Colloquialism

On page 19, the jargon of a soldier really comes into play, and O'Brien makes obvious the meaning of it all. He says "They used a hard vocabulary to contain the terrible softness. Greased they'd say. Offed, lit up, zapped while zipping." While these terms may not make sense in everyday life, to a soldier, they make perfect sense. When Ted Lavender was killed, he was "zapped while zipping." When the men carried all of their gear and ammunition, the "humped" it. Makes perfect sense to any man who was there or witnessed something of the sort. This language draws the reader into the soldiers' lives. By using the jargon which they used, he makes the reader feel a connection to the soldiers which is strengthened by all the other details of the war.