War in "Sula"
page 8
He ran, bayonet fixed, deep in the great sweep of men flying across this
field. Wincing at the pain in his foot, he turned his head a little to
the right and saw the face of the soldier near him fly off. Before he
could register shock, the rest of the soldier's head disappeared under
the inverted soup bowl of his helmet. But stubbornly, taking no direction
from the brain, the body of the headless soldier ran on, with energy and
grace, ignoring altogether the drip and slide of the brain tissue down
its back.
Comments:
I think the thing that struck me most about this passage is the last
sentence, particularly the last two words. Notice the words "its back" is
used instead of "his back" -- in that instant, the soldier is no longer a
person, it is a body with no identity, no gender, nothing.
This is the only war scene we see through Shadrack's eyes, but it is
enough to get across the carnage he witnessed.
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