Exploding skull
After Cacciato went missing, Berlin thought about ways Cacciato could end up dead. In of these scenarios, Cacciato’s head is shot and it explodes, scattering brain matter all over the place. The violent image portrayed here has the purpose of showing just how violent war is and how a person can suffer an extremely violent death.
Mangled country
When Berlin is first sent on the battlefield, the takes time to describe the scenery and how the country was affected by the war. Berlin describes the country as being mangled, wounded by the war in ways unimaginable. The sight of the damaged country is important because it portrays just how cruel a war can be and how much it affects a country and its inhabitants.
Big Bear
Berlin often talks about his father and mentions some of his fondest memories of his father. From the beginning, Berlin distinguishes himself as being nothing like his father, an imposing man who was called the Big Bear. Despite his nickname, Berlin portrays his father as being warm and affectionate, a man who is patient and always willing to help. Because of this, whenever Berlin thinks about his father, he feels calm and protected.
Blank faces
Berlin is surprised to see that the people who trained him before the war and the people who were in charge were all bored and without any passion for what they were doing. Berlin portrays them in grey colors, highlighting the idea that the generals and lieutenants were all monotonous and without life. The image portrayed here had the purpose of highlighting the idea that war affects people in different ways and more than often the image presented in the media of the happy and courageous soldier is often misleading. In reality, the soldiers are often left almost lifeless and without any will to live after enrolling into war.
