Character Analysis
There are a few deaths in literature and film that cut us deep. Beth March. Albus Dumbledore. Rue.
…and Jonesy.
Because Jonesy, right from the get-go, is larger than life. He's magnetic. He basically oozes charisma.
Take what he wears, compared to the other soldiers' matching camo outfits: a "camouflage do-rag and dark shades" (1.45). And to no one's surprise, Jonesy isn't the least bit shy. He walks right up to quiet Birdy, asks if they can watch each other's backs, and tells him about the blues.
Throughout the novel, Jonesy stays larger-than-life. He often talks in riddles, which makes Marla claim to not know what he's talking about. It's almost like he's a magical figure, a truth-teller, talking about what's happening using the metaphor of the blues or "this one day" style stories from his own life to make a point about things that happen in the war.
Big Blue Dream
Jonesy's dream is to one day open a blues bar where he'll "play blues guitar six nights a week" (1.50). For him, the army is just a way to make some money to put toward the blues bar. So right off the bat, we get a sense that his true passion and motivation isn't exactly the army.
The unit is lucky to have Jonesy and his blues-singing along with them because it turns out Jonesy's a pretty good songwriter too, and his songs cheer everyone up, and add a little much-needed lightness to tough situations. When everyone's worrying about getting shot, Jonesy breaks up the tension:
He strummed the oud he had found and sang a song he made up called the "Got Shot and It Hurts Like Hell Blues." (6.243)
Halfway through his time in Iraq, Jonesy expands his dream. Turns out he's a natural with kids. When the unit treats the village children who were wounded, Jonesy cheers up a child by playing his helmet like a drum and singing. After playing soccer with teenagers from another village, Jonesy asks Birdy:
"Yo Birdy, how'd you like playing against those kids?"
"It was okay."
"I really liked it," Jonesy said. "That's what I want life to be about."
"I thought life was going to be about the blues."
"I'm going to be playing the blues at night," Jonesy said. "I got to find something to do in the daytime. That's why I'm over here." (9.108-112)
In case you were wondering about Jonesy's priorities, here's your answer. He's definitely not all about kicking butt and taking names. He's "over here" trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. And being a military man doesn't seem to be on his future job list.
Dead End
In the squad's final mission, Jonesy gets shot while shielding a child with his body. Jonesy, the guy with the future. The guy who kept things light. Birdy's best friend.
We'll pause while you grab your tissues.
Okay, so Birdy's obviously devastated, and even feels guilty because he'd promised to watch Jonesy's back. But he's also inspired by Jonesy's bravery and sacrifice:
For Miller running toward him, and Jonesy giving up his dreams for that child, was what lifted all of this above fear and loathing. In that one last desperate moment, there was actually something for that blind child to reach, some higher point of humanity. (15.22)
Even though who dies and who lives seems like luck and chance to Birdy, he sees Jonesy as having died for something. In the end, his friend not only inspired him to laugh. He made Birdy "think there is more to life," (15.53) as he wrote in his last letter.
Birdy wants to use his life to do something worthwhile…and that's not a bad legacy to leave a friend.
Blues Before Bible
Jonesy plays with Birdy (and readers) when it comes to his relationship with God and religion. He really flip-flops. When he tells Birdy about his future blues club, he says,
"Then on Sundays, I'll jam with God, because me and him is like this." Jonesy held up two crossed fingers. (1.50-51)
A couple nights later, he wakes Birdy up so they can pray.
But when two Specialists ask him to join a prayer group, Jonesy tells them all he believes in is blues and hard whiskey. When Birdy points out they prayed the night before, Jonesy says,
"That was my testicles talking. I ain't worried about dying, but you know how testicles get sometimes." (2.72)
Which: fair enough.
Maybe Jonesy's just scared. He is in a war, so that's legit. But it's more complicated than that. In Chapter Five, Jonesy asks Birdy if he goes to church. When Birdy turns the question on him, Jonesy says that he doesn't, but his father is a minister (5.221-225). It's like he can't help bringing God up.
Maybe, like Birdy, Jonesy is still trying to figure out whether he believes in God. Or maybe his God references give us clues that he's a Christ figure in the story.
Hang on—hear us out.
Jonesy keeps getting bad, foreboding feelings that he's about to die. You could chalk it up to the war, but no other character really talks about their imminent death.
When Jonesy's death finally happens, it's the most noble death possible. Jonesy runs in front of a blind child and shields him from the bullets. He basically sacrifices himself, and all his dreams for the future, for that kid.
God references, speaks in riddles and stories, sacrificial death…we're just saying, there might be something to this theory.
This One Time, in Georgia
When Jonesy isn't singing or talking about the blues, he has the habit of relating everything back to his home. Those comparisons make an impression. He calls what they're doing "drive-bys in the name of democracy" (5.171). And when Captain Coles explains that the US Army's plan is to "hit hard and fast" (5.150):
"Yeah, all that's good on paper, sir," Jonesy said. "But one time I hit a guy hard and fast and knocked his tooth out. Then he commenced to kick my butt long enough for him to have to take a lunch break." (5.151)
It's a (sort of) funny story, but it's also pretty insightful. He's basically pointing out that if the army blazes through each city quickly, without leaving people behind to keep peace and rebuild, that won't end the conflict.
In this case, Jonesy turns out to be right.