How we cite our quotes: (Letter.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #10
All the children play at war now. All of them make those sounds of airplanes and bombs and crashing and exploding. We did the same things, playing at cannon fire and bayonet charges. (1.17.9)
The placement of "now" in the first sentence is noteworthy. At first, we think Ames is saying times have changed and that war is more prevalent in the imaginations of children than it used to be. But then he admits that it's always been so.