¶ … Turkish Gambit

First they'll shoot their cannon for a long time, then they'll run forward and they'll be clouds of smoke so that you won't be able to see anything, you'll just hear some of them shouting 'Hurrah!' And others screaming in agony" (Akunin 121). This quote refers to the utter futility of war, and the great loss of life that comes to both sides during war. It also indicates that there are two sides fighting in every war, and at any time, there will be victors and their will be victims. The speaker is also telling Varya the reporter that she does not belong on the front lines, and that her news articles should not show the realities of war, because they are too difficult to write and read about.

The sight of this stirring, droning valley made Varya a little sick and she clearly glimpsed the angel of death circling above the dusty grass, gazing into the men's faces and marking them with its invisible sign" (Akunin 122). Again, the author is referring to the horrors of war and the great loss of life. The "angel of death" is fate or death that awaits many of the soldiers waiting for attack. In a few hours, many of these men will be dead or wounded, and there is nothing Varya can do to change it, it is inevitable.

But then, at the observation point, everyone was excited and full of gleeful anticipation" (Akunin 122). This shows the "carnival" aspect of war, which as gruesome as it is, is common during battles. People come out to watch the "show," just as they can out to watch hanging in the old west and executions in Paris during the Revolution. People who are not involved do not seem to understand the realities of war - that it is terrible - and that is what this quote is showing. Perhaps if Varya did write about the actual horrors of the battlefield, fewer people would want to watch the realities of war as they picnic on white cloths.

References

Akunin, Boris. The Turkish Gambit. New York: Random House, 2005.