Steinbeck once again returns to his biological perception of the human. “The attack on us set in motion the most powerful species drive we know - that of survival” (Steinbeck). “By attacking us, they destroyed their greatest ally, our sluggishness, our selfishness, and our disunity” (Steinbeck). Steinbeck alludes self-critically to the American maneuvering and indifference during the first two years of WWII.
According to Peter Lisca, “The book’s last chapter was to depict the climax of that rigorous training which the book describes by giving an account of an actual bombing run” (184). The work, however, does not end this way. “Steinbeck refused to write such a chapter because he had never been on a real bombing run and was afraid his description might be false” (Lisca 184). One may observe that Steinbeck was able to maintain his moral credit as a writer despite the fact that he was working on a propaganda piece. Instead of pure fiction, the book ends with a powerful scene: “The thundering ships took off one behind the other. At 5,000 feet, they made their formation. The men sat quietly at their stations, their eyes fixed. And the deep growl of the engines shook the air, shook the world, shook the future” (Steinbeck).
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One may assume that the main intention of Bombs Away was to calm the fears of the parents whose sons went to war. On the one hand, Steinbeck did not forget to remark the fact that the United States is essentially a pacifist country. On the other hand, he did stress the importance of the Allied struggle against evil. Overall, the book, is very patriotic, however, the author has avoided the traditional clichés that are typical for propagandistic works. He maintained his standard of writing by creating a work about the people and for the