1943 Donald Hall Summary

In this poem, “1943” by Donald Hall, hall is telling of a high school student who lost his final round in the heavyweight finals. After high school he left for the war and shortly after enlisting “died in the third wave at Tarawa” which was similar to his last experiences in school. In lines four through six Hall states, “Every morning of the war our Brock-Hall Diary delivered milk from horse-drawn wagons to wooden back porches in southern Connecticut.” This quote leads us to the theme “As war goes on, as does life.” He talks about how everyday life still goes on even though “marines bled to death in the surf”. In line ten Hall states “- with frostbitten feet as white as milk.” He is showing symbolism by comparing soldier’s cold white feet