“The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner” World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, is considered to be the deadliest conflict in history. An estimated 50 to 85 million fatalities were recorded during the second World War. A ball turret gunner is a soldier who sits in a spherical ball at the bottom of a fighter plane. Ball turret gunners played key roles in the air during the war. In “The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner,” by Randall Jarrell, a young man gets drafted into the army, becomes a machine-gunner on a bomber plane, and receives a tragic death. “From my mother’s sleep I fell into the State,” (line 1) is how the poem begins. Since the poem is in first person, the person speaking is the ball turret gunner. You can infer that the soldier is young because he just woke from his mother’s sleep. Based off of the first quote, you can tell the young man gets drafted into the army also known as the “State.” The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 required men between 18 to 45 were subject to military service. Over 10 million people were drafted into the military during World War II. World War II was one of the few times a draft was issued. …show more content…
/ Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,” (lines 2-3) is used to show how the harsh conditions that ball turret gunners went through. The temperature six miles in the atmosphere is pretty cold. All the sweat from his jacket freezes. He makes it sound like life is a dream and death is a reality being in the ball turret. A ball turret is a small spherical-shaped mount turret under the fighter plane. You have to be a small individual to be able to be a ball turret gunner. A ball turret gunner is the most dangerous position in the fighter