How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"I can't quite see how they're callin' it a vict'ry," he said, his eyes fixed on the ground as they walked along the furrow. "If we'd got down to Corinth and pushed the Rebs out, that would hev bin good news. This way, looks to me like all we done was to keep the Rebs from hevin' a vict'ry." (6.41)
Hey there, Jethro—this sounds kind of similar to Bill's "nobody ever wins a war" line earlier. Although it's not surprising that there's a similarity between Jethro's and Bill's views, since they are a lot alike. But here Jethro is playing the semantics game trying to examine what it means to have a victory, and he points out a very important relationship—in war (and any competition or game), so long as there is a winner, there will always be a loser. Like two sides of the same coin.
Quote #5
"What do you s'pose it was like, Jeth?"
He shook his head. "It must ha' seemed like the end of the world had come, " he said soberly.
"Fer thousands it had, hadn't it?" (6.84-86)
So this theme doesn't exactly spur the most optimistic quotes. And we hate to break it to you, but the rest of the book is pretty bleak too. But most of the time that's what you get with war. It's known for having lots of death and end-of-the-world moments.
Quote #6
Dan Lawrence was not yet twenty; he was still weak from his wounds and loss of blood, still under the cloud of a horror that only subsequent horrors could make him forget. He walked slowly with his father's help up the path to the cabin where Matt Creighton stood at the door, and when Dan extended his hand in greeting, his eyes had a tired, haunted look. (7.5)
The line we love here is "a horror that only subsequent horrors could make him forget." So good, right? Yeah it's tragic and depressing, but it describes the extent of psychological damage war causes. Dan Lawrence and other surviving soldiers will have to live forever with the memories they made on the battlefield.