death of the ball turret gunner

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,

And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.

Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,

I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.

When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.

-- Randal Jarrell

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner -- Questions

1. To what is the man in the poem compared?

2. What are the images through which the poet makes the comparison?

3. To what senses do the images appeal? Give examples.

4. How does the poet feel about his subject?

5. What is the meaning of the poem? Write a simple statement expressing the poem's subject with out using fugurative language. What has the poet gained by the use of metaphor or simile? Has he been able to say more, and more precisely, than you were able to in a plain ststement of the subject?

6. Write a statement of the meaning of the poem using your own simile.