I love Bobby Shaftoe. I think he is absolutely hilarious in that card-playing, haiku-composing way. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"Damn it, they are still in Africa! You ought to be able to see lions and giraffes and rhinos!" (176) Because really, that's all that Africa has to offer...a nice safari adventure.
"'N-N-N-Norway,' Lieutenant Monkberg says. He looks so pathetic that Shaftoe considers offering him some m-m-m-morphine...Then he comes to his senses, remembers that Lieutenant Monkberg is an officer whose duty it is to send him off to die, and decides that he can jut go fuck himself sideways." (263)
Does anyone else have favorite Bobby Shaftoe moments?
I liked that scene where Bobby was being given orders to join detachment 2702 and we get to hear his commentary about the "sir, yes, sir" sort of hierarchical marine bullshit. I think it's funny how he feigns idiocy (though it's questionable at times how much is feigned) just so he can say things like "no, sir, this marine does not catch the commander's drift, sir!" and make his superiors feel more sharp and important.
I thought the scene where Root was trying to talk to Shaftoe about how Shaftoe is a morphine "seeky" instead of a morphine addict was great. Instead of trying to figure it out or pretending to go along with the analogy, Shaftoe simply busts out a "'What the fuck are you talking about?'" (374). Plus, the whole notion of calling Shaftoe a seeky was hilarious.
I couldn't get past the annoying grammar in calling somebody "seeky". Is that wrong?
"Bobby Shaftoe has learned most of his practical knowledge- how to fix a car, butcher a deer, throw a spiral, talk to a lady, kill a Nip..." (372)
Ah, all the life skills one could ever hope to master.
I liked this on page 224:
"Now, Shaftoe realizes tthat there is an unspoken codicil to chattan's orders: oh, yeah, and if any of the Italians, who actually LIVE in Italy, and who RUN the place, and who are FASCISTS and who are at WAR with us--if any of them NOTICE you and, for some reason, OBJECT to your little plan, whatever the FUCK it is, then by all means kill them. And if that doesn't work, by all means, kill yourself, because you'll probably do a neater job of it than the Fascists will. Don't forget suntan lotion! "
I'm not a big fan of how he sleeps with Glory, has to leave, and at once tries to forget her. He has his "typical guy" moments.
"The weapon comes out of his hip pocket silently...Moments later, he's back in the jungle, watching as the Nip truck drives away, now sporting two red, white, and blue stickers reading: I SHALL RETURN! Bobby congratulates himself on another successful mission." (710)
Mmm...I especially like how there are I SHALL RETURN condoms. I remember reading that part and thinking, "They're in the jungle! What do they need condoms for?" But then my question was answered with : "He figures that when he finds Glory he'll go through a long ton of condoms in about a week." (711) Yea, it's very "typical guy" of him the way he treats Glory, but I guess that's what you have to expect from a guy sometimes.
Ya gotta love him.