Question

As you reread this passage from the prose poem "How We Spent Our Time in the Army," think about what the poet wants to suggest about a soldier's life on the front lines.

We stayed awake to listen for movement. We were starved for the hearing of movement. We knew they were probably asleep in their beds or writing home about nothing or doing smart things by lamplight. To be sure, not thinking of us. Small in our drunkenness, we’d admit we made this mess for them and feel ashamed especially now that we knew people were dying. We only wanted to have something big to talk about. Fireworks. We wanted to gaze meaningfully at them down the barrels of our guns and have them take our meaning. We wanted to be seen. We were wriggling out of our skins to be seen.

What does the speaker say that the soldiers really want?

to go home and spend time with their loved ones

to get revenge for those who have died in the war

to stay alert enough to capture enemy soldiers

to have meaningful contact with enemy soldiers

Answer 1

to have meaningful contact with enemy soldiers

The speaker says they wanted to "gaze meaningfully at them down the barrels of our guns" and "to be seen," showing they crave a meaningful, noticed connection with the enemy rather than the other options.