How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
My brother, TJ, was going to war, and I was fired up hotter than a volcano. TJ and I had grown up in the Army, we were the Colonel's children, but that was not the same as being a soldier in the very heart of combat. (1.1)
Jamie is incredibly jealous of her brother and wishes she could go to war, too. Right away, we see how much Jamie loves war and admires soldiers, but we can't help but feel that she doesn't know the full story. Check out how she describes war like a kid would, full of the glory but none of the harsh realities of it.
Quote #2
"What you're talking about is philosophy," Private Hollister said. "I'm talking about feelings. Ain't no mother happy about her son going to war." (1.41)
Huh? Jamie is shocked that Hollister—a soldier himself—would speak out against war. She knows that war is necessary and important. It's never occurred to her that her parents might not be thrilled with her brother enlisting because she's thinking about it in an abstract, impersonal way.
Quote #3
We'd been playing war all our lives, and more than once TJ had said he'd like to get a taste of real combat, to see if he could handle it. (2.29)
We're not sure the best reason to go to war is to see if you can stomach it. Even so, Jamie understands her brother's decision to sign up—it's part of who they are. Here's the problem with that, though: Jamie is so focused on war being natural and normal in her life that she doesn't really stop to think about what it means. Her brother might get hurt (or worse) over there.