How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
He would never again be able to say hello how are you I love you. He would never again be able to hear music or the whisper of the wind through trees or the chuckle of running water. He would never again breathe in the smell of a steak frying in his mother's kitchen or the dampness of spring in the air or the wonderful fragrance of sagebrush carried on the wind across a wide open plain. He would never again be able to see the faces of people who made you glad just to look at them of people like Kareen. (7.4)
This passage emphasizes how Joe has lost even the most basic things that make life worth living—things as simple as being able to smell good food, let alone eat it. What exactly does Joe have left?
Quote #5
Four maybe five million men killed and none of them wanting to die while hundreds maybe thousands were left crazy or blind or crippled and couldn't die no matter how hard they tried. (7.13)
Which is worse? Does Joe have an opinion on this? Or are they two sides of the same horrible coin? Joe makes us think harder about the statistics we hear about war: we get a certain number of dead, and a certain number of wounded, but we don't really hear about the lifelong consequences that affect people after a war. There are people like Joe and the Limey subaltern who are forever altered, and there are thousands of others who have psychological scars, missing limbs, killed lovers and family members, and so on. The cost of a war goes way beyond simple statistics—and those statistics are already pretty awful on their own.
Quote #6
Maybe nothing was real not even himself oh god and wouldn't that be wonderful. (8.15)
Poor Joe. When he first realizes the extent of his condition, he wishes that he could die. But when that proves unsuccessful, how does he attempt to give his life meaning again? Can you imagine living like Joe for the rest of your life? How would you find meaning in that life?