Jenny: A Naming of Parts

When I first read Naming of Parts I was really confused. However, upon reading it again I realized there were two seperate speakers and each were naming the parts of something. The first speaker talks about a gun and its parts. The second speaker points out parts of nature. This contrast brings up the question of where does human nature end and violence begin? When watching Full Metal Jacket, I realized that this line of right and wrong for the soldiers slowly drifted away as the movie continued. Just as the poem runs together in a confusing fashion so that the reader isn't sure where one speaker stops and the other begins. The beginning of the poem speaks of routine. "Today we have naming of parts. Yesterday, we had daily cleaning. And tomorrow morning we shall have what to do after firing. But today, today we have naming of parts." This opening explains that the first speaker throughtout the poem is learning about the parts of a gun. Everything has a clear name and is straight forward. However, "after the firing" is unsure because nothing is clear and straight forward anymore. The comparison between the metaphor of war (the parts ofd the gun) and nature shows there simularities (which can be seen most easily in the 4th stanza particularly in the repetition of "rapidly backwards and forwards").