Online Lesson 9 War Poetry

1) 1) Sandburg is probably describing anti-aircraft guns which juts out from the sides of the ship.
2)Jackies in this context would refer to the common sailors on board the battleship. Being on board a battleship suggests war or battle therefore the sailors (Jackies) are chanting war songs or war chanties to boost their morale for war or to celebrate victory after war.
3)Carl Sandburg probably meant that after a battle in war, where soldiers use guns to fight for their country, the shover would have to come in to bury the dead soldiers' corpses. Once, there is a gun there would be a shover which shows how "brotherhood" between a gun and a shover exists. This is also supported by "oblong vaults" which could have meant graves, by implication for the "laughing lithe jackies in white blouses" after they have been killed in battle. Thus, the final line, "the shovel is brother to the gun" means that war, no matter how romantic its tools may seem, inevitably entails death.
4) The significance of "And They Obey" is that people have no rights to speak up during times of war and their country being attacked. The poem describes the destroying of buildings while the title is "And They Obey" which means no matter how much you do harm to them, they still had to obey and listen to you.

5) The contrast in actions between stanza one and stanza two shows how the attacking soldiers are not bothered by how much they have destroyed. The poem shows how the destroying took place and how the people responded to it after war. The soldiers feel that the city was going to be rebuilt anyway, so their destruction of the city means nothing to them.

6)I feel that it is much harder to build a city than to tear down a city. When destroying a city, one does not have any mutual feelings for the city and that is why they are destroying it. However when it is to build up a city, one feels excited to see it being completed and sometimes it is a dream to be able to build that city. Therefore building a city needs more than just plans but also feelings for the city. But destroying a city only requires the materials to destroy cities. For example in the recent war in Libya, much of the infrastructure there was destroyed and would take more than a few years to build up again.
7) The first stanza started from the past where people had no motor transport and had to ride on horses or walk on their own feet to war. Then, the first stanza continues with the war of the present where motor transport is present with the “hum of motor and threads of rubber tires.” Finally the future sounds or war was silent, where vehicles were more of hovering in the air or intricate design of vehicles such that less sound would be made and detection by the enemy is less possible.

8) In World War 2, British General Percival was “kicked under the dust” as he was caught off-guard. The Japanese attack from Malaysia caught the British by surprise as the British underestimated the efficiency of the Japanese movement in the forests.. Therefore, General Percival surrenders in the end due to the surprise and swift attack from the Japanese.