Sunrise Over Fallujah

Sunrises are viewed as a symbol of renewal throughout the novel. Though bleak omens at times, like the sunrise that brought the two-day dust storm at the beginning of the novel, the sunrise is also symbolic of new life, new chances, and the process of death and renewal. Every new sunrise brings a new chance at death or life. The beauty of the sunrises over the desert are juxtaposed with the fierce environment of death and destruction.

Body bags are one of the first symbols in the novel that foreshadow what Birdy will experience throughout the novel. For the Americans and Coalition forces, taking soldiers who are killed off of the streets is their first priority. In this sense, body bags not only cover up the deceased, but they cover up the “reality” of the deaths as well. Though these deaths stay in the mind of witnesses, body bags are a symbolic cover-up to the harsh reality of death. The Iraqis that die are littered on the streets and sometimes left without aid. Soldiers often avert their eyes. Body bags cover up the reality of loss for Americans.