Quote 1
"This reminds me of a Harlem night," I said. "Sometimes the little apartment we lived in would be so hot you couldn't sleep for days." (12.35)
Perry probably has more he can relate to in Vietnam than someone like Lobel does, just because Perry grew up poor and had less modern luxuries than the richer guys in the army. It's one of those silver lining kind of things.
Quote 2
"My mother's a Baptist," I said. "She wouldn't go to a mojo lady."
"My mama's a Baptist, too, but she what you call a sore-feet Baptist. Your feets get sore enough, those mojo ladies start looking pretty good." (5.15-16)
Who doesn't need a foot rub from time to time, mojo or no mojo? Peewee's point is that your beliefs get more flexible depending on your need, and it actually applies to Perry. The more scared he gets in the book, the more he relies on religion for comfort. Too bad he didn't have a mojo lady nearby.
Quote 3
"You pray a lot when you in the World?" I asked him.
"Yeah, I prayed a lot," Brew said. "But, man, I didn't pray nowhere near as hard." (8.113-114)
Brew was always religious, but coming close to death definitely made him value his life more, and pray harder in response. Maybe Peewee wasn't around to tell him a joke.
Quote 4
"I just don't want to pray."
"Figure you don't want to make your peace if you're not ready to die?"
I smiled. I had to smile. He was right and he knew it. "Something like that."
"I know how you feel," he said. "I'm not quite ready to die either." (17.65-68)
The priest who visits, Father Santora, is pretty sympathetic of the regular, non-priest soldiers. Instead of acting like he's holier than Perry, he relates to him by talking about his own fears and how he also doesn't want to die. Definitely more relatable than "pray or else."
Quote 5
"If I pray with you, will it keep me alive?" I asked.
"No."
"What will it do for me?"
"I don't know," he said. "I think it can be comforting at times." (17.74-77)
If Father Santora had started talking to Perry about his eternal soul or damnation, do you think that strategy would have been more or less effective than his simple, honest approach?
Quote 6
I saw Brunner pocket a small statue from one of the huts. I told him about it and he gave me the finger.
"Maybe you'll be a better dude when you come back in your next life," I said. "Who knows, cockroaches might be in by then."
He took a step toward me, and Johnson—I hadn't seen him nearby—stepped next to me. Brunner looked at Johnson, then turned on his heel and walked away.
"He ain't spit," Johnson said. (9.44)
Johnson's like the silent protector. He's such a big guy that he just has to stand next to Perry to send a message. But he doesn't have to do it. He sees protecting the other black men in his platoon as part of his job—but something deeper than a job, too.
Quote 7
At the camp Sergeant Simpson asked me to write a letter to Lieutenant Carroll's family. I said I couldn't do it, and he asked me why.
"I just can't," I said.
"If he was laying out in the boonies, and he was calling to you needing your help, what would you do?"
"He's not laying out in the boonies," I said.
"Yeah, man, he is," Simpson said. "He just in too deep to get out." (11.4-8)
Carroll is dead, so there's not much actual calling out for help happening here. But Simpson is making sure what he would want is getting carried out, including a letter of condolence to his wife, and a well written one at that. That means getting the best writer in the platoon to do the job, even though there's the extra step of Perry feeling too upset to do it. Writing the letter will mean admitting that Carroll is gone, and it takes knowing he's helping out Carroll to help Perry over that hurdle.