about World War II. Jarrell explained the ball turret and gave insight into understanding this poem: “A ball turret was a plexiglass sphere set into the belly of a B-17 or B-24, and inhabited by two .50 caliber machine guns and one man, a short small man. When this gunner tracked with his machine guns a fighter attacking his bomber from below, he revolved with the turret; hunched upsidedown in his little sphere, he looked like the fetus in the womb. The fighters which attacked him were armed with cannon firing explosive shells. The hose was a steam hose.”
What demands does the government make on your life?
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