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Willie Poole
An officer from Regina, Saskatchewan, who is in charge of the Mortar Squads in St. Eloi, whom Robert Ross is paired up with him after his dugout is bombed. Robert leads Bates and the other men on an operation to reposition the guns in the forward trench. He appreciates Bates because, unlike other soldiers, he has not been become jaded or detached from the horrors of war. When the Germans attack them with chlorine gas, Robert saves the lives of Bates and the other Mortar Squad men by having them cover their faces with urine-soaked rags in order to neutralize the chlorine with the natural ammonia in the urine.
Corporal Bates Quotes in The Wars
The The Wars quotes below are all either spoken by Corporal Bates or refer to Corporal Bates. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 3
Quotes
This—to Bates—was the greatest terror of war: what you didn’t know of the men who told you what to do—where to go and when. What if they were mad—or stupid? What if their fear was greater than yours? Or what if they were brave and crazy—wanting and demanding bravery from you? He looked away. He thought of being born—and trusting your parents. Maybe that was the same. Your parents could be crazy too. Or stupid. Still—he’d rather his father was with him—telling him what to do. Then he smiled. He knew that his father would take one look at the crater and tell him not to go.
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Get the entire The Wars LitChart as a printable PDF.
Corporal Bates Quotes in The Wars
The The Wars quotes below are all either spoken by Corporal Bates or refer to Corporal Bates. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 3
Quotes
This—to Bates—was the greatest terror of war: what you didn’t know of the men who told you what to do—where to go and when. What if they were mad—or stupid? What if their fear was greater than yours? Or what if they were brave and crazy—wanting and demanding bravery from you? He looked away. He thought of being born—and trusting your parents. Maybe that was the same. Your parents could be crazy too. Or stupid. Still—he’d rather his father was with him—telling him what to do. Then he smiled. He knew that his father would take one look at the crater and tell him not to go.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
