"War is no game. If there is a shot to be made, you make it."
-Mickey Shea (pg 54)
Mickey Shea tells this to Eddie while he is practicing shooting a toy gun at Ruby Pier. It means that you should shoot if it needs to be made, no hesitating. This is war and not play time at Ruby pier. I don't think this advice came in handy at the time, but when Eddie entered the war it helped him. It taught him to be violent and kill the enemy, no matter what was in his way. It toughened Eddie up changing him from the sweet Ruby Pier worker to the stern looking person he is now.
"They grew thin and weak. Their ribs grew visible"
(pg 60)
The "crazies" barley fed their prisoners causing them to grow weak and hungry. It is just one of the physical attributes that represent what they had to go through. Life was hard for them. Their captors were described as gaunt and bony with little nubs of hair. One night, Eddie found a dead hornet in his food, this caused the others to stop eating. Lack of food caused them to look slim.
"Men adapt to captivity, some better than others."
(pg 61)
Six soldiers were captured including Eddie and Captain. They were help captive in brutal conditions. Morton would mumble to himself every time he heard a noise outside. Smitty appeared to always be swallowing. This was because he was chewing on his tongue. Rabozzo would have nightmares in the middle of the night yelling "Not Me! Not Me!" Eddie was powered by anger, motivated to get out of this "prison" and see Margurite again. In the end, that was the reason Eddie fought hard.
"Don't get killed okay"
-Marguerite (pg 70)
War takes sacrifice, in any shape or form. All soldiers have to leave their families behind and some even sacrifice their life (an example is Rabozzo). Sometimes soldiers don't die but a part of the is sacrificed; Eddie hurt his leg and for the rest of his life he lived in pain. Marguerite said this to Eddie on his birthday on the boardwalk of Ruby Pier. This was the day before Eddie left for war.
"You would have died. And it wasn't your time"
-The Captain (pg 77)
The Captain shot Eddie in the leg to keep him from entering the burning hut. He believed it wasn't Eddie's turn to die. This filled Eddie with rage because of his leg, he had to walk around on a cane with pain in his leg. Maybe if he never hurt his leg Eddie would have been able to get out of the way of the falling ride and live just a bit longer. Eddie died while trying to save Amy or Annie from being crushed by the falling ride, but did Eddie die a hero or someone who tried to save a little girls life?