Question

In "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," is the speaker narrating the poem from the perspective of having already died?

A) Yes, the speaker reflects on their death from the afterlife.
B) No, the speaker recounts their experience before facing death.
C) The poem does not provide information about the speaker's mortality.
D) The speaker is uncertain about their current state of existence.

Answer 1

In "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," the speaker recounts their experience from the afterlife, reflecting on their death. Option A.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the poem "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner" by Randall Jarrell, the speaker does narrate the poem from the perspective of having already died. This can be inferred from the poem's content and tone, which reflect on the cyclical nature of life and death.

The poem's concise statement of death and the subsequent washing out of the turret with a hose indicate that the speaker is recounting their experience posthumously, which leads to the conclusion that answer option A) Yes, the speaker reflects on their death from the afterlife, is the most fitting description of the poem's perspective.